Any pet owner is familiar with animals' tendency to snaffle up meals which have been lovingly prepared for the family.
But it's not just on land that food intended for people ends up in the stomachs of animals, as these amazing photographs show.
They document the moment a whale shark spotted an easy shortcut to getting his dinner - taking a bite out of a fisherman's bulging net.
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Thief: A fearless whale shark taking a bite out of a fisherman's net as it bulges with a fresh catch
Pouring it in: The shark uses its enormous mouth to take in as much food as possible at once
Cheeky: The huge fishes have taken to following boats around and waiting until they have filled up their fishing nets
The huge fishes now recognise the boats used by fishermen, and follow them around as they work.
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Once the fishermen have reeled in their catch, they are often left with an empty net after being targeted by whale sharks.
The sharks tear through the nets and open their enormous mouths wide to take in as much food as possible.
Lazy: The sharks find it easier to take in the fishermen's haul than to swim around for hours finding their own prey
Adaptable: The filter feeders are able to guzzle huge amounts of food at once by opening their mouths which are up to 5ft wide
Opportunistic: The whale sharks have learned to recognise the boats used by fishermen in the waters off Indonesia
Close-up: The spectacular images were taken by enterprising photographer Michael Aw, from Australia
Award-winning photographer Michael Aw captured these incredible images while on a trip to Cenderawasih Bay in Indonesia.
'The bay is unique because it's the only place you can find the sharks all year round - much to the annoyance of the fishermen,' said the 57-year-old, who lives in Australia.
'They try to distract the sharks by throwing in bait, but it doesn't really work as they still dart towards the huge catch - there isn't much they can do.
'Being in the water and witnessing it was incredible with them swimming past right in front of me and seeing how they devour the catch.'
VIDEO Watch. Amazing footage sees the hungry whale shark suck up the fisherman's net...
Hungry Whale shark sucks up fish from fishermen's net
Competition: Two of the giant beasts contended to take a bite out of the unfortunate fishermen's haul
Fight: The pair battled it out to get a good share of the tasty meal unwittingly laid on for them
Huge: A silhouette of the whale shark from below, taken as it was swimming around Cenderawasih Bay
Whale sharks usually feed on small organisms such as algae, plankton and krill.
They are filter feeders which tend to swim around forcing gallons of water into their mouth and expelling any material they are unable to digest.
But they have also been known to go after schools of fish in order to get a bigger meal in a concentrated period of time.
No hard feelings: A fisherman swims with the shark after leaping in to the tropical water to join it
Company: A scuba diver enjoys a close encounter with the giant whale shark