Do you have your scuba gear ready to go? Tanks filled up with air and regulators checked? Well then, let’s go on a tour of a coral reef.
A coral reef is a fantastic world, isn’t it? Everything is beautiful down here. But don’t get starry-eyed in this wonderland! You always have to watch out. There’s danger where you least expect it. Even the coral itself can be treacherous!
If you think that coral is a type of rock, you would only be partially right. That hard substance that landlubbers call coral is a solidified covering created by millions of tiny corals, which are animals, although they look more like plants. Now, these orange ones are fire corals, and if you brush up against them with your bare skin, you’ll find out how they got that name. They sting like red-hot coals.
Did you know that starfish have a mouth at the centre of their bodies and eyes on the ends of each arm? They can shake hands and poke each other in the eye at the same time! And you thought creatures like that existed only in science-fiction! Actually, the ocean is like an alien world right here on Earth.
Speaking of aliens, here’s one now! Pufferfish can blow themselves up like balloons. They usually do this by sucking in water, but some have been known to go to the surface and suck in air. Now, that’s not very clever, because it makes them float on the surface of the water, leaving them exposed to birds swooping down to peck at them. But then, most fish are not known for their intelligence. However, pufferfish don’t have to be clever, because they are poisonous to eat.
How would you like to spend your life in a box? That’s what these odd little fish do! They have hard skeleton boxes right under their skin, instead of ribs and a backbone like some other fish. It’s very hard to swim fast if you’re box-shaped, so these little fellows spend a lot of time close to the reef, where they can hide.
In fact, wherever there’s a hiding place, like a hole or a crevice in a reef, the chances are that there will be something waiting inside. A moray eel may come rushing out at you like this, and that can scare the wetsuit off you! But morays usually don’t bite, so consider yourself lucky. However, if you’re unlucky, something else might come out.
And if it looks anything like this, you’d better back-paddle fast! Sea snakes are related to cobras, and the venom of some types is powerful enough to kill a person. Oh, no! There’s no way I want to be this close to a sea snake ever again!
You can probably recognise a snake when you see one, whether it’s on land or swimming in the ocean. But you’d be surprised to find out what is venomous down here. For example, these cone shells that you see in the lower left corner provide a home for some fairly nasty little creatures. If you pick one up, the mollusc inside can stab you with a venomous barb like a harpoon.
Now, as for this giant blue clam… people tell stories about it, but it’s not really dangerous, unless it closes its shell on your foot and holds you down until you run out of air. Keep your foot out of its face and you’ll be a lot safer.
Did you know that every octopus has a sharp beak at the centre of its eight arms? Believe me, you don’t want to find out, especially with this one! This tiny blue-ringed octopus is armed with enough venom to send you to your grave. Let’s swim on.
Here’s a fish that’s a real show-off! It seems to parade around as if it’s saying, “Look at me! I’m the best-looking fish here, aren’t I?” But a lionfish has good reason to be vain. Not only is it beautiful, but those spines are sharp, and venomous too. So everything down here will look at a lionfish, but nothing will touch it.
If you decide to stand up on the ocean floor, you had better take a good look first! If you put your foot on one of these, it could be the last step you’ll ever take. Stonefish are deadly, and they like to bury themselves in the sand so that they blend in with the lumps of rock and coral.
This guy looks like he could cut you in half! But don’t worry: sawfish use their chainsaw snouts to impale fish, not people. Can you imagine how frustrating it would be to get a fish stuck on one of those nose spikes? It would be something like having a hamburger glued to the side of your face!
Hey! It’s a runaway rug! Actually, this floating bundle of rags is called a wobbegong shark. And it always wears camouflage like this so it can lie in wait for its prey on the bottom. Pretty sneaky, hey?
One little wobbegong shark is fine with me, but a bunch of hammerheads gives definite cause for concern! Let’s head back to the boat. Swim nice and steadily now, and don’t flop around like a wounded fish! When a whole group of sharks comes together, it’s time for people to get out of the water. Mobs can’t ever be trusted!
Oh, my God! I’ve seen this monster before, in my nightmares! If divers say they aren’t afraid of great white sharks, they’re either crazy or they’re lying! These giants eat a lot of marine mammals, and a diver in a wetsuit and flippers can look a lot like a sea lion! Let’s get out now, before he circles back!
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