July 25, 2025 • 27 mins
Welcome back to Shark Week! This is Part 3 in the series which follows insightful guest episodes with Rare Shark Guy David Ebert and Marine Life and Shark Artivist Francesca Page. In this episode, host Jessica Morgenthal explores the fascinating world of whale sharks and the surprising lessons their thick skin offers for building resilience and emotional health. Jessica dives into their unique beauty, life, behavior, anatomy, and migration patterns and how these massive the gentle giants of the ocean thrive by filtering in what nourishes them and letting go of what doesn’t serve them. This episode highlights how we, too, can develop emotional resilience by cultivating discernment, practicing mindfulness, and embracing our natural boundaries. Listeners will learn why conservation efforts to protect whale sharks and their ocean habitats matter for the health of our entire planet and how our emotional wellbeing is deeply connected to nature’s wisdom
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Episode Transcript
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(00:05):
We're in the depths of the Atlantic Ocean,
gliding alongside the magnificent,
graceful, and gentle whale shark,
the largest
Her great body is moving with the rhythm
of the ocean itself,
slow,
steady,
unhurried.
(00:26):
At 26 feet long and likely weighing over
10 tons,
she isn't the largest whale shark ever recorded
at over 62 feet long, yet she is
immense and moving with the grace of moonlight
on water.
Her skin is the first thing that stirs
our awe.
(00:46):
Thick and dappled like the surface of the
sea, it shimmers with a constellation of white
spots and stripes.
No two patterns are alike. Her identity is
written in speckles and swirls,
visible from above as she dapples in the
sunlight.
Below, she is white so she can be
mistaken for the sky.
(01:26):
Today, we're heading into the deep warm blue
waters to meet one of the ocean's gentlest
giants, a slow moving wide mouthed wonder
who shows us how to stay strong while
still being open and how to keep going
even when things manage to get under your
skin.
We'll explore what whale sharks can teach us
about resilience,
(01:46):
about boundaries,
and about the kind of thick skin that's
strong and wise,
one that lets in just enough
to learn and filters out what doesn't belong.
I'm Jessica Morgenthal. Every week, we explore how
nature's quiet brilliance
can help us care more deeply
for ourselves,
for each other, and for the wild world
(02:08):
we all share.
This is resilience gone wild. And this week,
we're going swimming with the sharks.
This morning, let's imagine swimming with a whale
shark, her massive tail sweeping side to side,
(02:29):
propelling her through water slowly
at just three miles an hour.
She is calm,
unhurried,
silent.
She makes no sounds we can detect,
No clicks or calls or territorial splashes as
her solitary life doesn't seem to require communication.
Even her young, up to 300 pups inside
(02:50):
her at a time, will emerge in silence
and swim off without a goodbye.
She lives most of her life in these
depths of the deep ocean,
rarely seen because she does not often linger
at the surface.
Her days are spent rising and gliding down
through the water column.
Slowly, she glides to depths of 2,000 feet
(03:11):
or more, following food that drifts lower through
the pelagic zone during the daylight, and then
she powers back upward with energy and ease
as these daily vertical migrations are strategic and
efficient.
Swimming up burns energy,
so she saves effort by gliding down.
This movement up to three times each day
(03:31):
helps her forage up to 32%
more efficiently
than if she swam horizontally.
At night when her tiny prey rise closer
to the surface,
she hovers around 300 feet deep
dipping and rising to feed.
She must eat every day. Her size demands
it.
Nearly 30% of her energy goes to the
(03:52):
active breathing alone.
Her wide mouth opens
drawing in water and prey together.
As the seawater rushes over five large gill
slits on either side of her head,
food is caught in a series of comb
like filters
and sent down to her throat.
The water flows through the gills,
(04:12):
delivering her life sustaining oxygen.
Her way of feeding is gentle and continuous,
and it is powered by a body built
for deep cold dives and long quiet travel.
Whale sharks are ectotherms,
meaning they rely on the temperature of the
(04:33):
surrounding water to regulate their metabolism.
Yet she can dive into waters more than
36 degrees Fahrenheit colder than the surface.
Her ability to do this lies in her
size and in her skin. At as much
as four inches thick, her skin is the
thickest in the animal kingdom.
It shields her from predators,
parasites, and coral scrapes.
(04:55):
Female whale sharks have even thicker skin than
males. It seems researchers believe that the gals
need to protect themselves from the scraping, bumping,
and biting during feisty mating. And just beneath
lies a thin layer of blood fed red
muscle
and then massive blocks of poorly vascularized
white muscle
that hold heat and surround her spinal core.
(05:18):
Her massive oil filled liver
not only helps with buoyancy,
but surrounds her vital systems like a thermal
blanket,
allowing her to explore cold waters others cannot.
These structures help her retain heat
functioning like a built in thermos
so she can safely enter the deep and
return with energy intact. It's a form of
(05:38):
thermal inertia called gigantothermy
that lets her hold on to surface heat
and make deep dive safely.
When she needs to recharge,
she rises,
basking in the surface heat to restore energy
for the next plunge.
We don't know where she was born. We
don't know where she will give birth. The
only pregnant whale shark ever documented
(06:00):
was caught by accident decades ago.
She carried 300
pups,
all at different stages of development,
and all fertilized by the same male.
From that, scientists believe females use something called
a placental viviparity,
laying eggs that hatch inside the uterus
and then releasing the pups once they've absorbed
(06:21):
their yolk sac and grown large enough to
survive on their own.
It's thought the mothers store sperm and release
it over time,
an elegant solution for creatures who live alone
and travel far.
Her remarkable skin is covered in dermal denticles,
tiny tooth like structures that reduce drag and
add strength to protect her from the bites
(06:42):
of curious predators
and the scrape of coral in ship hulls.
She even has teeth on her eyeballs that
act as a shield and protect her from
particles of debris scratching or injuring her eyes.
And her skin senses,
like other sharks, she can detect the electric
pulses of nearby movement,
even a heartbeat.
Her electroreception
(07:03):
embedded in her skin
adds to a suite of extraordinary senses,
low light vision,
refined hearing,
a powerful sense of smell.
She is more aware of her environment than
we can imagine.
And sometimes, despite all this, something still gets
(07:24):
in.
Parasites,
small and persistent,
can bore their way deep into her flesh.
Once in, they stay. She does not shed
them. She grows around them, not because she
is weak, but because she carries on regardless.
Her thick skin does not promise invincibility.
It promises endurance.
(07:45):
Her species has been here a long time.
Living whale sharks appear on the fossil record
from about 28,000,000
years ago.
With ancestors stretching back to the time of
the dinosaurs,
she carries that quiet wisdom in every glide.
In her thick skin, we find a metaphor
for something we too might learn.
(08:05):
How to filter what enters, how to protect
what matters,
and how to carry strength that does not
shut the world out,
only lets in what serves.
It's tempting to think of thick skin as
a way to shut the world out, to
(08:26):
become impenetrable,
immune,
unmoved.
That's the myth.
What a whale shark shows us is something
entirely different.
Her skin is indeed thick, and yet it
isn't hard. It's textured,
alive,
intelligent.
It protects, yes, and it senses. She doesn't
let everything in. She filters. She gathers what
(08:48):
feeds her and lets the rest flow past.
What she carries isn't just strength,
it's discernment.
Her body has learned over time what deserves
her energy and what does not.
She doesn't react to every current or flee
every change.
She moves with intention.
She knows her direction.
Many of us have been told to toughen
(09:09):
up, to stop feeling so much, to grow
a thicker skin, and sometimes that armor becomes
brittle,
cold,
disconnected.
That is not resilience.
Resilience is the ability to hold your shape
while still absorbing the motion around you.
It's staying open enough to feel without letting
(09:30):
every feeling pierce you.
It's noticing what enters and choosing what stays.
And it's not easy, especially for those of
us who feel everything,
who've been told we're too much or too
sensitive,
who've been praised for caring and then punished
for caring too much.
A whale shark doesn't flinch from the world,
(09:51):
and she doesn't absorb all of it either.
She keeps moving through it, letting the patterns
and currents swirl around her while holding the
truth of who she is beneath the surface.
And she didn't grow that thick skin overnight.
She grew into
it slowly,
wisely across decades.
Every layer earned, every adaptation necessary.
(10:12):
Her skin is not just a boundary. It's
a map of her becoming.
What have you carried
quietly and without apology
that others can't see?
Act five.
Now, let's talk about how we can save
these magnificent endangered gentle giants.
Their size and beauty make them unforgettable.
(10:33):
Their lives make them hard to track.
For many years, they were called elusive,
unknowable.
Thankfully, that's changing, and hopefully, it will be
enough.
Since the nineteen eighties, global whale shark numbers
are estimated to have dropped by more than
50%
to well under 200,000.
In the Indo Pacific, the decline is closer
(10:54):
to 63%.
In 2016,
the species was officially listed as endangered.
It takes a long time for their populations
to recover.
They're thought to live about eighty to a
hundred years, maybe even a hundred and thirty,
yet few make it to adulthood.
Whale sharks grow slowly,
mature late, and scientists believe they give birth
(11:16):
to few surviving offspring over their long lifespans.
Over a thousand whale sharks have been tagged
in recent years around the globe. It's exciting
because learning more about these magnificent creatures means
we can learn from them, be awed by
them, and better protect them.
Positive attention leads to caring.
(11:37):
Lady Rio was first tagged and named near
Isla Mujeres, Mexico in 02/2007,
where she returns each summer to feed on
the rich cloud of fish eggs released by
little Tunny.
Researchers were able to follow her for almost
six months before that first tag fell off.
Then they tagged her again in 2018
(11:57):
near the same feeding grounds, which delivered data
to researchers for over four years.
They watched her travel over 27,000
miles
through the Gulf Of Mexico,
the Caribbean, and the Atlantic,
revealing long arcs of consistent migration.
Her tag sent signals not just of her
location,
(12:17):
but of her depth, her patterns, her pace.
With her help, scientists are learning more than
we've ever known about whale sharks,
even more than we know about most other
sharks.
Like the whale shark, we can grow skin
that's both shield and sensor thick enough to
(12:38):
guard what matters most, our confidence,
our values,
our passion,
all that makes us uniquely who we are
and want to be
and permeable enough to let in what will
serve us, even if it's something tough,
uncomfortable,
or even scary.
This kind of resilience doesn't mean avoiding discomfort.
It means welcoming what strengthens us and deflecting
(13:01):
what doesn't. And here's the truth most of
us know but rarely name.
So much of what stings, what cuts deep
or shakes our confidence
isn't really about us at all. It's the
ripple effect of someone else's fear,
frustration, shame, or pain,
a quick jab from someone under pressure,
a criticism from someone projecting their own insecurity,
(13:24):
a silence from someone too overwhelmed to connect.
That energy hits us, and if we're not
paying attention,
we absorb it. We let it in. We
make it mean something about our worth, our
abilities, our direction.
Thick skin doesn't mean we stop feeling.
It means we start discerning.
(13:44):
It's not about numbing out or powering through.
It's about learning to ask with compassion and
clarity.
Is this really mine,
or is this about the other person's moment,
their storm, their unfiltered energy?
And at the same time, here's the paradox.
Sometimes we do let something in, not because
(14:05):
we're wounded, but because we're wise,
because there's feedback buried inside that sharp comment,
Because someone's anger reveals a truth we need
to face. Because even when it's hard to
hear, there's a growth opportunity waiting if we're
strong enough to let it land gently.
The magic is in knowing the difference.
(14:25):
Whale sharks do this instinctively.
They
filter constantly,
continuously,
efficiently,
drying in what nourishes,
letting the rest flow through.
That's the kind of resilience we're building here.
Not rigid armor, not raw exposure.
A living filter, responsive,
wise,
and deeply grounded in knowing who we are.
(14:47):
So how do we begin? Let's try three
practices.
You can choose one or all if they
resonate. And if someone you care about could
use a little more protection and peace, this
is a powerful moment to share what you
learn. Just press pause and share this podcast.
So let's start with the first one, the
filter layer.
This practice is about real time discernment,
(15:10):
knowing what deserves to get in and what
can simply pass by.
Start by noticing where your skin feels too
thin.
Is it a relationship where you keep absorbing
more than is yours?
A sharp comment that lingers longer than it
should.
A self judgment that hits harder than it
needs to.
You don't have to fix it. Just begin
(15:31):
by naming it.
Now close your eyes and imagine swimming through
that part of your life with a little
more protection.
Your movement still fluid,
still you,
but surrounded by a wise living layer that
knows how to let light in and let
harm flow past.
You carry a little more wisdom,
a little less weight.
(15:53):
And here's a daily practice, the one moment
filter.
Each day this week, choose one moment.
A small one is perfect. When something comes
at you that would normally sink in too
deep, a jab, a tone,
a sigh,
a comment that cuts,
even your own voice whispering,
you should be better by now.
(16:15):
Then pause. Picture your outer layer, your thick
sensing skin,
and ask yourself,
is this information or is this projection?
Is it useful feedback or someone else's unprocessed
fear?
If I let it in, will it help
me grow, or will it drain what I
need for something better?
Filtering doesn't mean sealing yourself off. It means
(16:38):
responding with intention,
not reflex.
And over time, it builds resilience exactly where
you need it most.
Now let's move to the second practice,
the healing layer.
This one's for the things that already got
in deep. The scrapes, the stings,
the scars we've carried longer than we'd like
to admit.
(16:59):
Some wounds just don't fade. They teach us
where we're tender and where we might want
to build a thicker outer layer next time.
Whale sharks grow their thickest skin over their
most fragile places,
around the head, the eyes, the gills,
the parts essential to life.
What's essential to your emotional survival?
(17:22):
Your voice, your creativity,
your truth.
Where have you been hit there before?
And what would it look like to grow
a little more protection?
Not by closing off, but by remembering and
reinforcing.
Here's a simple healing ritual.
Think of a moment that still stings.
Write it down in just a few lines
(17:42):
or write yourself a long letter filling out
all the details.
Then ask, what part of this was mine
to carry? What part belonged to someone else?
What would it mean to let the part
pass through me now? Let your nervous system
know you're safe enough now to stop holding
it so tightly.
Whale sharks don't shed their skin when something
(18:03):
embeds too deep. They grow around it.
So can we. This is healing that doesn't
just soothe, it strengthens.
The scar becomes signal.
The pain becomes preparation.
Now the third practice, the warming layer.
Even the thickest skin needs warmth.
In whale sharks, the warmth powers everything.
(18:25):
It helps them move, dive deep, and survive
cold waters,
and they only get it by letting the
sun in.
We do too.
Letting warmth in doesn't always come naturally,
especially if we're used to staying guarded.
So here's a practice that helps you absorb
more of what strengthens you.
Each day this week, make space for something
(18:46):
warming
with great intention,
not just nice,
but nourishing.
A quiet moment in nature,
a conversation with someone who sees you clearly,
a piece of music that reconnects you to
joy,
a phrase, a passage, a memory that reminds
you of who you are.
Let it in. Let it reach your core.
(19:07):
Because resilience isn't just about pushing away what
doesn't serve you. It's about drawing in what
does and letting it restore you.
Each of these three practices, filtering,
healing, and warming, builds a different layer of
your own thick skin.
Awareness of what's trying to enter,
discernment about what deserves space,
compassion for what already made it in, intention
(19:30):
about what you absorb going forward.
You don't have to be perfect. You just
have to begin. And if someone in your
life is letting too much in, this would
be a beautiful moment to share this episode.
You never know who might need a reminder
that strength and softness are not opposites.
They are companions.
(19:53):
Now let's talk about how we can save
these magnificent endangered gentle giants.
Their size and beauty make them unforgettable.
Their lives make them hard to track.
For many years, they were called elusive,
unknowable.
Thankfully, that's changing, and hopefully, it will be
enough.
Since the nineteen eighties, global whale shark numbers
(20:14):
are estimated to have dropped by more than
50%
to well under 200,000.
In the Indo Pacific, the decline is closer
to 63%.
In 02/2016,
the species was officially listed as endangered.
It takes a long time for their populations
to recover.
They're thought to live about eighty to a
(20:34):
hundred years, maybe even a hundred and thirty,
yet few make it to adulthood.
Whale sharks grow slowly,
mature late, and scientists believe they give birth
to few surviving offspring over their long lifespans.
Over a thousand whale sharks have been tagged
in recent years around the globe.
It's exciting
because learning more about these magnificent creatures means
(20:56):
we can learn from them,
be awed by them, and better protect them.
Positive attention leads to caring.
Lady Rio was first tagged and named near
Isla Mujeres, Mexico in 02/2007,
where she returns each summer to feed on
the rich cloud of fish eggs released by
little Tunny.
(21:16):
Researchers were able to follow her for almost
six months before that first tag fell off.
Then they tagged her again in 2018
near the same feeding grounds, which delivered data
to researchers for over four years.
They watched her travel over 27,000
miles
through the Gulf Of Mexico,
the Caribbean,
(21:36):
and the Atlantic,
revealing long arcs of consistent migration.
Her tag sent signals not just of her
location,
but of her depth, her patterns, her pace.
With her help, scientists are learning more than
we've ever known about whale sharks,
even more than we know about most other
sharks.
They're getting a bit of help from pop
(21:56):
culture.
Disney introduced millions of people to a lovable
whale shark named Destiny
in Finding Dory.
Destiny was nearsighted and clumsy
because at the time, there was an assumption
that the small eyes of whale sharks meant
they had poor vision.
Another myth now debunked.
Yet studying them won't solve all their challenges.
(22:17):
The ocean they call home is shifting fast,
and their calm, slow moving grace,
the very thing that makes them so wondrous
to watch, puts them at risk.
These giants of the sea don't dart or
dive when danger approaches.
They trust the rhythm of the ocean, which
means they're no match for the speed of
the massive ships that travel both deep waters
and the coastlines near whale shark feeding grounds.
(22:41):
Vessel strikes are one of the most common
ways whale sharks are injured or killed.
Their size, their surface feeding, and their quiet
nature makes it hard for them to avoid
fast moving boats.
They're also caught accidentally in fishing gear meant
for tuna.
Some tuna even shelter behind whale sharks to
hide from nets, drawing them straight into danger.
(23:01):
When that happens, the whale sharks are often
discarded,
dead or dying as bycatch.
And despite their low fat, tofu like flesh,
they're still being hunted.
In some parts of Asia, their meat, fins
and oil are considered valuable,
as is their thick skin, which is sometimes
used for leather.
(23:22):
Now add the warming ocean. While whale sharks
need warm surface waters to survive,
Shifting temperatures and currents are altering where those
waters exist
and pushing them into unfamiliar
and sometimes dangerous new areas.
Juveniles are especially vulnerable because their smaller bodies
can't tolerate cold.
And as they migrate into new territories,
(23:43):
they face new risks.
Around the world, researchers and conservation groups are
tagging and tracking individuals,
learning from their spot patterns and migration routes,
gathering clues to how they feed,
where they meet, and what they need to
survive.
There are scientists flying drones over feeding zones,
divers collecting tissue samples, and citizen scientists uploading
(24:04):
photographs that help identify individuals by their unique
spot constellations.
And there's something else that's making a big
difference.
Love.
Whale shark ecotourism
is growing in places like Mexico, The Philippines,
The Maldives,
Mozambique, and Australia.
These encounters, when done responsibly,
(24:25):
are bringing income to coastal communities and giving
fishermen a new role,
not as hunters, but as guides, as guardians.
Their livelihoods now depend on keeping these animals
safe.
We can all do our bit to help
whale sharks and protect our oceans and the
other marine life they support.
We can choose seafood from sustainable sources,
(24:45):
reduce plastic use and pollution,
support organizations
working to save whale sharks and conserve marine
habitats and species,
like the Georgia Aquarium,
World Wildlife Fund,
and the Galapagos Whale Shark Project.
We can speak up and donate and volunteer
where we can and advocate for policies that
reduce shipping dangers to marine life in both
(25:07):
local and international waters.
And perhaps most importantly,
we can amplify their stories.
Because the more people who know about these
gentle giants, the more people will care that
they continue to exist.
They've survived for millions of years. They've traveled
oceans, crossed hemispheres,
carried life forward with a strength that doesn't
dominate,
(25:28):
only endures.
Let's help them endure for millions more.
If this episode helped you think differently
or feel more grounded in who you are
and what you let in, please share it.
(25:49):
You never know who might need a little
more protection,
a little more peace, or a little more
strength that doesn't shut the world out, only
lets in what serves.
And if you believe the world needs more
of this kind of storytelling,
where science meets soul and wild wisdom becomes
a guide for human life, there are three
simple ways you can help.
Share resilience gone wild with someone who would
(26:10):
love it and could benefit from it.
Subscribe and leave a quick review. It helps
others find us. And if you want to
support the work more directly, head to resiliencegonewild.com
to learn how.
Together, we're building a different kind of future,
one grounded in care, curiosity, and connection
with ourselves, each other, and the wild world
(26:32):
we all share.
Until next time, stay wild.
This has been a production of BLI Studios
produced by me, Kai.
Follow along with our other BLI produced shows
at balancinglife'sissues.com/podcast-bli.
Got an idea for the show? Email me,
(26:53):
Kai, @balancinglife'sissues.com.
And don't forget to stay in touch with
your host, Jessica, at jessica@winwinwinmindset.com.
Anything else to add, Miles?
We're in the depths of the Atlantic Ocean,
gliding alongside the magnificent,
graceful, and gentle whale shark,
the largest
Her great body is moving with the rhythm
of the ocean itself,
slow,
steady,
unhurried.
(00:26):
At 26 feet long and likely weighing over
10 tons,
she isn't the largest whale shark ever recorded
at over 62 feet long, yet she is
immense and moving with the grace of moonlight
on water.
Her skin is the first thing that stirs
our awe.
(00:46):
Thick and dappled like the surface of the
sea, it shimmers with a constellation of white
spots and stripes.
No two patterns are alike. Her identity is
written in speckles and swirls,
visible from above as she dapples in the
sunlight.
Below, she is white so she can be
mistaken for the sky.
(01:26):
Today, we're heading into the deep warm blue
waters to meet one of the ocean's gentlest
giants, a slow moving wide mouthed wonder
who shows us how to stay strong while
still being open and how to keep going
even when things manage to get under your
skin.
We'll explore what whale sharks can teach us
about resilience,
(01:46):
about boundaries,
and about the kind of thick skin that's
strong and wise,
one that lets in just enough
to learn and filters out what doesn't belong.
I'm Jessica Morgenthal. Every week, we explore how
nature's quiet brilliance
can help us care more deeply
for ourselves,
for each other, and for the wild world
(02:08):
we all share.
This is resilience gone wild. And this week,
we're going swimming with the sharks.
This morning, let's imagine swimming with a whale
shark, her massive tail sweeping side to side,
(02:29):
propelling her through water slowly
at just three miles an hour.
She is calm,
unhurried,
silent.
She makes no sounds we can detect,
No clicks or calls or territorial splashes as
her solitary life doesn't seem to require communication.
Even her young, up to 300 pups inside
(02:50):
her at a time, will emerge in silence
and swim off without a goodbye.
She lives most of her life in these
depths of the deep ocean,
rarely seen because she does not often linger
at the surface.
Her days are spent rising and gliding down
through the water column.
Slowly, she glides to depths of 2,000 feet
(03:11):
or more, following food that drifts lower through
the pelagic zone during the daylight, and then
she powers back upward with energy and ease
as these daily vertical migrations are strategic and
efficient.
Swimming up burns energy,
so she saves effort by gliding down.
This movement up to three times each day
(03:31):
helps her forage up to 32%
more efficiently
than if she swam horizontally.
At night when her tiny prey rise closer
to the surface,
she hovers around 300 feet deep
dipping and rising to feed.
She must eat every day. Her size demands
it.
Nearly 30% of her energy goes to the
(03:52):
active breathing alone.
Her wide mouth opens
drawing in water and prey together.
As the seawater rushes over five large gill
slits on either side of her head,
food is caught in a series of comb
like filters
and sent down to her throat.
The water flows through the gills,
(04:12):
delivering her life sustaining oxygen.
Her way of feeding is gentle and continuous,
and it is powered by a body built
for deep cold dives and long quiet travel.
Whale sharks are ectotherms,
meaning they rely on the temperature of the
(04:33):
surrounding water to regulate their metabolism.
Yet she can dive into waters more than
36 degrees Fahrenheit colder than the surface.
Her ability to do this lies in her
size and in her skin. At as much
as four inches thick, her skin is the
thickest in the animal kingdom.
It shields her from predators,
parasites, and coral scrapes.
(04:55):
Female whale sharks have even thicker skin than
males. It seems researchers believe that the gals
need to protect themselves from the scraping, bumping,
and biting during feisty mating. And just beneath
lies a thin layer of blood fed red
muscle
and then massive blocks of poorly vascularized
white muscle
that hold heat and surround her spinal core.
(05:18):
Her massive oil filled liver
not only helps with buoyancy,
but surrounds her vital systems like a thermal
blanket,
allowing her to explore cold waters others cannot.
These structures help her retain heat
functioning like a built in thermos
so she can safely enter the deep and
return with energy intact. It's a form of
(05:38):
thermal inertia called gigantothermy
that lets her hold on to surface heat
and make deep dive safely.
When she needs to recharge,
she rises,
basking in the surface heat to restore energy
for the next plunge.
We don't know where she was born. We
don't know where she will give birth. The
only pregnant whale shark ever documented
(06:00):
was caught by accident decades ago.
She carried 300
pups,
all at different stages of development,
and all fertilized by the same male.
From that, scientists believe females use something called
a placental viviparity,
laying eggs that hatch inside the uterus
and then releasing the pups once they've absorbed
(06:21):
their yolk sac and grown large enough to
survive on their own.
It's thought the mothers store sperm and release
it over time,
an elegant solution for creatures who live alone
and travel far.
Her remarkable skin is covered in dermal denticles,
tiny tooth like structures that reduce drag and
add strength to protect her from the bites
(06:42):
of curious predators
and the scrape of coral in ship hulls.
She even has teeth on her eyeballs that
act as a shield and protect her from
particles of debris scratching or injuring her eyes.
And her skin senses,
like other sharks, she can detect the electric
pulses of nearby movement,
even a heartbeat.
Her electroreception
(07:03):
embedded in her skin
adds to a suite of extraordinary senses,
low light vision,
refined hearing,
a powerful sense of smell.
She is more aware of her environment than
we can imagine.
And sometimes, despite all this, something still gets
(07:24):
in.
Parasites,
small and persistent,
can bore their way deep into her flesh.
Once in, they stay. She does not shed
them. She grows around them, not because she
is weak, but because she carries on regardless.
Her thick skin does not promise invincibility.
It promises endurance.
(07:45):
Her species has been here a long time.
Living whale sharks appear on the fossil record
from about 28,000,000
years ago.
With ancestors stretching back to the time of
the dinosaurs,
she carries that quiet wisdom in every glide.
In her thick skin, we find a metaphor
for something we too might learn.
(08:05):
How to filter what enters, how to protect
what matters,
and how to carry strength that does not
shut the world out,
only lets in what serves.
It's tempting to think of thick skin as
a way to shut the world out, to
(08:26):
become impenetrable,
immune,
unmoved.
That's the myth.
What a whale shark shows us is something
entirely different.
Her skin is indeed thick, and yet it
isn't hard. It's textured,
alive,
intelligent.
It protects, yes, and it senses. She doesn't
let everything in. She filters. She gathers what
(08:48):
feeds her and lets the rest flow past.
What she carries isn't just strength,
it's discernment.
Her body has learned over time what deserves
her energy and what does not.
She doesn't react to every current or flee
every change.
She moves with intention.
She knows her direction.
Many of us have been told to toughen
(09:09):
up, to stop feeling so much, to grow
a thicker skin, and sometimes that armor becomes
brittle,
cold,
disconnected.
That is not resilience.
Resilience is the ability to hold your shape
while still absorbing the motion around you.
It's staying open enough to feel without letting
(09:30):
every feeling pierce you.
It's noticing what enters and choosing what stays.
And it's not easy, especially for those of
us who feel everything,
who've been told we're too much or too
sensitive,
who've been praised for caring and then punished
for caring too much.
A whale shark doesn't flinch from the world,
(09:51):
and she doesn't absorb all of it either.
She keeps moving through it, letting the patterns
and currents swirl around her while holding the
truth of who she is beneath the surface.
And she didn't grow that thick skin overnight.
She grew into
it slowly,
wisely across decades.
Every layer earned, every adaptation necessary.
(10:12):
Her skin is not just a boundary. It's
a map of her becoming.
What have you carried
quietly and without apology
that others can't see?
Act five.
Now, let's talk about how we can save
these magnificent endangered gentle giants.
Their size and beauty make them unforgettable.
(10:33):
Their lives make them hard to track.
For many years, they were called elusive,
unknowable.
Thankfully, that's changing, and hopefully, it will be
enough.
Since the nineteen eighties, global whale shark numbers
are estimated to have dropped by more than
50%
to well under 200,000.
In the Indo Pacific, the decline is closer
(10:54):
to 63%.
In 2016,
the species was officially listed as endangered.
It takes a long time for their populations
to recover.
They're thought to live about eighty to a
hundred years, maybe even a hundred and thirty,
yet few make it to adulthood.
Whale sharks grow slowly,
mature late, and scientists believe they give birth
(11:16):
to few surviving offspring over their long lifespans.
Over a thousand whale sharks have been tagged
in recent years around the globe. It's exciting
because learning more about these magnificent creatures means
we can learn from them, be awed by
them, and better protect them.
Positive attention leads to caring.
(11:37):
Lady Rio was first tagged and named near
Isla Mujeres, Mexico in 02/2007,
where she returns each summer to feed on
the rich cloud of fish eggs released by
little Tunny.
Researchers were able to follow her for almost
six months before that first tag fell off.
Then they tagged her again in 2018
(11:57):
near the same feeding grounds, which delivered data
to researchers for over four years.
They watched her travel over 27,000
miles
through the Gulf Of Mexico,
the Caribbean, and the Atlantic,
revealing long arcs of consistent migration.
Her tag sent signals not just of her
location,
(12:17):
but of her depth, her patterns, her pace.
With her help, scientists are learning more than
we've ever known about whale sharks,
even more than we know about most other
sharks.
Like the whale shark, we can grow skin
that's both shield and sensor thick enough to
(12:38):
guard what matters most, our confidence,
our values,
our passion,
all that makes us uniquely who we are
and want to be
and permeable enough to let in what will
serve us, even if it's something tough,
uncomfortable,
or even scary.
This kind of resilience doesn't mean avoiding discomfort.
It means welcoming what strengthens us and deflecting
(13:01):
what doesn't. And here's the truth most of
us know but rarely name.
So much of what stings, what cuts deep
or shakes our confidence
isn't really about us at all. It's the
ripple effect of someone else's fear,
frustration, shame, or pain,
a quick jab from someone under pressure,
a criticism from someone projecting their own insecurity,
(13:24):
a silence from someone too overwhelmed to connect.
That energy hits us, and if we're not
paying attention,
we absorb it. We let it in. We
make it mean something about our worth, our
abilities, our direction.
Thick skin doesn't mean we stop feeling.
It means we start discerning.
(13:44):
It's not about numbing out or powering through.
It's about learning to ask with compassion and
clarity.
Is this really mine,
or is this about the other person's moment,
their storm, their unfiltered energy?
And at the same time, here's the paradox.
Sometimes we do let something in, not because
(14:05):
we're wounded, but because we're wise,
because there's feedback buried inside that sharp comment,
Because someone's anger reveals a truth we need
to face. Because even when it's hard to
hear, there's a growth opportunity waiting if we're
strong enough to let it land gently.
The magic is in knowing the difference.
(14:25):
Whale sharks do this instinctively.
They
filter constantly,
continuously,
efficiently,
drying in what nourishes,
letting the rest flow through.
That's the kind of resilience we're building here.
Not rigid armor, not raw exposure.
A living filter, responsive,
wise,
and deeply grounded in knowing who we are.
(14:47):
So how do we begin? Let's try three
practices.
You can choose one or all if they
resonate. And if someone you care about could
use a little more protection and peace, this
is a powerful moment to share what you
learn. Just press pause and share this podcast.
So let's start with the first one, the
filter layer.
This practice is about real time discernment,
(15:10):
knowing what deserves to get in and what
can simply pass by.
Start by noticing where your skin feels too
thin.
Is it a relationship where you keep absorbing
more than is yours?
A sharp comment that lingers longer than it
should.
A self judgment that hits harder than it
needs to.
You don't have to fix it. Just begin
(15:31):
by naming it.
Now close your eyes and imagine swimming through
that part of your life with a little
more protection.
Your movement still fluid,
still you,
but surrounded by a wise living layer that
knows how to let light in and let
harm flow past.
You carry a little more wisdom,
a little less weight.
(15:53):
And here's a daily practice, the one moment
filter.
Each day this week, choose one moment.
A small one is perfect. When something comes
at you that would normally sink in too
deep, a jab, a tone,
a sigh,
a comment that cuts,
even your own voice whispering,
you should be better by now.
(16:15):
Then pause. Picture your outer layer, your thick
sensing skin,
and ask yourself,
is this information or is this projection?
Is it useful feedback or someone else's unprocessed
fear?
If I let it in, will it help
me grow, or will it drain what I
need for something better?
Filtering doesn't mean sealing yourself off. It means
(16:38):
responding with intention,
not reflex.
And over time, it builds resilience exactly where
you need it most.
Now let's move to the second practice,
the healing layer.
This one's for the things that already got
in deep. The scrapes, the stings,
the scars we've carried longer than we'd like
to admit.
(16:59):
Some wounds just don't fade. They teach us
where we're tender and where we might want
to build a thicker outer layer next time.
Whale sharks grow their thickest skin over their
most fragile places,
around the head, the eyes, the gills,
the parts essential to life.
What's essential to your emotional survival?
(17:22):
Your voice, your creativity,
your truth.
Where have you been hit there before?
And what would it look like to grow
a little more protection?
Not by closing off, but by remembering and
reinforcing.
Here's a simple healing ritual.
Think of a moment that still stings.
Write it down in just a few lines
(17:42):
or write yourself a long letter filling out
all the details.
Then ask, what part of this was mine
to carry? What part belonged to someone else?
What would it mean to let the part
pass through me now? Let your nervous system
know you're safe enough now to stop holding
it so tightly.
Whale sharks don't shed their skin when something
(18:03):
embeds too deep. They grow around it.
So can we. This is healing that doesn't
just soothe, it strengthens.
The scar becomes signal.
The pain becomes preparation.
Now the third practice, the warming layer.
Even the thickest skin needs warmth.
In whale sharks, the warmth powers everything.
(18:25):
It helps them move, dive deep, and survive
cold waters,
and they only get it by letting the
sun in.
We do too.
Letting warmth in doesn't always come naturally,
especially if we're used to staying guarded.
So here's a practice that helps you absorb
more of what strengthens you.
Each day this week, make space for something
(18:46):
warming
with great intention,
not just nice,
but nourishing.
A quiet moment in nature,
a conversation with someone who sees you clearly,
a piece of music that reconnects you to
joy,
a phrase, a passage, a memory that reminds
you of who you are.
Let it in. Let it reach your core.
(19:07):
Because resilience isn't just about pushing away what
doesn't serve you. It's about drawing in what
does and letting it restore you.
Each of these three practices, filtering,
healing, and warming, builds a different layer of
your own thick skin.
Awareness of what's trying to enter,
discernment about what deserves space,
compassion for what already made it in, intention
(19:30):
about what you absorb going forward.
You don't have to be perfect. You just
have to begin. And if someone in your
life is letting too much in, this would
be a beautiful moment to share this episode.
You never know who might need a reminder
that strength and softness are not opposites.
They are companions.
(19:53):
Now let's talk about how we can save
these magnificent endangered gentle giants.
Their size and beauty make them unforgettable.
Their lives make them hard to track.
For many years, they were called elusive,
unknowable.
Thankfully, that's changing, and hopefully, it will be
enough.
Since the nineteen eighties, global whale shark numbers
(20:14):
are estimated to have dropped by more than
50%
to well under 200,000.
In the Indo Pacific, the decline is closer
to 63%.
In 02/2016,
the species was officially listed as endangered.
It takes a long time for their populations
to recover.
They're thought to live about eighty to a
(20:34):
hundred years, maybe even a hundred and thirty,
yet few make it to adulthood.
Whale sharks grow slowly,
mature late, and scientists believe they give birth
to few surviving offspring over their long lifespans.
Over a thousand whale sharks have been tagged
in recent years around the globe.
It's exciting
because learning more about these magnificent creatures means
(20:56):
we can learn from them,
be awed by them, and better protect them.
Positive attention leads to caring.
Lady Rio was first tagged and named near
Isla Mujeres, Mexico in 02/2007,
where she returns each summer to feed on
the rich cloud of fish eggs released by
little Tunny.
(21:16):
Researchers were able to follow her for almost
six months before that first tag fell off.
Then they tagged her again in 2018
near the same feeding grounds, which delivered data
to researchers for over four years.
They watched her travel over 27,000
miles
through the Gulf Of Mexico,
the Caribbean,
(21:36):
and the Atlantic,
revealing long arcs of consistent migration.
Her tag sent signals not just of her
location,
but of her depth, her patterns, her pace.
With her help, scientists are learning more than
we've ever known about whale sharks,
even more than we know about most other
sharks.
They're getting a bit of help from pop
(21:56):
culture.
Disney introduced millions of people to a lovable
whale shark named Destiny
in Finding Dory.
Destiny was nearsighted and clumsy
because at the time, there was an assumption
that the small eyes of whale sharks meant
they had poor vision.
Another myth now debunked.
Yet studying them won't solve all their challenges.
(22:17):
The ocean they call home is shifting fast,
and their calm, slow moving grace,
the very thing that makes them so wondrous
to watch, puts them at risk.
These giants of the sea don't dart or
dive when danger approaches.
They trust the rhythm of the ocean, which
means they're no match for the speed of
the massive ships that travel both deep waters
and the coastlines near whale shark feeding grounds.
(22:41):
Vessel strikes are one of the most common
ways whale sharks are injured or killed.
Their size, their surface feeding, and their quiet
nature makes it hard for them to avoid
fast moving boats.
They're also caught accidentally in fishing gear meant
for tuna.
Some tuna even shelter behind whale sharks to
hide from nets, drawing them straight into danger.
(23:01):
When that happens, the whale sharks are often
discarded,
dead or dying as bycatch.
And despite their low fat, tofu like flesh,
they're still being hunted.
In some parts of Asia, their meat, fins
and oil are considered valuable,
as is their thick skin, which is sometimes
used for leather.
(23:22):
Now add the warming ocean. While whale sharks
need warm surface waters to survive,
Shifting temperatures and currents are altering where those
waters exist
and pushing them into unfamiliar
and sometimes dangerous new areas.
Juveniles are especially vulnerable because their smaller bodies
can't tolerate cold.
And as they migrate into new territories,
(23:43):
they face new risks.
Around the world, researchers and conservation groups are
tagging and tracking individuals,
learning from their spot patterns and migration routes,
gathering clues to how they feed,
where they meet, and what they need to
survive.
There are scientists flying drones over feeding zones,
divers collecting tissue samples, and citizen scientists uploading
(24:04):
photographs that help identify individuals by their unique
spot constellations.
And there's something else that's making a big
difference.
Love.
Whale shark ecotourism
is growing in places like Mexico, The Philippines,
The Maldives,
Mozambique, and Australia.
These encounters, when done responsibly,
(24:25):
are bringing income to coastal communities and giving
fishermen a new role,
not as hunters, but as guides, as guardians.
Their livelihoods now depend on keeping these animals
safe.
We can all do our bit to help
whale sharks and protect our oceans and the
other marine life they support.
We can choose seafood from sustainable sources,
(24:45):
reduce plastic use and pollution,
support organizations
working to save whale sharks and conserve marine
habitats and species,
like the Georgia Aquarium,
World Wildlife Fund,
and the Galapagos Whale Shark Project.
We can speak up and donate and volunteer
where we can and advocate for policies that
reduce shipping dangers to marine life in both
(25:07):
local and international waters.
And perhaps most importantly,
we can amplify their stories.
Because the more people who know about these
gentle giants, the more people will care that
they continue to exist.
They've survived for millions of years. They've traveled
oceans, crossed hemispheres,
carried life forward with a strength that doesn't
dominate,
(25:28):
only endures.
Let's help them endure for millions more.
If this episode helped you think differently
or feel more grounded in who you are
and what you let in, please share it.
(25:49):
You never know who might need a little
more protection,
a little more peace, or a little more
strength that doesn't shut the world out, only
lets in what serves.
And if you believe the world needs more
of this kind of storytelling,
where science meets soul and wild wisdom becomes
a guide for human life, there are three
simple ways you can help.
Share resilience gone wild with someone who would
(26:10):
love it and could benefit from it.
Subscribe and leave a quick review. It helps
others find us. And if you want to
support the work more directly, head to resiliencegonewild.com
to learn how.
Together, we're building a different kind of future,
one grounded in care, curiosity, and connection
with ourselves, each other, and the wild world
(26:32):
we all share.
Until next time, stay wild.
This has been a production of BLI Studios
produced by me, Kai.
Follow along with our other BLI produced shows
at balancinglife'sissues.com/podcast-bli.
Got an idea for the show? Email me,
(26:53):
Kai, @balancinglife'sissues.com.
And don't forget to stay in touch with
your host, Jessica, at jessica@winwinwinmindset.com.
Anything else to add, Miles?
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