I know when we dive or snorkel it always fun to interact with all the creatures if we can. One of the surest ways, is to feed them. But that can present a problem, depending on the animals, and the circumstances. I’ve been involved in many feeding experiences, but there were three that were very interesting.
The first two where with my friend Dee Scarr. I met Dee when I visited the island of Bonaire, located in the Netherlands Antilles. I was certified as an open water diver in 1970. I was living and working in New York City. That spring and summer I was diving on the New York, and New Jersey wrecks. For those who don’t know, it’s cold, it’s deep, and the visibility is usually measured in inches. You descend the anchor line, and run into the ship. So, I decided to spend two weeks diving in warm, clear water. Bonaire sounded like the ideal place. The entire leeward side of the island, with its wonderful dive sites, where protected by law. During my two weeks, except for three days on the middle weekend, I was the only diver at Captain Don’s Habitat. Consequently, the dive masters took me shore diving. I dived with all the dive masters, including Ebo, who has a reef named after him.
I believe I met Dee at this time. She’s a PADI instructor, who started her own program called “Touch the Sea.” The program teaches divers about the animals, how to touch them safely, and how not to touch them. The many times I returned to Bonaire, Dee and I would always do a dive together. On one particular trip, she wanted to photograph mantis shrimp.
Now mantis shrimp, is not an animal you get to touch. There are about 450 species of mantis shrimp worldwide, and their colors range from shades of brown to bright, green, red and blue. The size is usually between 4” to 8,” but there have been some that have reached 18.” They are a violent predator and their diet depends on the species. They typically eat fish, crabs, clams, snails, worms, shrimp and squid. They can also prey on animals much larger than themselves, due to their significant power. All mantis shrimp species can be divided into ‘spearers’ or ‘smashers’, based on the types of claws they have and tactics they use to kill the prey. Spearers have spiny appendages with barbed tips, that are used to stab soft-bodied prey, such as different types of worms and fish. Smashers have more developed club-like appendages that are used to bludgeon and smash their prey to pieces. They can punch at the same velocity as a gunshot from a .22 caliber rifle. They use two raptorial appendages on the front of its body to punch its prey.
Dee had found some possible burros under the pier, one of her favorite dive sites for her classes. Armed with a small can with a plastic lid, that was filled with cut up fish, we stared to investigate the possibilities. I would chum the burrow with a piece of fish, while Dee was ready to photograph the shrimp when it came out. We had to try several burros, until we had a taker. It came out only half way, and snatched the piece of fish, like lightning, and then retreated into the burrow. It responded once more, and then was probably tired of picture taking. But Dee got the shots she wanted.
For the next photo op, I was going to be the center of attraction. Just outside of the pier there was a small coral outcropping. We were about ten feet from the coral. I was standing upright in the sand, my back to the coral. Dee was standing three feet in front of me, camera ready. I opened the can briefly, to let the scent of the fish to escape. All of a sudden, a three-to-four-foot Purple Mouth Moray Eel came charging from it hole in the coral, and straight for me. Not knowing where the fish was, it proceeded to search my entire body, sliding through my arms, and hands. It even poked its open mouth against my mask. After Dee took several shots, I released some of the fish from the can. A really great dive experience.
The last feeding event, was not planned, and it was a little scary. This occurred on the island of San Salvador, the furthest out-island in the Bahamas chain. It is the island that Columbus literally ran into. The hotel, and dive operation is called Riding Rock. It was the only hotel on the island, and it accommodated only twenty divers. You checked in at their office in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. They had their own plane to fly the group to the island. I couldn’t believe the plane they were using. A DC3, the first commercial plane in use, the civilian version of the C47, the WWII transport used by allied paratroopers. I was probably the oldest of the group, so I knew what to expect. First, it’s doesn’t have tricycle landing gear. So, when you enter the plane, it’s a steep walk uphill to your seat. The plane is not insulated to noise, and the cabin is not pressurized. Consequently, the two-hour flight was extremely noisy, and the change of altitude played hell with your ears. Now let’s get back to the feeding. There were two-flat top dive boats, so each boat held ten divers. Since we were the only guests on the island, we left all our dive gear on the boat overnight. My dive partner was feeding the fish. She had a plastic bag filled with bits of fish. When the day’s diving was finished, she put the bag in the pocket of her BC, which was left on the boat. The next day we were scheduled for a drift dive. The current at the start of the drift was about three knots. We all descended the boat, and held onto to the anchor line, until all the divers were ready. As we were waiting, all of a sudden two Nassau Groupers appeared, and started to attack my dive partner. They were large about fifty-pounds. No one could figure it out. They are usually very gentle, letting you touch them. But these two were repeatedly poking her in the chest. Of course, she was frightened. I was trying to block them from hitting her. It was tense until we realized they smelled the fish scent escaping from the plastic bag, which had been in the heat aboard the boat. She immediately took the bag out of the BC pocket, which was grabbed by one of the groupers, and they left fighting over the bag of fish. We did our drift dive, and learned a lesson about feeding the fish.
