{"id":6503,"date":"2018-04-23T19:24:26","date_gmt":"2018-04-23T19:24:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.isibindi.co.za\/?p=6503"},"modified":"2023-04-03T05:39:10","modified_gmt":"2023-04-03T05:39:10","slug":"rock-pool-awe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thongabeachlodge.co.za\/rock-pool-awe\/","title":{"rendered":"Rock pool awe"},"content":{"rendered":"
By Dr Sharon Grussendorff, regular guest at the Isibindi Africa Lodges, with images from the talented Carl Moller of Thonga Beach Lodge.<\/p>\n
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Many of us have happy memories of playing on the beach as a child with our bucket and spade, splashing about in the sea and running freely in the sand. Although I have grown out of many of these activities, one of the things that I have never grown too old for is the wonder of gazing into the magical and mysterious world of rock pools. Like a private trip to a mini-aquarium, one is treated to a world of bright colours, exotic-shaped creatures and darting fish, with the added beauty of rippled reflections of the blue sky.<\/p>\n
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One of the weird and wonderful life forms that are easy to spot in rock pools are sea anemones, with their gently waving tentacles. These are very primitive animals that are related to jellyfish. They stick to rocks by a slimy disc, and although they can move around a little bit, they mainly stay in one place. Their waving tentacles catch small fish or other living creatures and wrap around them. The anemone then stings its prey, which paralyses it before it is eaten. You can see a wide range of anemones in South African rock pools. For example, the false plum anemone is a large anemone (up to 20\u00a0cm in diameter) with a red colour in the middle and cream coloured tentacles that have a mauve tip. The The long-tentacled anemone, or crevice anemone, has 96 long tentacles with small round bulges at their base. These anemones are often found half-covered in sand.<\/p>\n
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