Posted by Max Bottomtime on June 12, 2005 at 10:53:01:
In Reply to: Rebreather posted by matt on June 12, 2005 at 06:23:05:
Fish are like any other wild animal. They are on constant alert from predators, but also very curious. If you move slow and show no threatening postures they will usually come to check you out. I've had senioritas form a cleaning station around me by hanging upside down in mid water. I took a guy diving for lobster once who produced a cloud of silt while wrestling for a bug under a rock for a few minutes. He came away with a barely legal bug minus two antennae and a few legs. I showed him how to lay motionless and a lobster crawled onto my arm and even let me pet it.
My favorite marinelife interaction was at Santa Barbara Island. I had several sea lions buzzing me and wanting to play. One played tug-of-war with a kelp stipe. Two kept trying to mimic me, so I layed down on the sand and within a couple minutes I had a seal lion on either side of me doing the same. Two divers swam by and saw this and were so amazed that when I got back on the boat people were clapping for me. They all called me Zen Diver after that. One guy even called me the Sea Lion Whisperer. :-)