Face to face with a beast of the sea

So while diving last week at Natural, I was photographing this really cool coral. It is truly this bright red even more than 50 down, where there are almost no red wavelengths in the light. (The water absorbs more wavelengths as you go deeper, starting with the shorter reds then orange and yellow 'til all that's left are the long greens and blues.) Every time I see it, I always wonder how red this coral would appear at 10 feet or at the surface if it is this red at depth.

Anyway, I look up from the coral and see a (big gasp of air and "holy s***!) green moray eel. No, not just a green moray, a giant green moray. It was the biggest moray I've ever seen. I got Darryl's attention and spent probably seven or eight minutes photographing it,

It's had to get a sense of just how big this thing is. This photo of Darryl with it may help.

That barrel sponge on the left is about 16 inches across. The eel's head is about six inches in diameter, its body easily double that. From what we could see of it, we guessed it's probably seven or eight feet long.

He knew we were there but he was in no way aggressive. Many people are afraid of morays and I have to admit they are intimidating. They have very sharp teeth which are very visible when their mouths are open. They just kind of lie there with their head sticking out of a hole or a crevice, constantly opening and closing their mouths (and showing those teeth). But what looks like a very aggressive display is really just the eel breathing.

That said, they - like all creatures - are something to be aware of. You don't want to stick you hand into a hole or crack where a moray may be hiding. Like all animals, if they feel threatened they will defend themselves. And it won't be pretty. But if you leave them alone, they will usually let you hang out and watch them for a time. Again like most animals, if they are uncomfortable in your presence, they will try to escape, either by retreating deeper in their holes or by swimming away.

It says a lot about this moray that his presence almost totally eclipsed the fact that the very first thing we saw on this dive as we were descending was a spotted eagle ray.