mattiedread
Guest
I generally don't even wave a finger at stuff, but:
On Darwin Island you hold onto to rocks covered w/barnicles to prevent you from flying off into the abyss. Occasionally they break off and these dog tooth snappers (I don't know the actual species) come swooping in to chow them. I got in the habit of holding the barnicles in my palm facing into the current so the fish would come right up (you are, of course, wearing gloves) and eat out of your hands. (They aren't small little fishies).
After a discussion about where a fish does and doesn't have nerves I took a brief ride on a whaleshark by holding the base of the dorsal fin (about 2 seconds), the soft area just above the back. Although he agreed the fish didn't know I was there, the DM reprimanded me in such a Socratic manner I haven't touched, snuck up on, or kicked water at a creature since.
Incidently, one of the guys on the liveaboard regularly tried to scare (read push) the remoras off of the whalesharks (we saw a lot, trip report posted under South America, roughly July/Aug 01; Galapagos Aggressor). He was not reprimanded. (The remora reattaches almost immediately).
On Darwin Island you hold onto to rocks covered w/barnicles to prevent you from flying off into the abyss. Occasionally they break off and these dog tooth snappers (I don't know the actual species) come swooping in to chow them. I got in the habit of holding the barnicles in my palm facing into the current so the fish would come right up (you are, of course, wearing gloves) and eat out of your hands. (They aren't small little fishies).
After a discussion about where a fish does and doesn't have nerves I took a brief ride on a whaleshark by holding the base of the dorsal fin (about 2 seconds), the soft area just above the back. Although he agreed the fish didn't know I was there, the DM reprimanded me in such a Socratic manner I haven't touched, snuck up on, or kicked water at a creature since.
Incidently, one of the guys on the liveaboard regularly tried to scare (read push) the remoras off of the whalesharks (we saw a lot, trip report posted under South America, roughly July/Aug 01; Galapagos Aggressor). He was not reprimanded. (The remora reattaches almost immediately).