By popular request – it only takes one – this is an entry from a guest blogger, Lenny the Leopard shark. The other day I was lying on the seabed in the Similans, minding my own business, when all of a sudden a group of four odd-looking creatures approached. What they were, I cannot tell,but it’s not the first time I’ve come across them – or someone similar. They were all roughly my length, though the size difference between them was noticeable. They were black with white tubular extensions where you’d expect to see fins and a tail
. Their”pectoral fins” ended in polypp-like extensions that curled and flexed, only a few centimetres long
. On top of that, the tail-fins were all different bright colours
. Truth be told, this was the only part of their anatomy that seemed in any way suited for swimming under water.
Anyway, there I was, when these four came up behind me
. I made as if to leave, but they swam in front of me and came nearly all the way down to the sea bed. There they lay for a couple of minutes before they set off again, all the while letting off streams of bubbles, breathing like dolphins in distress. They were also carrying some blank large cylinders on their backs, with pipes and hoses sprouting from the top.
Whoever – or whatever – these creatures may have been, I don’t know, but I can tell you a Leopard shark can come across some truly strange things on a seemingly normal day.