Throughout the next few weeks we'll update this section with all our exciting news including pictures of our new Dive Station and Offices plus our recent Adventure Training Activities !!
Meanwhile, we must share the news of a rare sighting within the surrounding waters of the Tunku Abdul Rahman Park.
The current was actually pretty strong but manageable, with all four divers finning fairly hard, when all of sudden a small movement on the rubble seabed caught my eye. Edging towards it for a closer look i recognised the unmistakable blue rings that decorate the body and legs of the Blue Ring Octopus Hapalochlaena sp. I beckoned over my students, they could see by my excitement that this little creature was of special interest. I pointed and screamed through my regulator, by now the current had picked up as we neared the reef slope and our bubbles were trailing horizontally in the water column. We all finned furiously to maintain our position to see the little critter, who just perched on a small piece of coral rubble, no doubt wondering what all the commotion was about !
Although Blue Ring Octopuses are seen with some what regularity in the region of Kapalai in the Celebes Sea, this is the first time any of us have encountered one within the TAR Park in the South China Sea. Some of our instructors have been working here for 10 + years with no sightings so i feel very privaliged and excitied to have come across such a highly prized and beautiful creature in my back yard !!
For more information on this interesting an venomous creature please visit our dedicated Octopus and Squid Marine Biology Section.
For Diving within the Tunku Abdul Rahman Park please visit our Daily Dive Package section.
