Sharks!!

Although it's rare to see sharks in a normal dive site, Sharks are common in Sipadan Island. A shark came out from a jackfish tornado during my dive at Drop Off.

This shark I saw is a species called whitetip reef shark. This is a small type of sharks with its body length not extending beyond 1.6m. The shark is distinguishable due to its white-tipped dorsal and caudal fins. These sharks usually rest in tropical, clear and shallow water during daytime. At night, these sharks start to hunt small fishes.

Unfortunately, whitetip reef shark is listed as near threatened. In a population decline of about 8% annually, without any conservation efforts, whitetip reef sharks are prone to extinction. Banning shark fin soup in East Asia could be the most effective to save this species

Other types sharks I saw in Sipadan Island include blacktip reef shark and grey reef shark.