Our conclusion from Indonesia was that Nemo deserved the dentist's office . . .
Things That Almost Bit You
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Our conclusion from Indonesia was that Nemo deserved the dentist's office . . .
Wingy
Contributor
Completely agree re nemo..vicious little mongrel who does not deserve the happy hippy reputation he has. Have been bitten by them in PNG and Thailand and Sulawesi. Also in Sulawesi the titan trigger fish - a hard fish to fight underwater when they have your fin. But the thing that hurt me the most....a mantis shrimp at SD Point in Lembongan. I was drifting slowly along the reef and must have gotten too close to Mr Mantis Shrimps hole because the next thing i know i thought i had been shot..then I realised I couldnt have been shot on account of the fact that no one was down there with a 44 calibre..On surfacing I found my wetsuit kneepad completely torn open and pretty well mashed flesh swelling up very fast. Took about 6 weeks for the swelling to finally subside. I now eat mantis shrimp every time i see them on a menu.
Seaduced
Contributor
I've had a few of incidents
Sea lions hate to be ignored and will pester you by pulling on hoods, snorkels, fins, strobes, and hoses. Especially when the water is colder and the number of divers dwindles, they just get bored and we are such fun to mess with. One time they pulled a buddy's snorkel off and played keep-away between themselves for a while before we could retrieve it.
Swimming over a rock pile filled with Sergeant Major nests, one brave parent grabbed the end of my little finger and was tearing it up. He/She did not let go for a minute or so. Enough time for pictures and a video, but alas they were lost in an electronics abduction. That's why my signature line says, "If damsels had teeth, nobody would swim in the ocean."
A 16" grouper swam up to me and kind of faced off. I was curious as to what he was up to and noticed his eyes were looking me up and down. He slowly moved in and halfheartedly bit the white leather palm of one of my gloves. I was startled but didn't flinch or pull back. He tugged a little, then let go, backed up and had what I thought was a confused look. He moved in, bit the other glove in the same manner and moved back again. It was about now I realized I had eaten crab tostadas for lunch between dives and probably had crab "smell" on my hands. A couple of groupers joined him and followed us for the rest of the dive.
The most unnerving incident was two weeks ago on Klein Bonarie, as I was swimming 15 feet above the reef while returning from a dive. I saw a Spotted Moray in the open looking up at me. As I passed over him, he left the bottom and started snapping at my leg. I turned on my side, bent at my waist and swam backward for all I was worth. I wondered who was going to tire first as he kept snapping his jaws about 6" from my thigh. After 20 to 30 seconds, he headed back to the bottom. Okay, so he didn't actually bite me, but it is the most alarmed I've been in my 400 dives.
It was a couple minutes later I came upon a Lionfish hunter with a couple fish in his Zookeeper. A little blood in the water and I'm pretty sure a hunter has hand feed that moray before and he is making the association between divers and a handout. I now give morays a wider berth in Bonaire, than the rest of my dive spots.
Sea lions hate to be ignored and will pester you by pulling on hoods, snorkels, fins, strobes, and hoses. Especially when the water is colder and the number of divers dwindles, they just get bored and we are such fun to mess with. One time they pulled a buddy's snorkel off and played keep-away between themselves for a while before we could retrieve it.
Swimming over a rock pile filled with Sergeant Major nests, one brave parent grabbed the end of my little finger and was tearing it up. He/She did not let go for a minute or so. Enough time for pictures and a video, but alas they were lost in an electronics abduction. That's why my signature line says, "If damsels had teeth, nobody would swim in the ocean."
A 16" grouper swam up to me and kind of faced off. I was curious as to what he was up to and noticed his eyes were looking me up and down. He slowly moved in and halfheartedly bit the white leather palm of one of my gloves. I was startled but didn't flinch or pull back. He tugged a little, then let go, backed up and had what I thought was a confused look. He moved in, bit the other glove in the same manner and moved back again. It was about now I realized I had eaten crab tostadas for lunch between dives and probably had crab "smell" on my hands. A couple of groupers joined him and followed us for the rest of the dive.
The most unnerving incident was two weeks ago on Klein Bonarie, as I was swimming 15 feet above the reef while returning from a dive. I saw a Spotted Moray in the open looking up at me. As I passed over him, he left the bottom and started snapping at my leg. I turned on my side, bent at my waist and swam backward for all I was worth. I wondered who was going to tire first as he kept snapping his jaws about 6" from my thigh. After 20 to 30 seconds, he headed back to the bottom. Okay, so he didn't actually bite me, but it is the most alarmed I've been in my 400 dives.
It was a couple minutes later I came upon a Lionfish hunter with a couple fish in his Zookeeper. A little blood in the water and I'm pretty sure a hunter has hand feed that moray before and he is making the association between divers and a handout. I now give morays a wider berth in Bonaire, than the rest of my dive spots.
3D diver
Contributor
Here's a snap my buddy took of Lucile about to nibble on my fingers:
A few minutes later I looked up to see her with her mouth wide open over the back of my buddies head!!! Just checking the fit. I couldn't get my camera running fast enough, but did capture his reaction.
My avitar is a 3D pic of a juvinile sea lion harrassing a diver at the Breakwater. I was snorkeling by on the surface & watched as it repeatedly barked in the divers face, surfaced for air, and came back to bark again.
A few minutes later I looked up to see her with her mouth wide open over the back of my buddies head!!! Just checking the fit. I couldn't get my camera running fast enough, but did capture his reaction.
My avitar is a 3D pic of a juvinile sea lion harrassing a diver at the Breakwater. I was snorkeling by on the surface & watched as it repeatedly barked in the divers face, surfaced for air, and came back to bark again.
Bratface
Contributor
I have been bitten on the lip by an angry damsel fish. His buddy bit me on the ankle. Another time I was enjoying a manicure by some Pedersen Cleaning Shrimp when a Pistol Shrimp came rushing out of his hole and tried to pinch me.
Was diving while Titan triggerfish were nesting. Had enough warnings of em so when I saw one i pointed it out to my guide and made sure he was in between me and the fish (I figured that's what he gets paid for lol). As I was finning backward to get out of the nest zone i started thinking, "I wonder where the female is" then suddenly felt a bump and tug on my fin and realized she was right under me! I screamed under water and lost all sense finning away and almost going to the surface. There is a slightly embarrassing gopro video of it which will never see the light of day. LOL
---------- Post added March 23rd, 2013 at 11:40 AM ----------
That sounds nasty!
The shark stories are pretty freaky. I think Lynn's GPO experience is taking the cake for me right now though..
---------- Post added March 23rd, 2013 at 11:40 AM ----------
That sounds nasty!
The shark stories are pretty freaky. I think Lynn's GPO experience is taking the cake for me right now though..
I've heard about those Bobbit worms (and will see them for myself next month).
In all my years of diving, I only remember two incidents where marine life bit me:
1. I was filming something in old gloves that had holes all over them (nothing new for me). Oscar, one of our huge sheephead, came by to check out what I was doing and saw my ghostly white knuckle showing through one of the holes in the glove on the hand I held the camera with. He bit down on the knuckle, but not as hard as he could. Despite what Mark Guccione says, that is NOT the reason Oscar lost one of his canine teeth!
2. I was filming a small (18") horn shark, but decided to "rearrange" it for a better camera angle. The shark got ticked off, swam up to my chest and tried to bite through my 7mm wetsuit... or, more accurately, tried to gum his way through it. I laughed so hard my reg fell out of my mouth. The only time a shark has ever bitten me.
Oops, forgot another one. Our local damsel, the garibaldi, ferociously defends his nest when it has eggs in it. I've been bitten so many times by one while filming (they even draw blood) that I totally forgot about them. And then there was the cormorant (a diving bird) that viciously attacked and tried to bite my camera housing (but missed me). I came very close to getting bit by a Titan triggerfish in Tahiti when I swam over its nest, but my good German legs created fin kicks that frightened even it away. And a few of my female dive buddies have bitten me underwater as well. It's all coming back to me now.
In all my years of diving, I only remember two incidents where marine life bit me:
1. I was filming something in old gloves that had holes all over them (nothing new for me). Oscar, one of our huge sheephead, came by to check out what I was doing and saw my ghostly white knuckle showing through one of the holes in the glove on the hand I held the camera with. He bit down on the knuckle, but not as hard as he could. Despite what Mark Guccione says, that is NOT the reason Oscar lost one of his canine teeth!
2. I was filming a small (18") horn shark, but decided to "rearrange" it for a better camera angle. The shark got ticked off, swam up to my chest and tried to bite through my 7mm wetsuit... or, more accurately, tried to gum his way through it. I laughed so hard my reg fell out of my mouth. The only time a shark has ever bitten me.
Oops, forgot another one. Our local damsel, the garibaldi, ferociously defends his nest when it has eggs in it. I've been bitten so many times by one while filming (they even draw blood) that I totally forgot about them. And then there was the cormorant (a diving bird) that viciously attacked and tried to bite my camera housing (but missed me). I came very close to getting bit by a Titan triggerfish in Tahiti when I swam over its nest, but my good German legs created fin kicks that frightened even it away. And a few of my female dive buddies have bitten me underwater as well. It's all coming back to me now.
billt4sf
Contributor
When a fish or animal bites you, if it draws blood, should you get medical attention if there are no symptoms? Someone mentioned a tetanus booster. I think if a dog or a cat or other animal bit me, and esp. if it drew blood, I would seek medical advice.
dumpsterDiver
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