The Dive Evangelist

You've heard the adage "Take only photos, leave only bubbles." As divers, we're informal stewards of the sea. Our love of the underwater world makes us de facto ambassadors to the rest of the population that doesn't venture beneath the surface. Granted, some divers are also hunters, and occasionally take more than photos. But most of us are content to just look, and we dive in awe at what we see... a turtle languidly swimming through the water, a fish being serviced at a cleaning station, the arms of an anemone waving in the current.

Taking the pulse of the news this week, though, I keep coming across stories of people who did more than just look -- and got more than they bargained for in return.

First, there's the story of ...shall we call him... Mr. Opposable Big Toe. This genius found a moray eel, but couldn't just leave it in peace. He wanted to play, so what better toy to draw out an eel than... a sausage! So this guy feeds the eel sausage after sausage, dangling each one in front of its mouth, seemingly taunting it. Can you guess how this one turns out? And can you blame the eel for biting off the guy's thumb? Sausage, thumb... they look the same to the eel. If you have a strong stomach, watch the video and see why I call this rocket scientist and Darwin Award nominee Mr. Opposable Big Toe.

Next, we have the hapless snorkeler who got a little bit too close to the whale. I have to admit, if I found myself with mask and snorkel within reach and a pair of whales just off the bow, I too would want to jump right in. But if you’re approaching a creature of such sheer size, you have to keep in mind the effect your hand could have on a mosquito that you swat without thinking... and then follow the analogy to its obvious conclusion.

Finally, there are the kite boarders who saw some sharks swimming around them and thought it would be great fun to pull one out of the water for ...well ...who knows why. On the beach, one of them reached into the shark's mouth to pull out the hook. If you can't guess what happened next, check out the video. If you're dumb enough to stick your hand inside a live shark's mouth, well....

While these episodes perhaps serve better as examples of Darwinism in action, they also remind me that there are practical as well as altruistic reaons for "taking only photos, leaving only bubbles." If we get overeager about interacting with the marine life we encounter, we not only disrupt their natural world, we also put ourselves at risk. That goes for the tiniest coral polyps to the largest shark in the ocean.