FINDERS, KEEPERS
By: Evi Nurul Ihsan (WWF-Indonesia)
When diving, of course, we always expect to meet a variety of unique, strange, interesting, and rare marine life, right?
Well, there is an easy way to be able to find them while diving. Actually, we just need to know the habits of the sea dwellers we want to meet.
For example, to be able to meet turtles while diving, in addition to the luck factor, we must know the habits of the turtle. Turtles always need time to rest after swimming in the open ocean or just leyeh-leyeh on the coral bed or under the coral. So, all we have to do is to be careful and diligent in paying close attention to our surroundings.
Like today, when we dived in the waters of Labengki Island in Lasolo District, North Konawe Regency. The coral cover at this point is very good with up to 100% density at some points. My eyes circulated carefully, and soon found hawksbill turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata), swimming between the corals.
In addition to turtles, we can find small living creatures such as Anclyomenes holthuisi or anemone shrimp - anemone shrimp. Clownfish share their living area with anemone shrimp to live together. This animal is very small so we must be careful in looking for the animal.
At Labengki, I came closer when I saw a mound of anemones with clownfish swimming around. Because chances are, you can also find anemone shrimps in various colors. And sometimes, they look transparent!
So, in diving principles, it's not a matter of "first come, first served" as the saying goes. In diving, he who is careful is the one who gets it!