Turtles wage war on Florida Divers

I thought nothing of it until the reports started coming in.. Marriard, a local Florida diver, recently posted a message here at Wetpixel about his encounter with a finger biting turtle. After reading his message I realized the pattern for I too was just recently on a trip with Jim Abernethy releasing juvenile loggerhead turtles..

As I swam with the little fella in my hands, I found a small patch of Sargassum seaweed on which to place him on. Gently releasing him into the water, I turned my head out of the water to look for the boat and... WACK!! I felt the turtle bite my finger. Instantly my reflexes caused me to withdraw my hand and in the process I bumped the Sargassum seaweed.

Appearing dazed and confused... this baby salt water Tadpole..

(Way too small (<1/2 inch) to be considered by its real name -- Sargassum Frogfish)

.. shook its head in confusion and hightailed it back into the seaweed he was just rudely bumped out of.

Just like Marriard, I too was thankful that these turtles have decided to go on a biting rampage against Florida divers. Who knows what the next biting encounter will bring?!?!

The little frogfish is Qute Laz... I found a similar one in the Red Sea in March amid some similar weed.

Too cool Laz! I've never seen one that small.

Cheers

James

Laz, you must be the king of small. You always seem to find these interesting little fellas.

Laz, you must be the king of small.

Just as long as it's not the women saying it!

This was actually quite the treat being it the first frogfish I've ever seen (no, I've never been to Bonaire or any of those other Frogfish Heaven places). Personally, when I am in search of rare critters it is in obscure, out of the way places like a patch of Sargassum seaweed or a tiny coral out-cropping in the middle of a large sandy area where I enjoy scouting for such critters. These places seem like the logical choice for many of these little critters to inhabit in the vast desert of ocean blue or powdery white sand.

But as the story went... this was nothing more than a serendipitous encounter.

So Laz,

Can we see more at "This Week's Photos?"

:-)

Cheers

James

The little frogfish is Qute Laz...

Ha! You think that's cute?!?! You should see the girl I dove with this past weekend.

I'm feeling the hate..

So Laz,

 

Can we see more at "This Week's Photos?"

 

:-)

 

Cheers

James

I'm actually a couple of weeks behind on those Week Photos but with good reason.. I've got a whole new redesign of the web site about 2/3rds completed.

Here's another from last weekend... This little fella looked to be getting his daily supply of calcium of which he would spit half of it out at me. No respect I tell you!

Uh, how bout a pic of the GIRL Laz, DUH!

Cheers

James

Uh, how bout a pic of the GIRL Laz, DUH!

 

Cheers

James

Oh, damn!... I forgot to get a cute model release!

Sorry on the small comment..."King of small fish" ah maybe that doesn't work either. "King of macro marine life" hummm this is not working. How about "good eyes"!LOL

The first froggies I saw were in Indonesia also.

I'm with James let's work on that release.

Legal disclaimer. The comments noted above by the author in no way are mean't to comment about any of the physical attributes of any of the aforementioned and can not be held against the author for the aforesaid.

Hey Laz. Great shots! I was beginning to think that you've taken up another hobby, like skiing.

Hey Laz. Great shots! I was beginning to think that you've taken up another hobby, like skiing.

This is Laz's secretary, Herb..

He has asked me to tell you that he will not be falling for your trap of answering this post only so you can tell him to get back to work. He has not stopped writing his Bahamas trip story or working on TheLivingSea's redesign since you last reprimanded him. All these photos.. they're all last year's stuff.. yeah, that's it!.. he would not even think about setting foot in that warm, crystal-clear ocean water filled with billions of fascinating creatures ranging from microscopic plankton to breath-taking leviathans.. no, sir.. Not him! Never! Not until his work is complete.

And unless they make glass-bottom skis, he's not likely to take up that hobby any time soon.

hahahahha

Sweet! Herb and I are working on the Indonesia trip report also. Look for it sometime in December 2078.

There are man eating turtles in the ocean!?!?! Terrifying.