Dubai Residents and workers at Dubai Marina were stunned to see a whale shark swimming through the bay yesterday morning.
The animal, which was about five metres long, attracted a crowd of onlookers as it swam close to the barriers at the edge of the pedestrian walkways.
Among those lucky enough to see the creature, thought to be a juvenile because of its modest size, was Ania Sikora from Australia, who spotted it from her 14th floor flat.
"It was swimming around the bay for about four hours. It was amazing. It was swimming in a very graceful way I felt like jumping in and having a swim with it," she said.
The first sighting yesterday was reported at 8am and Sikora said she last saw the animal at about midday. Residents said they were unsure if the animal had escaped back into the Arabian Gulf.
This is not the first time that a whale shark has been seen in Dubai Marina, with Gulf News reporting in November on the arrival of a four-metre-long specimen. About a year before this there was another sighting.
Ebrahim Al Zu'bi, Director of the Environment and Research Department at Emirates Diving Association, said he was unsure why they had visited the marina.
He said he was ready to help rescue the shark and lead it out to open waters if it was seen in the marina bay again.
He added: "They are harmless creatures they are very interesting and amazing for all sea lovers."
