Big barracuda is so chill that scuba diver tries to pet it

2 years ago
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Scuba diving is a wonderful sport that transports a person into another world. It's a world of complete wonder with fascinating sights and amazing animals. Many of the creatures here are so different than what we would encounter on the planet's surface that they defy description.

These are great barracuda. They are giant fish that are capable of growing to a length of more than 2m (6 feet) and here, in the Cayman Islands, they are top predators. There are no marine animals here that would pose a threat to a fully grown barracuda.

These two barracuda are curious about the scuba divers and their bubbles. They followed the divers around the reef for more than 20 minutes, calmly cruising past with an arm's length and occasionally, they even stopped to look the divers in the eyes. The barracuda allowed the diver with the camera to swim beside them. Several times, the diver increased the distance and the large fish closed it, showing more than tolerance for the proximity. Although they have no reason to fear these clumsy humans, the fact that they not wary at all is unusual.

The scuba diver knows that touching marine life is inadvisable, and to be avoided in almost all cases, but his curiosity about the behaviour overwhelmed him and he put the barracuda's friendliness to the test.

As the scuba diver swam alongside the fish, he slowly reached out to touch one on the tail. The barracuda flinched immediately and lunged ahead and out of reach. The diver was startled and he flinched even more. Surprisingly, the encounter did not end at that. The barracuda swam back to the scuba diver and continued to cruise alongside him within arm's reach.

Large barracuda will often cooperate with other barracuda or large predators to distract schooling prey fish, or to herd the fish and launch attacks. Although there were no smaller fish in this area, it's possible that the barracuda saw the divers as beneficial. It's also possible that it was just curiosity over the appearance of these people.

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