Butanding, the gentle giant of the sea

	Ryan Fauli's Yagting Cultural Heritage Collections Yagtings are invited to contribute folktales/legend about the island.
	Rhincodon Typus (Butanding)

Butandings are the gentle giants of the sea. They are harmless when not provoked and only feed on planktons, tiny fishes and shrimps. Oftentimes they swim near outriggers of motorboats and banca.

Butandings are common in tropical waters of the Philippines. They are seen in Palawan and Donsol, Sorsogon. Years ago fishermen in the island of Banton talked about this gentle giant of the sea. They said that this fish swim side by side with their small banca. They call it "Sakung".

* These pictures were not taken in the island of Banton but were used only here for direct viewing. These were taken from another website that features the gentle giant. For more info about Rhincodon Typus, go to this website: http://www.fishbase.org. This site has the largest database of fishes with pictures and all you want to know about fishes. Entries are searchable by their search engine.