Ocean Wonderland

Here is where I live.

Well, not right here.

I move around all the time,

visiting my many friends,

keeping an eye on the situation.

I've been doing it for years and years.

And as you can see,

I am far from alone down here.

Sometimes it gets crowded.

The ocean is home

to countless variations of sea life.

My grandfather used to say,

"Even the camels wandering the Sahara,

"even the mountain goats high up

in the Alps are creatures of the oceans,

"for they too depend on the oceans

for their survival.

"Without healthy oceans

no life, not even on land, can exist. "

He'd say that every time he was upset

with the way mankind was treating our home.

Now that I am older and wiser,

I'm starting to understand what he meant.

And that good-looking fellow there,

well, that's me.

If you'd like to tag along,

I'll show you around.

If you come from the inland,

your first encounter with the ocean

is unforgettable.

If you've ever crossed an ocean,

its vastness, its power and serenity

are overwhelming.

But only when you've dived

beneath the waves

does the miracle of the ocean

and all its beauty truly reveal itself.

The ocean wonderland.

Here, and all around the tropics,

is the pulsating heart of the oceans,

the coral reefs.

Now I could go on and on

and tell you all about each and every one

of the 800 known species

of reef-building corals,

where each coral is a tiny

colony of sea life,

or about the incredible diversity

of shapes and sizes.

I could even tell you

that a small coral table, like this one,

is the home to, oh,

about 300,000 inhabitants.

But I won't.

Too dry. Boring.

Okay, but here's a question for you.

What is coral? Is it plant or rock?

It's a trick question. It's neither.

It's an animal.

Imagine thousands and thousands

of tiny creatures clustering together,

and sharing a common skeleton

made of limestone.

That's what coral reef is.

Skeletons built upon skeletons,

until big, well, sometimes absolutely huge

structures are formed,

like here, the Great Barrier Reef

in Australia,

which is so enormous

it can be seen from space.

Well, that's what they tell me.

I've never been.

Like me, corals are sensitive creatures.

They thrive only in clear, warm waters

with lots of sunlight filtering through.

Coral is fragile

and it grows ever so slowly.

So, if some klutz breaks off a branch

of this staghorn coral,

it would take many years

for it to grow back.

Something to think about next time you're

tempted to break off a little souvenir.

Big boulder corals seem to live forever.

This one is over 500 years old.

Grandfather told me that our family

has been swimming on the reefs for ages,

over 100 million years, actually.

The nooks and crannies,

the complex structure of the reef

is something that appeals

to a vast number of species.

There are over 4,500 different types of fish

on the reefs.

They make the reef their home

and playground

and also their battleground.

The batfish,

curious and gentle wanderers

in and around the reef.

These are pompano, rather well-behaved

during the day, but predators by night.

With their bright colours

and their beak-like jaws,

it's no wonder they're called parrot fish.

The giant Napoleon wrasse

is a fabulous character,

reaching a weight of 400 pounds,

always inquisitive,

always with an eye on the next meal.

Puffer fish, about as fast a swimmer

as poor cousin Quincy,

are protected by a poisonous flesh.

Like their name indicates,

they can puff themselves up with water

when they feel threatened.

They become bigger and scarier-looking

and not quite as easy to fit

between your jaws.

Look closely.

No, closer.

Can you spot the trumpetfish

hiding amongst these whip corals?

Shipwrecks, like this one in the Bahamas,

are mighty popular down here.

In many ways, they replicate

the complex structure of coral reef

and quickly become home

to sea life, as well.

Here, the fish can rest,

hide or wait in ambush.

Beautifully coloured queen angelfish

together with a pair of delicate butterflyfish

has moved in and made a home

amongst the fan corals growing on the wreck.

With so many different species,

the competition for space and lunch

can be fierce.

Struggle and swim, struggle and swim,

but never a dull moment!

The strangest alliances have evolved

between species in order to survive.

Sea anemones are animals

that live attached to the reef.

They capture small fish

and kill them with stinging tentacles.

The clown fish, however,

is a crafty little fellow

who has evolved a technique

which fools the anemones,

and therefore can move freely

amongst the tentacles.

The giant reef anemones

become their safe haven.

As you may know,

I can't stay down here forever.

I must surface for air once in a while,

just like the next creature

we're about to meet,

the dolphin.

Actually, they bear quite a few similarities

with us turtles.

Intelligence, beauty, style, grace.

Okay, maybe they do get around

a bit faster than us.

Dolphins have fascinated humans

since time immemorial.

An encounter with one is always

a magical moment and a memory for life.

Hey, how often do you get the chance

to touch a wild dolphin.

So go on, give it a go!

Showing off his dance moves again.

Reminds me of myself

in younger days, actually.

Now, Grandfather, who claimed

that camels were sea creatures,

certainly enjoyed his metaphors.

He compared the endless waters of an ocean

to the endless sands of a desert,

and the coral reef to an oasis.

The reefs are havens where sea life abounds

and all the different species

depend on each other for survival.

Huge schools of yellow snappers

thrive on parts of the reef.

Let me introduce you to this wonderful

ballet my friends have prepared for you.

Well, you wouldn't get a bunch of turtles

to carry on like that,

but it's rather fascinating,

don't you think?

Thank you, my friends. See you later.

Now, no one particularly likes

becoming someone else's lunch,

but down here, we're pretty realistic

about our place in the food chain.

You eat and you are eaten.

That's just the way it goes.

These sandy plains may seem barren to you,

but just below the surface

live countless molluscs and small worms.

And any creature with the right appetite,

and the right technique

knows they are down there.

Stingrays are experts at finding

and excavating their prey from the sand.

Their mouth is under their body,

while their eyes are on top.

To me, this is a little strange.

They have powerful jaws, of course.

Not as strong as mine,

but they are capable of crushing

even the hardest shells.

And as always, nothing goes to waste.

The smaller fish feast on the scraps

the larger ones leave behind.

When I think of life on the reef,

two things come to mind,

abundance and extraordinary diversity.

These are surgeonfish.

They graze on the algae

growing on the rocks.

They find safety in numbers

and confuse their predators

by travelling together.

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