attacked by giant gulper eels?!

[archman]

Okay, I was doing some online "research" today and came across this site.

http://www.rifters.com/starfish/environment.htm

What does this have to with scuba you might ask? Well, the last sentence in the fish paragraph says "Attacks on divers, while common, are rarely fatal."

What the?? I've heard a lot of weird stuff, but being attacked by giant gulper eels is NOT one of them. Insubstantial bodies notwithstanding, something as nutty as that would scare the everliving pee out of me.

Seeing as how these attacks are "common", I eagerly await the deluge of posts describing your harrowing experiences.

 

[sapphire]

From your link:

Channer Vent sits on the northwest shoulder of the Axial Volcano. There is no reason why any sane person would want to live there

It also appears to be about 2700 meters deep. I wonder what kind of divers those eels are attacking? I would love to see some video of those bizarre creatures! (the fish, not the divers)

 

[archman]

Big gulper eels aren't exclusive to that site. The article is worded a little screwy, but I think they're referring to animals that migrate up into shallower water where people routinely dive. There's a great photo online of a guy that saw an oarfish while diving a deep-sea buoy.

http://www.divernet.com/biolog/oarf198.htm


And here's a pic of the one that washed inshore in '96.
http://www.thejump.net/id/oarfish.htm

 

[sapphire]

And here's a pic of the one that washed inshore in '96.
http://www.thejump.net/id/oarfish.htm

:dropmouth If I ever saw that while I was diving, I swear I would hang up my fins!

 

[marisa-t]

:dropmouth If I ever saw that while I was diving, I swear I would hang up my fins!

DITTO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[DivemasterSteve]

:dropmouth If I ever saw that while I was diving, I swear I would hang up my fins!

LOL, i dont think i would be able to hang up ANY of my gear if i saw that while i was diving. ALL of my gear would smell to bad because i would $%&*&% all over myself.

steve

 

[Walter]

"If I ever saw that while I was diving, I swear I would hang up my fins!"

Why? It's certainly big, but it's not particularly frightening.

 

[sapphire]

Maybe not to you, Walter, but plenty scary looking to me

 

[Walter]

LOL. What is scary about it, Darlin'?