"Annaanicole from the depths. Rising above the water tentacles of a giant squid firmly grabbed one of the sailors clinging for a chip. And in the eyes of his comrades, helplessly watching this spectacle, creature dragged into the abyss shouting terrible scream of a man..." described by witnesses the time of his death in the Atlantic English-scooterstore Britannia, March 25, 1941.

I, as a ship's doctor, often and long you ever been on the coast of East Africa, Madagascar, Australia and South America and to face what I want to tell. Today many fans of exotic and travel travel groups and alone to learn the distant Islands and the magnificent beaches, lying South of the tropic of Cancer.

But not all guess what - or rather who - can wait for them in the warm clear waters of the tropical coast. And certainly nobody suspects that the first step in uncharted territory can not just spoil the holiday and for all to discourage to travel, but, moreover, to be the last in my life.

Dangers in water careless of swimmers and divers, can be quite various. In the waters of the World ocean is home to many animals, the meeting with which carries a potential threat to humans. All of them can be divided into three groups: agonoy using poison for defense and attack, poisonous animals whose meat by eating poison, and the predators, which are not averse to eat gaping swimmer.

However, the goal of my little excursions in the waters of our planet is not to scare traveler - I just want to report some information about dangerous inhabitants of these spaces.

Remember that the Great ocean requires a serious and respectful attitude. But man, plunging into the unknown world for him, often does elementary mistakes. This can be easily avoided if requested to examine the situation and to evaluate its capabilities. Forewarned is forearmed.

SPIKE SEA URCHIN

What a pleasure to walk barefoot on the shallow water somewhere on the tropical coast. However, it is not quite so relax, otherwise you run the risk of stepping on a sea urchin. Thorns he is extremely sharp and crisp. They easily penetrate the skin, so easily broken, and, remaining in the wound, secrete poison purple. This raises the feeling that the body has made the molten metal. Burning does not stop for several hours, and the needles are left in the skin, leading to suppuration. In my practice I have not once been faced with victims of hedgehogs.

Meeting with sea hedgehog leaves extremely painful memories. But lurking at the bottom, can generally leave without memories.

Fish-frog, or verrucosa

Once a rising wave sat our compatriot right on the hedgehog, which was heated on the sun in coral cleft. When comments, which consisted entirely of Russian profanity, ceased to announce desert African coast, I treated the wound and tried to remove the stuck needles. But when you hold the needle tip tweezers, as he immediately break off, and the needle was left in the wound. Interfere with the operation and immediately appeared swelling. That is, in this case remains the only method of salvation - surgical. Cuban fishermen, however, uses its own special method: they've hit a stone in the place where he had got the needle, to destroy it in the wound. After that the wound is faster suppurate, and the remains of the needle out. But the person who does not have the necessary skills, experience, this way I would not recommend.

Meeting with sea hedgehog leaves extremely painful memories. But lurking at the bottom, can generally leave without memories. It looks extremely ugly - short, like a stubby body, the skin is covered with warts and swellings. But, on the other hand, fish-toad is a beautiful example of the natural camouflage. It is almost impossible to distinguish from lying at the bottom of stones and pieces of coral. Looks clumsy, it nevertheless is considered to be one of the most dangerous enemies of man in the ocean. On the back of this "beauty" are thirteen sharp and durable needles. At the base of each of them there are the glands that produce poison. If the poison enters the human body, death can occur within hours. Here you walk among the coral reefs.

How ugly Boro-divchatka as beautiful and graceful its nearest relative - Zebra fish. Fins soft cream and Burgundy - its decoration and eighteen poisonous needles sticking out all over, her weapon. Fish this is quite aggressive, and poison in its effect is not inferior to the snake.

POISONS MARINE LIFE

But digress from fish and sea urchins, and fix your eyes on beautiful shell lying on the bottom. Do not rush to lend to them naked defenseless hand, even if you can see the famous "the glory of the seas". This basin is considered the most beautiful in the world, and its price collectors reaches several thousand

dollars. Shell belongs to the family of cones-shellfish that has a bad reputation shell-killers. On their conscience is not a human life. "The glory of the seas" is armed with a long, hollow shafts, each of which is filled with potent poison. Arrows are intended for hunting shellfish and fish, but if there are human limb, arrows and will not miss. The first case of death of the person from defeat by an arrow cone was recorded in 1705 on one of the Islands of the sea Banda and then described the Dutch researcher.

Small colored octopus, which is found on the Australian coast, also applies to shellfish. He is very beautiful, iridescent, and bathers immediately arises the desire to play with him, to take in hand, more so that the size of it is small and fits exactly into the man's hand. But this game is often ends tragically. The octopus bite almost painless, the victim feels a small prick and not even notice that funny creating introduces him under the skin poison, by the force beyond the Cobra venom. Is the paralysis of the respiratory centers, the person loses consciousness, and only long-term mechanical ventilation of the lungs can save it.

While Northern coast of Australia you can find another equally cute and equally poisonous creation, the conscience of which registered more than 80 lives. This is Medusa "sea wasp". Once in the range of its tentacles, the person experiences severe pain. If it is not time to help, he dies from a painful shock. And if Medusa manages to enter a large dose of poison, in less than 30 seconds, the victim is paralysis of the heart. To protect against bites "marine wasp", aborigines moisten the affected part of the body juice of one of the local plants, and the pain begins to recede. If you are close to the victims, first try to remove sticky tentacles, not touching them with his hands, and the bite rinse with fresh water and was the solutions.

But back to the exotic fish caught or produced during diving. The excitement of a hunter satisfied, mining proudly shown to others, it is time to begin the meal. But! Do not rush to do - look previously in the Bible, in the book of Deuteronomy. It said the following: "Of all the animals in the water, eat all that have fins and scales; and all those that have not fins and scales ye shall not eat: it is unclean for you." This is the first warning that the fish do not have scales, poisonous. But poisoning meat fish-dog wrote the ancient Chinese people in his famous medical treatise "the Book of herbs. The only nation who fish-dog food called "Fugue", -is Japanese. However, before becoming a master fugu cooking, cook must undergo special training to obtain a license, and then every time feeding the fish-dog on the table, he should be the first to try it. Be wrong as minesweeper, chef can only once in life. But despite this, every year in Japan for more than a hundred people were paying with their lives for the desire to eat drug dish.

Also, do not eat meat, and especially the liver sharks and rays. I had to try shark meat, to taste it reminds sturgeon, but to cook it, need special treatment. Poison in the tropical zone at certain times of the year may be even commercial fish. And if you decide to eat turtle soup, remember, green and leatherback turtle is better to avoid. In my practice there was such a case. At the Eastern coast of Africa our boatswain caught a turtle "encore green, cooked it and ate it - despite our strong recommendations not to do it. Save it cost a lot of works, and soup this, I believe, the boatswain remember for the rest of my life...

And it so happens that the role mining plays himself brave underwater hunter who found themselves on their own or by the will of Providence in tropical waters of the ocean.

JAW AND FIN

Sharks rightly called the terror of the seas. These are written and narrated by so many that add something new is almost impossible. We think we know about these sea lionesses all. However, we should not deceive ourselves, especially if you want not only to fit in the gentle waters of the southern sea, but also to get out of there alive and, importantly, unharmed. Despite his intellectual superiority, careless Homo sapiens canem easily end up in the stomach of this ancient fish-either in whole or in part, having lost one of the limbs. If you believe the science of 350 species of sharks are dangerous to humans are only 50. In fact, the danger may come from any of the lionesses, especially if it exceeds in length 120 cm.

Still not found a reliable means to deter sharks, therefore, and no one will give you an absolute guarantee of safety. If the meeting with the shark has occurred, the most important thing is to remain calm, not to panic and not to lose hope. I know a case that occurred with Russian sailor, who for more than four hours in the water surrounded by sharks. However, due to its own self-control and composure, he was not torn to pieces and came out unscathed from this hell.

So, when meeting with sharks two modes of behavior: either you retain complete immobility, or quickly swim, but the movement must be smooth and rhythmic. Impacts on the water with hands and feet, chaotic traffic, cries - all this will be taken constantly hungry predator as an invitation to dinner. In case of water to escape failed and the shark is coming with the clear intention to Deposit you your diet, remains the only means of salvation: immediately go on the attack and try by all means to intimidate the opponent. Kicking the shark anything that comes to hand, in the eyes, nose, gills. However fists try not to use the skin of sharks in ancient times cabinetmakers used as sandpaper for polishing, and if you cut yourself and bleed to stop the predator will be almost impossible. For the same reason, dear lovers of underwater and above-water swimming, quickly remove from the water sharpening fish. And if you hurt yourself - immediately retraites ashore and do not tempt fate.

I had to watch the dance of hungry sharks in the heart of the Indian ocean. Our boat started to sink - broke Kingston. The first boat to pull failed, the second crashed on the Board during the descent, but to get into life rafts, it was necessary to jump overboard in life jackets. Fortunately, motormen, ducking in the engine room, they found a hole and had to close up before he was given the command to leave the vessel. Such a large number of sharks at the same time and in one place I have never seen either before or after this incident. I farthing wouldn't give for our lives, if we are at this point in the water.

TRAP FOR DIVERS

However, not only sharks perceive in water rights from a gastronomic point of view.

The diver exploring the underwater grotto or the hull of the sunken ship in the dark can swim in warning the open mouth of a giant sea bass. The prospect is not so fantastic as separate instances groupers can reach four meters in length and weigh about half a ton. In their mouths freely is an adult. Described such a case. Giant grouper grabbed the pearl diver and were going to swallow. Lucky managed to escape the most improbable way - he managed to slip through the Gill slit. The second case occurred with a diver, survived thanks to air-tanks, not allowing perch to make gulp. But those who are to be saved failed, of course, to talk about such cases can not. However, the fact remains: the natives of the Islands of Oceania are afraid perch much more than sharks.

I had to watch sea bass relatively small dimensions: length 1 m 80 cm and a weight 125 kg caught Him sailors with a Chinese vessel, tsvetochnogo next door to us - at a mooring in port of Dar es Salaam. On deck fish was lifted by a crane, and the sight was very impressive.

I would also like to warn those who go to South America, especially in the Delta of the Amazon. If you do decide to swim in its waters or to Wade across one of the ducts, never neglect such life-saving means, as usual... and tight body melting, for piranhas, of course, toothy and aggressive, but the little vampire pencil-thin and the size of a little finger, called catfish-Candiru, much worse and krovojadnyi. This is the only vertebrate parasites in humans. Extremely sensitive to the smell of urine, he's coming in for being in water to man or animal and enters the urethra. Ratopariva Gill covers with thorns, catfish is moving into the bladder, prokativaet long teeth and mucous starts to suck the blood, swell up to unbelievable size. There are the cases when people died from loss of blood. At that moment, when the catfish-Candiru progresses through the urethra, the victim suffers unbearable pain. If the parasite was unable to pull out immediately, the Indians used very barbaric means immediately scratched member. For the victim is the only chance to prevent the infiltration of catfish in the bladder and, therefore, to survive. In the female body, the parasite penetrates even easier, and its destruction and damage of soft tissues and profuse bleeding, accompanied by the strongest pain.

I hope I have achieved their goal: to warn, but in any case not to scare. All living things emerged from the ocean, and because people constantly drawn to the water. It's like nostalgia, as the call of the wild. The ocean as if dwells in each of us, and therefore our blood is salty. A drop of ocean water walks in your veins.