IT WAS A BLAZING hot morning and the
water was as clear as glass. Cameras in
hand, we descended slowly towards the
coral reef below, inviting in its soft glow
under the constant play of sunlight.
Only minutes into our cruise, we were
joined by a large school of neon fusiliers
that was also exploring the reef. The
schooling fish swam elegantly and in
perfect synchrony, stopping ever so
briefly at a cleaning station along the
way. Their colours, with those iridescent
hues and that gorgeous background of
azure blue, made for a perfect picture
to capture. It took barely a matter of
seconds to adjust the exposure on my
camera. But in those fleeting moments,
without warning and out of nowhere,
a crocodilefish burst onto the scene. In
one clean swoop, it swallowed one of
the fusiliers whole, scattered the rest of
the school in all directions, and left us all
rather stunned.A GAME OF HIDE AND SEEK
The crocodilefish, whose presence we
had clearly missed before its attack,
now looked colourful and intricatelyText by Chetana Purushotham
Images by Umeed Mistry
NOT A PREDATOR IN SIGHT
If you’re living in the world of “eat or be eaten”,
harnessing the power of the unexpected can
radically increase your chances of survival
shaded in pinks and mustards. How
had we not seen it? We got our answer
quickly enough. The fish sank swiftly
to the bottom and, as we watched
in amazement, blended in with the
dark pink boulder beneath it. We had
just witnessed a startling display of
exquisite camouflage.
For marine animals, life in the
ocean is not easy. They encounter all
the challenges faced by any terrestrial
animal in its environment. In addition,
oceans are constantly in motion, with
temperature and light always changing.SCIENCE