There were two accidents during dolphin encounter programs recently, but the reasons unknown.
According to the Orlando Sentinel, eight-year-old Jillian Thomas was feeding the dolphins at Dolphin Cove last week when the "marine mammal lunged toward her during the feeding and snapped his toothy snout around the 8-year-old's hand." The attack left four puncture wounds in the young girl's arm and was captured on video by the girl's parents.
The article with the video continued here.
Showing posts with label encounter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label encounter. Show all posts
December 16, 2012
January 22, 2012
The first dolphin
We went to a Safaga liveaboard trip a year ago. We dived the Tobya Arbaa while another group headed a reef 300 meters away. They came back and said a lone dolphin joined them on the dive. We didn't believe. We felt it wouldn't be realistic to expect the dolphin on a second dive but we gave a try. In the first ten minutes we dived above a quite unhealthy coral garden and saw nothing. But then the dolphin came... And it really swam with us during the whole dive. Exciting, beautiful dive jut because a friendly marine mammal. I made some photos but mostly I enjoyed being there.
Later a third group is went back to the same place but they didn't encounter the dolphin. So this time I was the one of the lucky divers. Everything can happen if you don't give up the hope...
January 14, 2012
The sea is not a museum
A friend use to say the sea is not a museum, you can't be sure what will you see down there. Sometimes you expect a specific animal but it's not there, sometimes you encounter a really surprising one.
We traveled to Tenerife for the third time and stayed in Playa Paraiso again. Tenerife can be really crowded all year but we didn't think they can build some huge hotels to this small town in two years. Sadly they did. When we looked around from our balcony we saw they were hiding much of the seashore. But, anyway, we were in this wonderful island again and the same old Barakuda dive center was just a few steps away. So we thought anything could happen on the surface but we'd see exciting things under water.
We greeted Petra, Michael, Marko and prepared for our first dive. We nearly forgot the uncomfortable long walk to the Atlantic from the dive center. With our heavy equipment we slowly reached the sea and started our dive. I confess our first dives wasn't that good. We used a bit more air, while our guide, Michael wanted to do a long dive. So sometimes he shared his air with a diver who had less air. The end of a dive was a little bit chaotic. The dive leader suggested to choose a larger tank. We were a little bit disappointed, somehow the dive center's approach changed. Or we visited too much nice places since our last visit and the small problems became more annoying?
So we hesitated about our dives. In Tenerife it's easy to do many other things, to do more or less dives can be a good option as well. But we love the Atlantic so joined Michael's group again. This time I had the large tank and the relatively deep dive lasted for an hour. We were about to finish near the seashore when our leader simply left us alone. He started to swim like crazy and we didn't understand. We hoped he saw something special and tried to follow. The visibility was only 10-15 meters but in a few seconds I saw a well-known silhouette. It was a huge, black animal, its swimming looked more like flying. A devil ray! I was too nervous to turn on my camera fast enough so I didn't make any shots. Michael showed the sign of disappointment. But the devil ray came back and this time I made a few seconds long video.
After we surfaced all of usexcitedly discussed what we saw. We told about our encounter in the dive center and all the divers started to kit up fast. They wanted to see the devil ray too. Later Michael told me it was the first devil ray in the bay for ten years! And we were in the lucky group who saw it. Everybody asked for my video although a day earlier they told me they didn't like underwater photographers that much. In spite of their opinion about photographers I became the most popular man of Playa Paraiso for that day. My bad quality video was the only proof of the encounter... Whenever I watch I remember my friends wise words.
We traveled to Tenerife for the third time and stayed in Playa Paraiso again. Tenerife can be really crowded all year but we didn't think they can build some huge hotels to this small town in two years. Sadly they did. When we looked around from our balcony we saw they were hiding much of the seashore. But, anyway, we were in this wonderful island again and the same old Barakuda dive center was just a few steps away. So we thought anything could happen on the surface but we'd see exciting things under water.
We greeted Petra, Michael, Marko and prepared for our first dive. We nearly forgot the uncomfortable long walk to the Atlantic from the dive center. With our heavy equipment we slowly reached the sea and started our dive. I confess our first dives wasn't that good. We used a bit more air, while our guide, Michael wanted to do a long dive. So sometimes he shared his air with a diver who had less air. The end of a dive was a little bit chaotic. The dive leader suggested to choose a larger tank. We were a little bit disappointed, somehow the dive center's approach changed. Or we visited too much nice places since our last visit and the small problems became more annoying?
So we hesitated about our dives. In Tenerife it's easy to do many other things, to do more or less dives can be a good option as well. But we love the Atlantic so joined Michael's group again. This time I had the large tank and the relatively deep dive lasted for an hour. We were about to finish near the seashore when our leader simply left us alone. He started to swim like crazy and we didn't understand. We hoped he saw something special and tried to follow. The visibility was only 10-15 meters but in a few seconds I saw a well-known silhouette. It was a huge, black animal, its swimming looked more like flying. A devil ray! I was too nervous to turn on my camera fast enough so I didn't make any shots. Michael showed the sign of disappointment. But the devil ray came back and this time I made a few seconds long video.
After we surfaced all of usexcitedly discussed what we saw. We told about our encounter in the dive center and all the divers started to kit up fast. They wanted to see the devil ray too. Later Michael told me it was the first devil ray in the bay for ten years! And we were in the lucky group who saw it. Everybody asked for my video although a day earlier they told me they didn't like underwater photographers that much. In spite of their opinion about photographers I became the most popular man of Playa Paraiso for that day. My bad quality video was the only proof of the encounter... Whenever I watch I remember my friends wise words.
December 9, 2011
A special kind of fish soup
When yesterday I wrote about fish food and some exciting fish soups I realized I dived a place where I encountered living fish soup. It happened in Gran Canaria of Canary Islands. As we descended to the Pasito Blanco it seemed the bottom is flowing and moving but when we swam closer I saw thousands of fish. It was one of my most incredible diving experiences! It's a protected area so those fish won't be cooked hopefully. I don't care if I had to eat something else but has the chance to see this shoal of fish someday again...
December 1, 2011
The most beautiful ray
No, not the manta ray for me. The most special ray I ever encountered is the wonderful butterfly ray.
I saw the first one near Fuerteventura in the Canary Islands. I caught sight of a wide animal in the depth which swam smoothly away. I asked the DM who said it was a common butterfly ray. Later I saw more of them in Gran Canaria. They slept in the daytime but after we went too close they swam away with an unbeatable elegance. It simply glided a few inches above the bottom with a marble-like pattern skin. I know the huge manta is a wonder in itself, but the butterfly ray is different, it's so incredible, so special. There Canary Islands are like a ray sanctuary, I saw here devil rays, eagle rays, common skates and those wonderful animals I mentioned above. I can't get tired of them...
I saw the first one near Fuerteventura in the Canary Islands. I caught sight of a wide animal in the depth which swam smoothly away. I asked the DM who said it was a common butterfly ray. Later I saw more of them in Gran Canaria. They slept in the daytime but after we went too close they swam away with an unbeatable elegance. It simply glided a few inches above the bottom with a marble-like pattern skin. I know the huge manta is a wonder in itself, but the butterfly ray is different, it's so incredible, so special. There Canary Islands are like a ray sanctuary, I saw here devil rays, eagle rays, common skates and those wonderful animals I mentioned above. I can't get tired of them...
November 15, 2011
October 29, 2011
No catfish, no cry
Sometimes you're simply unlucky or lamer. We planned a long weekend in Austria and our first destination was the Klopeinersee in Karnten. This small lake is very popular in the summer as it's warm but the visibility is only 3-5 meters usually.
We planned two dives here. We dived in two buddy teams. I saw some small fish but nothing special. On the surface my friends who dived the same route said they saw a few huge hiding catfish. My buddy and me were disappointed. Those fish had to be so close but we simply didn't find any. We went to the local dive shop and rented two torches. We swam slowly and looked into all the holes. Or at least we thought we did. My friends started to dive a few minutes earlier so we couldn't see them. And we couldn't see any catfish again. On the surface they just laughed on us as they found them again and to help us they made signs from scraps. We couldn't recognize them and we left the Klopeinersee without seeing any catfish.
I forgot these dives until I found a video taken in that lake and realized how large catfish live there. After watching it I felt the same disappointment but on the other hand I had to confess it can be quite frightening experience to meet a giant fish in this murky water. So maybe not those divers are unlucky who don't meet them but those who see any of these freshwater monsters.
We planned two dives here. We dived in two buddy teams. I saw some small fish but nothing special. On the surface my friends who dived the same route said they saw a few huge hiding catfish. My buddy and me were disappointed. Those fish had to be so close but we simply didn't find any. We went to the local dive shop and rented two torches. We swam slowly and looked into all the holes. Or at least we thought we did. My friends started to dive a few minutes earlier so we couldn't see them. And we couldn't see any catfish again. On the surface they just laughed on us as they found them again and to help us they made signs from scraps. We couldn't recognize them and we left the Klopeinersee without seeing any catfish.
I forgot these dives until I found a video taken in that lake and realized how large catfish live there. After watching it I felt the same disappointment but on the other hand I had to confess it can be quite frightening experience to meet a giant fish in this murky water. So maybe not those divers are unlucky who don't meet them but those who see any of these freshwater monsters.
October 11, 2011
Guideology: Sambo
If somebody asks me about the dive leaders I tell easily who I like: the guides who let me enjoy the dive. I think there's everything in this simple description. She or he will lead me to the most interesting points of the site, show what he finds and cares about our safety. She or he know the dive group's limits, check the air, don't make us swimming against the current. And on the other hand I can look around on my own, I can stop to make photos and nobody pull my fin because the leader's goal is to swim as much as we can.
So maybe you think in the first entry of my guideology will be a detailed report about the work of the guide who I mentioned in the title. Well, not really. Sambo was one of the Egyptian dive guides who I met in the last ten years but I confess I don't remember too much. He did his job, I can't remember any special affairs but one: he showed my first shark in the Tiran straits. As every diver I remember my first shark although I saw it only for seconds. But it was definitely a shark. The predator who we were afraid in the past and who we started to love after we became divers. Sambo led us around the reef and suddenly he started to swim faster and we soon realized he wanted to show the exciting silhouette which disappeared when we swam closer. Later he found the shark again and that made us really happy.
There were dozens of dive pros who I remember much better. There were guides who did their best to make my holiday terrific. And there were people who led 'unforgettable' dives which were awful in many ways. But Sambo will be Mr Shark for me forever.
So maybe you think in the first entry of my guideology will be a detailed report about the work of the guide who I mentioned in the title. Well, not really. Sambo was one of the Egyptian dive guides who I met in the last ten years but I confess I don't remember too much. He did his job, I can't remember any special affairs but one: he showed my first shark in the Tiran straits. As every diver I remember my first shark although I saw it only for seconds. But it was definitely a shark. The predator who we were afraid in the past and who we started to love after we became divers. Sambo led us around the reef and suddenly he started to swim faster and we soon realized he wanted to show the exciting silhouette which disappeared when we swam closer. Later he found the shark again and that made us really happy.
There were dozens of dive pros who I remember much better. There were guides who did their best to make my holiday terrific. And there were people who led 'unforgettable' dives which were awful in many ways. But Sambo will be Mr Shark for me forever.
October 9, 2011
Send me an Angel
If I talk about sharks everybody imagine big, torpedo shaped fast predators with huge teeth. Some people maybe think about the large plankton feeding whale sharks or basking sharks. But only the minority knows about a quite flat shark which lay on the bottom covered in sand during daytime. The angel shark is a strange fish, and I'm one of the lucky divers who saw them in their natural habitat. If you find the hiding angel shark be careful and you can even touch it. These guys aren't too nervous, but as every predator, it can be dangerous if you attack or disturb it aggressively. Its swimming looks like wriggling.
The angel shark encounters were really special for me but most of the divers never meet any. Although it was common in Europe a few decades ago now it's officially critically endangered. I dived many places in the Mediterranean and haven't seen any but I know a European country where plenty of angel sharks live. This is a well kept secret of the Canary Islands which belong to Spain (and geographically to Africa): the eastern islands are famous about their angel sharks. For example in Lanzarote I dived in the night with a baby angel shark. But especially in Gran Canaria the northern dive spots like Sardina del Norte or Caleta Baja are recommended for those who want to see these unusual sharks. They live in the shallow, sandy bottom and it seems they only wait for the divers. First you see an angel shark shaped silhouette in the sand and when you swim closer you can see it's the shark itself. You can touch carefully its fins, see the eyes and try to make some photos. When it's covered the photos will be everything but spectacular. These animals looks much better on the moving pictures so I embed a film which I took a few years ago.
The angel shark encounters were really special for me but most of the divers never meet any. Although it was common in Europe a few decades ago now it's officially critically endangered. I dived many places in the Mediterranean and haven't seen any but I know a European country where plenty of angel sharks live. This is a well kept secret of the Canary Islands which belong to Spain (and geographically to Africa): the eastern islands are famous about their angel sharks. For example in Lanzarote I dived in the night with a baby angel shark. But especially in Gran Canaria the northern dive spots like Sardina del Norte or Caleta Baja are recommended for those who want to see these unusual sharks. They live in the shallow, sandy bottom and it seems they only wait for the divers. First you see an angel shark shaped silhouette in the sand and when you swim closer you can see it's the shark itself. You can touch carefully its fins, see the eyes and try to make some photos. When it's covered the photos will be everything but spectacular. These animals looks much better on the moving pictures so I embed a film which I took a few years ago.
September 14, 2011
Recent encounters
The octopus is a typical animal of the Adriatic, I see them often. Usually they're hiding in a hole but sometimes they're moving. When I'm lucky enough to bring my camera I can make a video like this...
It was much more surprising to see sea hares during shore dive. But they were there and one of them swam, just before the lens of my camera. Who said Adriatic diving is boring?
It was much more surprising to see sea hares during shore dive. But they were there and one of them swam, just before the lens of my camera. Who said Adriatic diving is boring?
September 2, 2011
A horse under water
Sometimes it seems there are only pygmy seahorses. If you browse the recent underwater photo competitions' gallery you see a lot of pgymy portraits, mainly from Indonesia. But those who don't travel regularly to Asia can see the big brother of the tiny seahorse much closer. Believe it or not, sometimes a good photographer can make an even more dramatic photo of the "full size" seahorses- I recommend to check out the great photos of my friend, Csaba Tökölyi. (Here and there.)
The article continued here.
The article continued here.
August 30, 2011
Waltzing with sharks
It happened during a trip to the very south of Egyptian Red Sea. I was invited to the Andromeda liveaboard and our organizer said we would reach even the Abu Fendera area. Somewhere near the St. John's we saw the first turtle, then came the first shark- a typical reef shark which didn't come closer than 20 meters and swam away very soon. As we suspected, they were afraid of us. The Abu Fendera was a little bit disappointing but the weather was even worse. Huge waves- it's OK in the Red Sea. But raining? We were shocked. No, it's not true as we only glanced to the dive platform and the clouds and tried to hold firmly the bed because our boat danced like a fool on the angry sea.
It was more frightening than dangerous so we luckily arrived back to the St John's. After some awesome dives we anchored near a small reef where we saw dolphins, a manta ray, a lot of fish. While we were finishing our dive we spotted some familiar silhouettes under the boat. Sharks! A group of oceanic whitetip sharks circled around us. These sharks are really reckless, we made some nice shots. We decided to stay in the shallow, very close to the dive boat during the second dive and hoped to see the sharks again. Well, we did. An hour long floating in the big blue amongst a half dozen (less? more?) sharks. They came close. I mean really close- they touched the photographers' strobes! They swam near, above, below us, disappeared somewhere and in a few seconds the same or another shark headed to us again. It wasn't an experience for the weak hearted divers. We were insane enough to stay with them. It was an extraordinary, amazing dive. But certainly we knew it's a little bit dangerous. So when I felt something grabbed my leg firmly I turned back faster than an acrobat. Luckily I saw only a laughing dive buddy, he was the only predator this time. As usual, he made the best photos but all of us were able to the some really spectacular shots. For me this dive brought an award in video snapshot category in the Beneath The Sea competition.
The article continued here.
It was more frightening than dangerous so we luckily arrived back to the St John's. After some awesome dives we anchored near a small reef where we saw dolphins, a manta ray, a lot of fish. While we were finishing our dive we spotted some familiar silhouettes under the boat. Sharks! A group of oceanic whitetip sharks circled around us. These sharks are really reckless, we made some nice shots. We decided to stay in the shallow, very close to the dive boat during the second dive and hoped to see the sharks again. Well, we did. An hour long floating in the big blue amongst a half dozen (less? more?) sharks. They came close. I mean really close- they touched the photographers' strobes! They swam near, above, below us, disappeared somewhere and in a few seconds the same or another shark headed to us again. It wasn't an experience for the weak hearted divers. We were insane enough to stay with them. It was an extraordinary, amazing dive. But certainly we knew it's a little bit dangerous. So when I felt something grabbed my leg firmly I turned back faster than an acrobat. Luckily I saw only a laughing dive buddy, he was the only predator this time. As usual, he made the best photos but all of us were able to the some really spectacular shots. For me this dive brought an award in video snapshot category in the Beneath The Sea competition.
The article continued here.
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