Friday's (3/19) Maui pics

[Gilligan]

Quote from the John P. Hoover Hawaii Sea Creatures book:
"Although the star is usually brownish red in Hawaii, it appears greenish at depths greater than about 30 feet".
Perhaps the strobe brought out the true colors as I was at 57 feet.

 

[Gilligan]

This is the same specimen at a different angle. The color is pretty much the same so I guess the strobe brings out its true colors. Too bad it is such a reef destroyer as it is quite a beautiful animal.

 

[Abril]

Nice shot of the eel. Something about them freeks me out. Too snake like I guess......Dumb question, Can they hurt me? or just make me hurt myself?

 

[Gilligan]

I personally think most people get bit by eels from messing with them or feeding them. If they latch on to you you will instinctively pull away. Their teeth face inward so the injury is intensified from the pulling action. You end up with a macerated wound.

 

[Aardal]

Quote from the John P. Hoover Hawaii Sea Creatures book:
"Although the star is usually brownish red in Hawaii, it appears greenish at depths greater than about 30 feet".
Perhaps the strobe brought out the true colors as I was at 57 feet.

I looked at my crown of thorns picture and in my picture it's a mauve/burgandy color. Probably the big difference between internal strobe and external strobe. I just remembered seeing it as all green while diving.

 

[friscuba]

All the bites I've seen working here except for one were from people (DMs) who've handled octopus earlier in the dive...nothing like smelling like eel candy to invite an eel to a tasting.

The one non-octo related bite was a DM who was rubbing an eels tail and then he turned his head to point it out to the dive group. Big mistake, kept him out of the water for a couple weeks.

We have eels show up on the manta dive all the time and they often use people as eel furniture, wrapping themselves around a forearm with head near the lights waiting for goatfish to come by and scoop some plankton off the lights. Haven't heard of anyone being bitten in the 5 years I've been doing the dive.

Steve

I personally think most people get bit by eels from messing with them or feeding them. If they latch on to you you will instinctively pull away. Their teeth face inward so the injury is intensified from the pulling action. You end up with a macerated wound.