Crocodiles are apex predators, and in the wrong place and time, humans are potential prey. There are exceptions, but most of these wonderful and primitive reptiles won’t squander encountering a potential meal. When swimming in any reptile habitat, know who and what you may encounter, or don’t swim at all. The resident American crocodiles at Jardines de la Reina routinely share their waters with snorkelers and divers, but Jen Hayes didn’t feel the same comfort working in Nile crocodile waters in Botswana.
Our group of six researchers back rolled off the vessel near Jupiter, Florida, and began our descent to the sandy bottom nearly 80 feet (24 meters) below. As the wreck became visible, our team streamlined into formation to begin our task: searching for goliath groupers.
Saat Anda terjun ke dalam air yang berwarna hitam seperti malam, ribuan cumi-cumi yang berdenyut mencari pasangan tiba-tiba mengelilingi Anda. Aktivitas kawin terjadi di mana-mana saat beberapa pejantan menyerang satu betina. Kromatofor cumi-cumi yang bersemangat (sel pigmen) memancarkan warna-warni yang mengingatkan kita pada lampu neon di Las Vegas dan membuat kita berada di tengah-tengah pertunjukan cahaya yang hidup dan bergerak. Aksinya begitu hingar-bingar sehingga hewan-hewan tersebut masuk ke dalam peralatan Anda dan memantul di setiap inci tubuh Anda.
Fish completely enclose me. Their tiny, silvery bodies twinkle in the half-light as I float suspended in the center of a sphere of clear, warm water. I feel like I am inside a disco glitter ball.
Where we encounter marine megafauna, we see only a tiny slice of their habitats and lives, which rarely includes feeding. These animals may travel thousands of feet vertically or migrate a few thousand miles horizontally to meet their nutritional needs. Some of them — sperm whales, for example — must do both: descend to depths of up to a mile or more to feast on aggregations of squid and roam across large swaths of the Pacific to avoid depleting their food resources in any one area.
Sharks are among the ocean’s oldest survivors. They have cruised through Earth’s seas for more than 450 million years — long before the first trees grew or Saturn formed its rings.
Every night as the sun slips below the horizon, countless aquatic creatures begin migrating up from the deep in what is quite possibly the greatest show on Earth. Seeking nourishment in shallow water, zooplankton must risk a perilous journey upward, avoiding a gauntlet of predators while remaining in the safety of darkness and then returning […]
The wild, psychedelic colors of reef fish are often what first enraptures divers. Is there an evolutionary explanation for why small, tasty animals adorn themselves in vivid colors instead of camouflaging themselves from hungry predators?
IT IS DAY FIVE OF THE VOYAGE, and our liveaboard has finally finished the overnight crossing south from the warm waters of Darwin and Wolf islands to Cape Douglas, Isla Fernandina. Although we don’t travel a great distance …
Learn how orcas in Norway adapt their hunting skills to thrive in diverse ecosystems and follow the herring migration.
