Filmed for the first time, the fish that is afraid of the sea
IT IS not easy being a fish when you are afraid of the water.
So spare a thought for the leaping blenny, which detests the sea so much that it chooses to live in a miniature cave three feet above the tide-line, and scampers to higher ground when it sees even a small wave approach.
The Pacific leaping blenny, which needs to frequently roll around in coastal puddles to stay wet, has been filmed for the first time by the BBC’S Blue Planet II.
Introducing the nautically-challenged fish on tomorrow evening’s episode, Coasts, Sir David Attenborough said: “One marine creature has virtually abandoned the sea altogether. On a few remote Pacific islands lives the most terrestrial fish on the planet.
“These Pacific leaping blenny seem afraid of the waves. They are poor swimmers and would be easy prey in the sea.” Instead of finding food in the water, the blenny feeds on algae which grows on the cliff face.
To avoid being swept off the rocks, the little fish can leap far further than its three inches of body length.
It attracts females by flashing an orange patch on its dorsal fin, eventually attracting a mate into its nest in the rock crevice, where she lays her eggs.
The episode has also caught sea lions working together to hunt tuna into a labyrinth of small bays in the Galapagos Islands, footage that proves for the first time that the creatures are able to cooperate and plan.
Land crabs are also filmed leaping from rock to rock, desperately trying to avoid moray eels and octopuses in the water, while penguins are seen tentatively walking through colonies of elephant seals to reach their young.
The series producer, Mark Brownlow, said: “In the last of our habitatbased episodes we visit our coasts.
“They may be our window to the oceans, where we go for rest and relaxation, but the creatures that live here have to go through incredible hardships to survive in this divide between land and sea.
“This episode is going to be extraordinary because we’ve got so many new, incredible stories.”
Blue Planet II, Coasts will be shown on BBC One at 8pm tomorrow.