There are many different animals that have certain names and many animals are unknown to most people. Sometimes it is hard to determine what an animal does and why we should know it. But it is nice if you know some animals and that you know how to recognize them. Because that way you can prevent problems for example or you know when you meet one when you are on holiday what it is exactly. You can do the same with a moray eel. It is always useful to know what kind of animals you are going to have to deal with and maybe you have encountered them before.
What kind of animals are they?
Moray eels are actually just fish. They are steel-finned fish and they have a very easier color. This kind of fish is not just one species, because there are really more than 200 species found. This is of course a lot. That is why there are so many people who cannot tell them apart.
Besides the fact that the 200 types of strings there are also 15 different genera. So it is almost impossible to keep them apart and to see exactly what they are. These fish are actually found everywhere and so they are found in fresh water, but they are also found in seawater. This means that they can be found all over the world.
So actually they are fish that not very many people know, but it is useful to know them. Especially if you are a diver, this is useful to know. As a diver, there can always be dangers in the water. Sometimes certain dangers are really unlikely, but they can always happen.
It could also be that you like to swim and are looking for the right information about certain fish. It is important to know which fish are safe and which are not. That's why it's always important to read up on things before you jump into the water.
Are they dangerous to humans?
When you talk about dangers, of course you want to know if this kind of fish is dangerous for you. Generally, they have a very aggressive reputation, but this is actually unjustified. They would never just attack you. They also swim pretty deep. This makes them unlikely to attack normal people, but divers should watch out for them.
They would not attack without reason, but the moment you come close to their hiding place, for example, they will defend it. The fish can seriously injure you. That's why it's important that you don't come near them when it's not necessary. Of course as a diver you don't know for sure if a certain hiding place belongs to them. That's why it's hard to estimate.
For the rest, it is not dangerous at all for normal people. This is because they will not attack if you do nothing. It is possible that you put out your hands, but most people are afraid of fish they don't know. Most people will not do that too soon.
In this way humans and animals are actually both very safe from each other and have no contact with each other. The fact that they defend their hiding place so well is also because they can't see very well. They have very little sight and do everything with their smell.
So they are easily seduced with a piece of dead fish, but if you will also smell it, they would not know the difference. So it actually means that they will attack you too.
If you smell a certain way which smells like food to them, that is a point that divers should pay attention to. Divers have been bitten by these fish before. This is because they smelled of dead fish to distract them.
Do we eat these fish?
In the Netherlands we eat a lot of fish. There are also a lot of meat-eaters. You might be thinking that we eat these fish right now, but actually that's not very common. Of course, there are people who will eat this, but in general you won't see these fish in the shops.
Eels are often sold and salmon, for example, is sold, but these types of fish are often not sold. This is because they are not very tasty or do not have enough meat on them. This makes the fish not worth eating.
Furthermore, they don't really eat the most appetizing things that we will. Therefore they are often not eaten and there are many different reasons why we as humans do not eat these fish.
These fish eat other fish and eat the head, eyes and crustaceans. Actually, it does not matter very much what other animals eat, of course, also meat. But the moment we would start eating these animals, it would not be very tasty.
This is the reason why we often don't eat these animals. There are people who eat them, but these people are everywhere. Not everybody eats meat and not everybody eats fish.
There is of course a big difference between the two. That's why it's important to always remember that you have to know what you're eating. Otherwise, of course, it would be a bit crazy for us all to start forcing what everyone else wants to eat.
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