What is that STRANGE looking fish?!
Where in the Ocean are the Salty Sea Dogs today?
Today we head out to sea with the Salty Sea Dogs from Hout Bay harbour.
Hout Bay is on The Atlantic Ocean side of Cape Town where the water is often quite cold. Sometimes it can be as cold as 9 degrees Celsius and for Brownie, with her short fur coat, she gets very cold out there.
We haven’t been to sea for more than a week now, the South East wind has been blowing a gale! So Sandi, Brownie and Lucy are very excited to be back on the boat! They keep a close eye on the water in case they spot a marine creature.
A dolphin zoots past us, undetected by the Salty Sea Dogs … they are looking the wrong way!
Get your eagle eyes on – there’s a lot to spot out there!
Up ahead, Chris spots some tiny bubble-looking creatures floating on the surface. We slow down and have a closer look … they are completely see-through! Believe it or not, they are actually living creatures and they are called bluebottles. They are everywhere, and when you see them like this, it’s called a flotilla of bluebottles!
The Salty Sea Dogs peer closer and start to get excited. Brownie has spotted something and leans over the gunnels of the boat to have a closer look.
What is that STRANGE looking fish?!
It is a giant swimming ‘disc-shaped’ creature, and because it is a light mottled colour, we can all see it now as it swims just under the sea surface. Chris turns the boat engines off and we drift quietly, without making any noise. Will the strange looking fish come closer?
It does indeed! And now all three Salty Sea Dogs get an amazing look …
It is an Ocean Sunfish!
This is the world’s largest bony fish and is also known as a Mola mola. When I say this, the dog’s all prick their ears up … it’s a funny name!
A Mola mola is a huge fish and can weigh up to 2,000 kilograms. Even though it is so large, it has a tiny mouth. Inside the mola’s mouth are two pairs of hard teeth plates. These are shaped with a slightly curved ridge that kind of look like a bird’s beak.
Surf’s up, what’s on the menu?
Although the bluebottles do not look like you could eat them, and they most definitely do not look as though they could be tasty, this is one of the Mola mola’s main prey!
With so many bluebottles around, it’s no wonder we spotted one! They have to eat a huge amount of them to get a decent meal, and they do so by sucking them in through their mouth rather than chewing.
You must be thinking, what crazy creature would want to eat a bluebottle? They sting like crazy! But the Mola mola has a plan for this. Inside their digestive tract, they have a mucus-like lining that prevents it from getting stung.
This Molo mola is very curious with us too, and stays around our boat for a long time. Sandi, Brownie and Lucy keep their paws up on the gunnels to be sure to spot the mola each times it comes up for a bluebottle.
Paws for Thought – Here’s how you can help keep Planet Earth healthy!
Although Mola mola’s live in the open sea, our discarded plastic bags that end up in the ocean are a big danger to them. They float at the surface and look a lot like a bluebottle, which we now know is their one of their main meals. So, it’s easy for them to make a mistake and swallow a plastic bag.
If the mola doesn’t choke as it sucks the bag in, the plastic can clog the fish’s stomach, slowly starving the animal.
Helping the mola is one more reason to bring your own reusable shopping bags to the shops — and make sure any plastic bags you do use, are properly disposed of.
All in a day’s work!
It’s been an exciting day at sea, but now the Salty Sea Dogs are safely back home and enjoying some well-deserved nap time!
Until the next time,
Big Woofs from the Waves to you all!
