A ship filled with vacationers received extra of a present than they bargained for throughout a tour off Australia’s coast over the weekend.
The group had been basking within the solar after their journey with Ningaloo Whaleshark Swim off Exmouth in Western Australia when the skipper seen a “slithery looking coil” on the floor of the water. After inching nearer, the twisted mass was revealed to be two sea snakes mating.
“Once the male is inside the female, he is stuck until mating is complete — a tricky situation when you’re an air breather,” the organisation posted on its Facebook web page. “The female will usually time when to come up for air and the male will have to try and grab a quick breath too.”
Incredible photographs taken by underwater photographer Jasmin present the 2 giant snakes wrapped round one another within the ocean as a crowd of admirers watched on from the vessel. One of the reptiles will be seen lifting its head above water to breathe.
Aussies reacting to the scenic pictures on-line had been clearly left in awestruck by Mother Nature. “This is just amazing, mother nature is amazing. Seriously great photos,” one person stated. “Man you think they would be able to get some privacy there…” one other joked.
Tour group ‘so fortunate’ to witness sea snakes
Veterinary anatomy skilled Dr Glenn Shea informed Yahoo News the pictures present mating Stokes’ Sea Snakes (Hydrophis stokesii) — “Australia’s most bulky sea snake” — for which he confirmed mating is a “tricky” business.
“[They] have to return to the surface to breathe frequently, and also have to grip each other for mating in an aquatic environment (hence the tangled mass),” he defined. “So it can be difficult to gain access to the surface while still remaining entangled.”
Instructor for the Australian reptile Academy Dr Christina Zdenek agreed, telling Yahoo “it is true that sea snakes — which give birth to live young — don’t have gills, so they need to breathe air with their lungs”.
“But 30 minute dives are not uncommon, with a maximum dive time of two hours recorded,” she added.
Dr Shea stated observations of mating sea snakes are “important records” as “very little” is thought about copy in lots of species. WIRES reptile specialist Gary Pattinson informed Yahoo the vacationers are “so lucky” to have witnessed the “utterly stunning animals in their natural habitat”.
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