A large colony of garden eels sway and feed in the gentle currents off Dumaguete Philippines. Garden eels are extremely shy and harmless members of the conger eel family. They live in burrows on the sea floor and are very social creatures that form large colonies. The currents deliver a a continuous passing supply of plankton allowing the eels to feed in the comfort and safety of their sandy home. As our team approached this giant colony they quickly vanished into their burrows as if they never existed. I find these colonies to be hypnotic living gardens in the sea. Thank you to Leandro Blanco for video support. On assignment for @natgeo Philippines, Inside the Coral Triangle.
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If there are fewer eels, they stay further down in the sand with just a couple inches of body poking out. When there’s a huge colony, they have to be Tall because the ones at the edges of the colony pick off most of the low plankton before it can get to the middle one. They prefer not to come out that far because it makes it harder to retreat quickly, but they will if needed. Each one has a burrow that’s deep enough for that entire noodle to vanish completely if disturbed. When pretending to be sea grass doesn’t work, they shoop down into the burrow
Despite the name, these guys aren’t actually eels. Their face looks more like a goby’s, and they don’t have wide jaws with sharp teeth.
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