Former FLL Now MSP Diver
Contributor
Diver tells of attack by giant conger eel
Mr Telfer shows the bite marks on his hand.
By Graeme Strachan
SCUBA DIVER George Telfer was recovering last night after being attacked by a giant conger eel while exploring a first world war trawler wreck off St Andrews.
Mr Telfer, a diving officer of Tayside Scottish Sub Aqua Club (TAYSAC), was bitten by the eel as he searched the sunken ship and was left with bruises to his face and bite marks on his hands.
A scuba diver of 17 years experience, Mr Telfer was eight miles out in St Andrews Bay when the incident happened.
Conger eels weigh up to 250lb and have extremely sharp teeth and strong jaws.
Speaking of his ordeal, Mr Telfer, from Carnoustie, said I travelled down the shot line to the wreck to survey it.
I spotted a lobster and went to grab it when, from the side, I got bitten on the hand.
I knew it wasnt the lobster.
It was a conger eel, as big as two metres long.
I tried to pull my hand off but it withdrew back into the ship, pulling me with it and I battered my face off the side of the ship. It was sheer muscle. They can drag a diver off no bother.
I managed to grab it with my other hand, squeezed it, and it let go.
Im a bit bruised and battered but Im okay.
Mr Telfer said he didnt fear for his safety at any point due to his love of the creatures and diving experience.
I used to play with conger eels on the west coast and cuddle themthey are my friends but this one was less than friendly.
But it might have been protecting its young so I dont want people thinking they are nasty creatures.
It was probably doing what any mother would do.
Mr Telfer had been searching the wreck of the first world war trawler with a friend and had been inside the vessel for 15 minutes or so when it happened.
Conger eels are common in coastal waters around Scotland.
When they are ready to breed, the eels stop eating, lose their teeth and begin a long migration south to an area in the Atlantic between the Azores and Gibraltar.
The eels are known to congregate in deep water, where they spawn before dying.
http://www.thecourier.co.uk/output/2004/07/15/newsstory6121177t0.asp
Marc
Mr Telfer shows the bite marks on his hand.
By Graeme Strachan
SCUBA DIVER George Telfer was recovering last night after being attacked by a giant conger eel while exploring a first world war trawler wreck off St Andrews.
Mr Telfer, a diving officer of Tayside Scottish Sub Aqua Club (TAYSAC), was bitten by the eel as he searched the sunken ship and was left with bruises to his face and bite marks on his hands.
A scuba diver of 17 years experience, Mr Telfer was eight miles out in St Andrews Bay when the incident happened.
Conger eels weigh up to 250lb and have extremely sharp teeth and strong jaws.
Speaking of his ordeal, Mr Telfer, from Carnoustie, said I travelled down the shot line to the wreck to survey it.
I spotted a lobster and went to grab it when, from the side, I got bitten on the hand.
I knew it wasnt the lobster.
It was a conger eel, as big as two metres long.
I tried to pull my hand off but it withdrew back into the ship, pulling me with it and I battered my face off the side of the ship. It was sheer muscle. They can drag a diver off no bother.
I managed to grab it with my other hand, squeezed it, and it let go.
Im a bit bruised and battered but Im okay.
Mr Telfer said he didnt fear for his safety at any point due to his love of the creatures and diving experience.
I used to play with conger eels on the west coast and cuddle themthey are my friends but this one was less than friendly.
But it might have been protecting its young so I dont want people thinking they are nasty creatures.
It was probably doing what any mother would do.
Mr Telfer had been searching the wreck of the first world war trawler with a friend and had been inside the vessel for 15 minutes or so when it happened.
Conger eels are common in coastal waters around Scotland.
When they are ready to breed, the eels stop eating, lose their teeth and begin a long migration south to an area in the Atlantic between the Azores and Gibraltar.
The eels are known to congregate in deep water, where they spawn before dying.
http://www.thecourier.co.uk/output/2004/07/15/newsstory6121177t0.asp
Marc
