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September 2nd 2009
There dives the fur seal A sleek speeding bullet Quick as a flash he twists and he soars Snapping at fish with sharp toothy jaws Today’s entry is all about the New Zealand fur seal, an occasional visitor to Coral Bay; one that turns up during the colder winter months when storms down south send it scurrying northwards. The New Zealand fur seal, not surprisingly, is found mainly around New Zealand, but it also lives along the south coast of Australia, and occasionally visits the warmer waters of north-western or north-eastern Australia. A male fur seal looks a lot like a marine lion, with thick shaggy hair and a long mane. Females and young fur seals have the thick coat, but tend to be sleeker and more streamlined (like a Formula 1 car). They grow bigger ... read more
The largest fish in the sea - friend or foe?
Published: May 7th 2009Oceania » Australia » Western Australia » Ningaloo Reef
May 7th 2009
A shark is a fish with really big teeth. They’ll eat you whole head, hands, and feet. When there hungry they’ll track you down. They’ll sniff you out like a blood- hound. Adrian C. I want you to close your eyes. Imagine you are swimming in water of the deepest navy, with empty blue space stretching as far as the eye can see. Beams of light dance down from above. Suddenly a reflection catches your eye and out of the darkness below, a shape starts to materialize. It is a dark grey fish of epic proportions, stretching over 12m in length - that is 12 of you stacked in a line head to toe. As the creature gets closer, you start to make out a beautiful pattern of white spots dusting across its back, like the ... read more
The Secret Life of Lobsters
Published: April 11th 2009Oceania » Australia » Western Australia » Coral Bay
April 11th 2009
A lobster from the water came, And saw another, just the same In form and size, but gaily clad In scarlet clothing, while she had No other raiment to her back, Than her old suit of greenish black. Miss Gould Spiny lobsters belong to a group or ‘genus’ named Panulirus by scientists, after a mythical seaman who fell off his boat, was killed by a band of ferocious Italians, and his spirit forced to wander the shallows forever. They are slightly different to the lobsters we find in the seas around the UK or on plates at your local restaurant; they lack the big grasping front claws, instead their legs end in fine points and the bodies are covered in beautiful patterns of purple and orange. This interesting beastie, patrols the cracks and crevices of shallow ... read more
Nudibranch - naked and nasty!
Published: March 27th 2009Oceania » Australia » Western Australia » Ningaloo Reef
March 27th 2009
Today I touched the buffalobster and the goldfishark, the eagleopard, ocelotter, and the weaselark. Ken Nesbitt The underwater circus theme is continuing in this blog entry; last week I talked about acrobatic manta rays, this time I am looking at the tiny clowns of the sea; the spectacular nudibranchs! ‘Nudibranch’…the word sounds exotic and strange, but if you translate it into English, it actually means ‘naked gill’. This creature possesses thin tufts that stick up from its back. These tufts act as gills, free to waft around unprotected in the currents, allowing oxygen to be collected from the surrounding water so it can breathe. A nudibranch looks like a worm done up in brightly coloured clothing, covered in stripes and swirls of red, blue, yellow and green. But appearances can be deceptive; these creatures aren’t worms ... read more
March 13th 2009
Soaring on wings that cannot fly scouring the sand for life drifting over beds where treasures lie living below the worldly strife Michael R. Ault In days gone by, mariners sailing the high seas caught sight of strange bat-like creatures flying through the water. These monsters reached up to 6m from wing-tip to wing-tip and their heads were topped with a pair of giant black or grey horns. The superstitious sailors named them ‘devil rays’ and steered well clear. Today divers and snorkellers travel half way round the world to swim with these majestic creatures, which have now been renamed ‘manta rays’. Words cannot really describe the beauty of a manta as it twirls and dances through the shallows, they are as graceful as ballerinas but are wider than a lorry. Even the babies are large; ... read more
March 13th 2009
Well I am back in Australia and this is the start of a new series on the marine and land based creatures of this amazing continent, and in particular of the beautiful Coral Bay on the Ningaloo Reef. Enjoy...... read more
November 18th 2008
The Wombat said to the Kangaroo "Gooday my friend, and how are you?" "I'm glad you asked" said the Kangaroo "I'm sitting here wondering what to do". "I've lost me jump and got the hump, So I can't be a Kangaroo Boo Hoo". Mick Leigh Elephants are lovely guys, They're good and true and tell no lies. They don't take more than they can eat, And always watch where they put their feet. Wayne Hepburn Imagine catching a ferry to France; you leave England with the familiar call of robins and song-thrushes, and the rustling of rabbits in hedgerows echoing in your ears. On arrival in France you are met with strange birds and small mammals exhibiting foreign colours, patterns, shapes and sizes. None of these creatures are recognisable; none of them look like the ones ... read more
November 4th 2008
Is anyone out there or does no one care? The bribes nourish nothing but disgust and despair. Pongo Pygmaeus may soon disappear, From Sumatra and Borneo without even a tear. D. Noss Jr This week I am departing slightly from the marine theme to introduce you to one of our closer animal cousins: the Orangutan. This primate is found only in the jungles of Borneo and northern Sumatra, in the countries of Malaysia and Indonesia, although its range once stretched all the way to China. Orangutan means ‘man of the forest’, an apt title for a beast so human-like, yet so at home high in the canopy of the tropical jungle. In fact, weighing in at 120kg they are the largest tree-dwelling species in the world. Imagine your Dad scampering up a tree as if it ... read more
October 19th 2008
Today the dolphins came to play I watched them jump for joy It seemed just then, they were wise old men and I, a foolish boy Wayne Marshal Greek mythology tells the story of a group of pirates that were thrown into the ocean by the god Dionysus. They were rescued from a watery grave by Poseidon who changed them into dolphins and made them eternal slaves to the human race. Now imagine a cow. It’s swimming through the water, hooves thrashing wildly, head struggling to stay above the water, eyes wide and panicky. This is an animal happy solely when all four feet are firmly planted on the ground, and yet the cow is one of the closest living relatives to the dolphin, star of many an aquarium and energetic king of the sea. Cetaceans ... read more
October 10th 2008
A life on the ocean wave, A home on the rolling deep, Where the scattered waters rave, And the winds their revels keep Epes Sargent Flying Fish The open ocean is a bottomless depth of the deepest blue. The landscape is featureless: no rocks, no waving forests of seaweed, and no handy crevices to hide in if you are being chased by a ferocious predator with gnashing teeth. Dark, navy water stretches as far as the eye can see, a unique, empty, 3-dimensional environment. To stay one step ahead of the game in these stark conditions requires the ability to adapt and come up with a successful survival strategy. Many creatures, such as the Ferrari-like tuna, rely on impressive and sustained speed to keep ahead. There is, however, one little fish that has chosen a different ... read more
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