Coral Wonderland

dies the sea washes it away leaving only the one SK most corals lose their color when dead but they are still ornamental for they retain their beauty of form studed over the whole surface are innumerable tiny holes in which the coral polyps lived some corals are soft and seem to have no skeletal environment to peer down water world is like flying in a plane above a city the only way to see the people is to an octopus is not a slimy horror but a swift colorful creature which moves with effortless ease as it slides smoothly down to its lay beneath the stones along the edge of the wreath fish of all sizes shapes and colors congregate strangely enough though they're timid in the shallow Waters of the Lagoon and dart away when approached if you meet them in the deeper water they pay very little attention to the Stranger in their midst and carry on with their normal activities although some of the fish in the Tropic Seas are similar to those of Colder Waters there's also an amazing variety of small brilliantly colored fish which are peculiar to warm seas and coral reath the coral Garden Beneath the Sea is breathtaking in its exquisite beauty fragile corals grow to Perfection sheltered from the force of the Waves even the worms in these underseas Gardens are things of beauty nature sets as many a riddle why should Beauty be lavished upon creatures which would appear to have no need or use for colorful adornments in this submarine world of Wonder Beauty peeps out in unexpected places from a piece of dead coral a lovely flower bursts into bloom but that Blossom is but another worm the serpulid which makes a tubular home in the coral from which it spreads out its flowerlike gills as a net to catch food and oxygen but here is Wonder upon Wonder a sea slug how inadequate a name for a creature such as this it could more aptly be named the ballerina of the sea its graceful movements are reminiscent of the swirling skirts of a dancer science has named this sea slug nud bran a word meaning naked gills for its filmy breathing organs are not placed inside the body like those of most other animals but are carried outside the body the gills can be seen growing on the back of this unusual slug the feather starfish prefers the deer Waters it belongs to a very ancient family which fossil remains show was abundant in the Seas millions of years ago long before met on Earth unlike most starfish it can move swiftly many shellfish which at the beginning of their lives Swim free in the ocean settle down while still babies on some convenient Stone to which they attach themselves for life but the Limer is a Wanderer and remains unattached it swims through the Water by two shells keeping its balance with the aid of the long tentacles the lier cannot close its shells completely for even when closely pecked the tentacles will not fit inside whilst many of the tropical fish are more colorful than the reefs they live amidst the more somber fish throw into relief the soft pastel shades of the corals this queen little fell is called the box fish because its bones are built like a little box outside the flesh scenes beneath Tropic Waters have the everchanging charm of a kaleidoscope as brilliantly colored for varied shapes glide into view the Magnificent King Snapper is often called the government brim because of the broad arrow emblazened in red across its silvery scales the most beautiful fish of the coral reef is surely the butterfly Cod its fins are like wings of GW and like the tail so fine in texture as to be almost transparent this koi behavior is only a pose actually it's as vain as a peacock and enjoys an opportunity to flaunt its beauty but don't be misled by the delicate beauty of the butterfly Cod remember before you take any liberties with this dainty dweller in the deep that beauty is but Skin Deep beneath those colorful fluttering draperies are sharp spines loaded with a poison which burns with an agonizing pain like Liquid Fire the butterfly Cod is a slow swimmer and if it did not have this potent means of Defense the coral reefs would soon lose one of their loveliest inhabitants there's a big fish here can you see it let's take a closer look see it eye and the moving gills now can you see it unlike the butterfly Cod it's a master of camouflage relying upon invisibility not only as a means of protection but to assist in seizing its unsuspecting prey in the quiet of the underseas world danger lurks in strange forms that harmless looking growth on the stone is a killer a giant SE anemon an uny fish has brushed against the tentacles and been Paralyzed by a battery of stinging cells before being engulfed by the hungry mouth hidden beneath the tentacles despite the deadly power of the enemy stings there's an amazing friendship it and a little fish called per percula should percula be frightened by a larger fish the little fellow Will dash for safety right in among the stinging tentacles where it is never stung nor eaten in fact when badly frightened percula goes right inside the anon's mouth and hides in the stomach of the anemon until the coast is clear again another fish amphiprion enjoys the same privileges in return for the anemon protection these fish attract the attention of other fish which expecting to catch a tasty meal make a dash for the little fish which immediately disappear among the tentacles leaving the pursuer to be stung and perhaps eaten by the anemon the hermit crab Depends for its safety upon finding the empty shell of a dead un V although the crab's back head and Nippers are heavily armored it has a very tender tail with a thin sensitive skin as the crab grows it must continually seek a larger shell with a more comfortable sitting room in a flesh it tucks its tender tail into safety over goes the shell and away it scuttles ready to take on all cers at low tide there is no need for diving gear to see many marbles in the shallow lagoons which are the happy hunting grounds for Shell collectors many creatures seek shelter beneath the Rocks the Flesh of the mutton fish is relished by a number of reef inhabitants and since it has only a small shell it is much happier under cover dropped back into the water without any waste of time it makes for shelter beneath the nearest Stone the handsome tiger cowy however builds a remarkably strong shell and crawls slowly through the Coral Pools with the ponderous invulnerability of an armored tank if disturbed it immediately withdraws Into The Snug shelter of its shell and wait patiently within its well-designed Fortress until the enemy departs in The Mating Season Turtles congregate in large numbers around some of the coral Islands in far off prehistoric times Turtles were land animals which deserted the land to make their homes in the sea but nature insists that at nesting time they re their ancient past and return to the land to make their nests during the late afternoon they come in close to the beaches awaiting the coming of night for their nest making operations are carried out in the darkness green turtles weigh hundreds of pounds they're the main ingredient of the famous turtle soup these tracks leading up from the beach indicate that the turtles have already commenced nesting the little holes are made in the center of the track by the turtle's tail and tell the turtle has gone up the beach to lay whereas going back Back to the Sea after completing its nest the tail drags in the sand and makes a long Furrow as night came taking cameras and Powerful lights we set off in search of a turtle making its nest shortly after midnight we found a turtle just commencing work with powerful thrusts of her front flippers she digs a depression well above the reach of the highest tide then commences one of the wonders of nature with her hind flippers she digs a neat pit nearly a foot in diameter although in complete darkness this clumsy creature works with delicate Precision deafly she lifts each flipper full of sand and places it carefully down alongside the hole then with a quick quick movement of her flipper she expertly flicks it away before digging down again so neatly is the operation carried out that hardly a grain of sand falls back into the pit once the egg laying commences if her flippers are handled very gently she makes no objection but allows them to be drawn apart so we may see the eggs dropping steadily into to the pit the dawn came while the turtle was still at work usually she completes her nest Before Dawn but the glare of our lamps had upset her timetable and every few minutes she'd ceased work until the lights were Switched Off even under normal conditions the whole operation of Nest making and egg laying Tak several hours to complete she'd lay nearly 200 eggs there's a fortune waiting for the man who can cross a turtle with a hen the sand is now raked and smoothed over the eggs until all signs of the pit are obliterated her slow movements show how weary she is although once land animals countless centuries of life in the sea make the turtle's brief visits to the land something of an ordeal she completes the nest by throwing sand in all directions making it impossible to tell just where the eggs were laid once its eggs are laid the turtle has no further interest in them she returns to the Sea leaving the eggs to hatch in the sand warmed by the Tropic Sun the natives enjoy a meal of turtle eggs and have devised a simple yet efficient method of finding them the tracks up the beach show that a turtle has gone up to make her nest would have been dug just where the track ends at the top of the beach a spear is driven into the sand probing the whole area of the nest eventually the spear is withdrawn sticky and with sand adhering to it that stickiness means that the spear has pierced a turtle's egg digging down into the sand at the spot from where the spear was withdrawn soon opens up the egg pit about a foot or so beneath the surface when the turtle filled the pit in the kneading and packing with her hind flippers caused the sand to filter in between the eggs and they are now closely packed and supported by the warm sand since the tracks leading to The Nest had not been washed away by high tides these eggs will be fresh as the nest must have only been made a few hours ago if thrown upon the sand turtle eggs bounce like a rubber ball this is an ordinary hen's egg now a turtle's egg here is the explanation of the bouncing egg the shell has no limey coating but a tough parchment likee skin it must be torn not broken open although the yolks of the two eggs are similar the whites are different that of the T Turtle being a stiffer jelly-like substance there's a very marked difference however when the eggs are cooked whilst the white of the hen's egg sets very quickly the white of the turtle's egg will not sit but remains a slimy jelly most people prefer to eat only the Yoles which are quite palatable the eggs left in the nest have commenced developing and the micro scope reveals an embryo Turtle 2 weeks old at 6 weeks it is still small but growing rapidly at approximately 9 weeks the baby turtles dig their way up through the sand and out they come the time of hatching varies if the nest was made where the hot Sun beats down all day the eggs hatch out earlier whilst if in the shade they may not hatch out until 2 or 3 weeks later although the baby turtles have never seen the sea without any hesit they scramble away in the right direction the co of the sea is strong within them and they waste no time in answering that [Music] call [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] despite the baby turtle's energy and self-reliance it is still but a tiny creature and yet should it survive the perils that await it it will one day be a huge creature weighing hundreds of pounds unlike the parent which is helpless when turned on its back the baby turtle quickly flips over and makes for the sea the Shell at this age is still flexible and it will be some time before it becomes hard and bony armor like that of the adult with the sea in sight the babies make a frantic spurt down the beach although the mother turtle lays so many eggs only a small percentage lives