"There's a lifetime of entertainment in your own back yard, if you just take the time to look." -- Paul Ehrlich
Our ocean planet is alive with marvels, hidden below the surface, waiting for us to discover, experience and enjoy. It's something well worth remembering, and celebrating, this Earth Day.
Sea Notes was created to help inspire conservation of the oceans, in the same way that the living exhibits at the Monterey Bay Aquarium connect people with marine life in ways we hope will inspire them to preserve healthy oceans for future generations.
We've shared some great stories in the blog over the past three-plus years, many describing people's interactions with sea life: An underwater photographer's life-changing encounter with an Antarctic leopard seal; a gentoo penguin's miracle escape from a pod of pursuing orcas (captured on video, no less!); the diver who decided the 11-pound lobster he caught for dinner deserved a better fate; or the aquarium staff members who were, quite literally, "star struck" one day.
In honor of the 40th Earth Day, add these to the list:
-- A 68-year-old surfer in Hawaii, who took a 10-second ride on the back of a tiger shark after it bit his board and flipped him into the water...and then calmly swam back over to his board and kept surfing after the shark swam off.
-- A fearless octopus in New Zealand, so enamored of a diver's video camera, that it snatched it and swam off, with the camera still filming. You won't believe how the diver retrieved the camera. (The soundtrack's great, too.)
Do you have your own favorite stories, videos and photos of our amazing ocean planet? We'd love to hear about them. And Happy Earth Day to all!
Just a thought on the OIL SPILL in the GULF. Why not TRY to transport the oil to the surface on land by inserting a huge pipe into the ocean, rather than trying to stop the oil leak in the ocean. Then the oil could be put to use. But just a thought.
Posted by: Tracy Smith | May 20, 2010 at 02:05 PM