Scientists tag whale sharks in rare encounters close to Alabama coast - al.com

Scientists tag whale sharks in rare encounters close to Alabama coast - al.com: "In other years, scientists said, multiple sightings of whale sharks off Alabama would have been so rare as to be almost unbelievable.

But for the past two weeks, the Alabama coast has been one of the best places in the world to see the ocean's largest fish, with dozens of sightings reported to a whale shark Web site by fishermen, scuba divers and pilots.

The gigantic plankton-eating sharks have been seen as far east as Panama City and as far west as Petit Bois Island off Mississippi. But the bulk of the reports have come from the area between Orange Beach and Pensacola, with one sighting just two miles off the beach."