Whitetip Reef Shark in Galápagos: Facts and Where to See It

Whitetips are slow and slender, grey to brownish above and white below, and easy to tell from blacktip sharks by the white marks on the fin tips. By day many crowd into caves, often lying on top of each other, and a whitetip usually returns to the same cave or crevice day after day, sometimes for years. At night, or in calm water, they hunt small reef animals hidden in the rocks and coral.

They are among the few sharks seen mating in the wild. Pups are born large enough to look after themselves and hide from other sharks.

Whitetips live on rocky reefs, under coral heads and in caves, from the surface down to more than 300 metres, though they are rarely seen below 40 metres. They are found throughout the archipelago, and the Galapagos Conservation Trust names North Seymour, Champion and Gardner islets and northern Isabela as places they are seen most often.

The guides note whitetips resting under rock ledges around the whole archipelago. Of the sites listed by name, 2 are rated Likely, both snorkels where they rest in crevices: Devil's Crown off Floreana and Los Túneles on Isabela. Pinnacle Rock on Bartolomé, Black Turtle Cove and Tortuga Bay on Santa Cruz are rated Possible.

Whitetips are active all year and, in the words of the Galapagos Conservation Trust, very hard to miss. In the next twelve months, 365 departures stop at a site where they are seen.

It is listed as Vulnerable. Outside Galápagos, populations are falling quickly: whitetips live in shallow water in a small area of reef, where gill nets and longlines catch them easily. In the Galápagos Marine Reserve they are protected from fishing and have no natural predators. Since November 2022, the international trade in whitetips is controlled under CITES along with 53 other requiem sharks.

1. Diving down into a cave. Whitetips rest there by day; watch from above and let them be.
2. Expecting them in open water. Look under ledges and in crevices, not in the blue.
3. Touching the reef. Resting sharks lie close to the rock, and park rules ask for at least 2 metres of distance from wildlife.