With headlamps and flashlights, we slowly step across sharp rocks along the edge of the eastern shoreline. It’s 7:30 pm, and the tide is out on Long Caye on Belize’s Glover’s Reef Atoll. Our guide shines his light on a blurry turquoise blob distorted by the waves on the beige sea floor. “Caribbean reef octopus,” he says. “If you say so,” I think to myself.

We move on. Tidal Splash crabs scatter sideways at our approach. There’s another octopus! This one is in calmer seas, her characteristic shape more easily evident undersea.

She slides in our direction, out of the waves and into the still edge of the ocean where her full brilliance is revealed. Iridescent turquoise-blue and green, spotted with reddish-brown. Slithering, reaching, feeling – hunting! A few more steps and there’s another! This one is already at the water’s edge. He’s after the Tidal Spray crabs at our feet! He strikes with his long arms and misses. But he knows where they went and slinks around a rock to head them off on the other side. He strikes again in a flash and pulls one into his mantle.

At the end of the video, one crab escapes, and one does not. You can see the crab leg in the crevice on the left before the octopus pulls him down.

We watch him for a minute and then leave him with his meal.

A bright red fiddler crab pokes out of her hiding spot to shoo off a Tidal Spray crab and instantly disappears back into the shadows.

Another octopus! This one is also close to shore. She is hunting using a common octopus technique; she spreads her skirt over the bottom to siphon her prey out of the crevices where they hide. We watch her deftly catch something and begin to eat. It’s a sizable meal for her.

 Caribbean reef octopuses are a medium-sized octopus, growing up to twenty inches in diameter. They are short-lived, like most octopus, with a lifespan of just ten to twelve months. In all, along a hundred yards and forty-five minutes, we saw twelve (TWELVE!!) Caribbean reef octopuses on this walk.

Other Exotic Night Life

Also venturing out after dark in the ocean, giant sea slugs called spotted seahares creep along the sea floor. The way they move and explore their environment with their mouth and tentacles, just like a shell-less snail, identifies them as gastropods. Ruffled parapodia on their backs cover their mantle.

They secrete foul-tasting purple ink to cloud the water and deter would-be predators. I’d heard of these animals before, but never expected to see one here!

A gorgeous King Helmet conch (also a gastropod) feasting on a spiny urchin was within reach.

This is a big conch – more than a handful – with a striped, domed shell featuring a flare at one end.

Endlessly fascinating!

Lastly, a young morey eel is tucked into the safety of the coral, part of his striped body visible through a hole. He cautiously peeks his head out from the end of the coral, sees me still there, and retreats into hiding. He’s less than twelve inches long and the diameter of my thumb. A far cry from the six-foot-long green eel I saw snorkeling yesterday!

The sea is full of exotic-looking life at every turn. It never ceases to amaze. I am blessed that so many creatures reveal themselves to me. Even so, this was an exceptional shore walk.

Stay tuned for more Belize wild tales!

If you’re interested in purchasing or licensing any images you see here, please email me at SNewenham at exploringnaturephotos.com, and I’ll make it happen.

Subscribe here to receive an email whenever a new blog posts.

The post Tidepooling at Night appeared first on Exploring Nature by Sheila Newenham.

Ever since I saw my first one, every time I snorkel, I seek out octopuses. They are night hunters who hole up in dens during the day. These dens are marked by the empty shells of the animals that sustain them. I’ve become skilled at locating them. Wherever there is suitable habitat (rocks or coral mounds teeming with life), I usually find an eyeball staring back at me or the curve of a soft, tentacled arm tucked in a hole.

First Encounter

On the first snorkel in Culebra (at Playa Tamarindo), I found a “friendly” octopus. He would rise up from his den enough to get a better look at me. When I dove down to get a closer look at him, he’d scrunch back down and bob right back up after I passed. He seemed as curious about me as I was about him. That’s my second favorite kind of animal encounter.

Beyond the Imagination

The next day, we made the short hike from Bahia Flamenco to Playa Carlos Rosario. Reportedly, the best snorkeling on Culebra. We’d been in the water for a while and had started back toward the break in the coral leading to the beach when I swam past a free-swimming octopus! She was on the back of a coral mound, using her arms to crawl across it. Once she realized that I was watching her (octopuses are crazy-smart), she jetted down to the bottom and pressed herself flat, turning the color of the coral. This remarkable color transformation – instantaneous and perfectly matching – is an unbelievable adaptation. I can’t get my head around it! I’m floating, still in the water, quietly watching. She feels too exposed and vulnerable. She moved across the sand to a rocky area where she could tuck herself safely away. I left her in peace. A free-swimming octopus. In the middle of the day. Best day ever!

Doubly Unbelievable

The following day, we snorkeled at Playa Melones. It’s a smaller area with less diversity than Playa Tamarindo or Playa Carlos Rosario. Rock slides along the near shore create the habitat. It’s threatening rain to the west. We slip under the waves anyway.

We were in three to four feet of water, almost back at the beach after a shorter snorkel. I was watching a grouper holding on to coral with his pectoral fins in the rocking surf and a colorful trunkfish foraging along the sand when an octopus swam right under me! I gasped and immediately turned to watch her.
Rob filmed her with the GoPro, his arms outstretched toward her. She flared to communicate, “Look at how big I am! Don’t mess with me” and flashed darker hues. As she jetted across the sand, she was the sand.

As she stopped at the rocks, she was the rock. We only spent a few minutes with her. She was out in the open and, despite having approached me, was now uncomfortable with our company.

I can’t believe it! Two free-swimming octopuses! This makes Culebra one of my favorite places to snorkel.

If you’re interested in purchasing or licensing any images you see here, please email me at SNewenham at exploringnaturephotos.com, and I’ll make it happen.

Subscribe here to receive an email whenever a new blog posts.

The post Octopus in Culebra appeared first on Exploring Nature by Sheila Newenham.