Deadly stingrays, eerie eels and smiling pufferfish…meet the terrors from the deep at the National Sea Life Centre in Bray this Halloween!
They may be behind glass – but prepare to be gripped by terror at their deadly gaze.
Come face to face with the lethal Puffer Fish, the sharp-toothed sharks, the finger-eating Moray Eel and a Sting Ray that carries a venomous poison in his tail, ready to inject any would-be-predators!
Be warned! It’s the smaller ‘cute’ creatures that are often the deadliest …
The happy yellow Puffer Fish may look like he’s smiling at you – but he’s actually the most toxic marine creature on the planet! His poison is 1200 times more powerful than cyanide! Despite this, the Puffer Fish is regarded as a delicacy in Japan and China and chefs need a special licence to prepare it. Even then there are a number of diner deaths each year.
His tank companion is the Porcupine Puffer Fish. Don’t be fooled by his silly grin – Get too close and he will inflate and unleash his sharp spines. He has enough toxin in his liver to kill 30 adult humans, and there is no known antidote!
The Blue-Spot Ribbontailed Stingray is a beautiful creature to watch… Beware! Its tail carries two sharp venomous spines. The bright blue pattern is warning colouration, to deter other creatures from getting close. If threatened, it flips its tail and injects the enemy, including humans if provoked, with a deadly venom.
You may need to peer among the rocks to get a good view of the Honeycomb Moray Eel as he lies in wait to trap his prey. Moray eels have a fearsome reputation, particularly amongst divers as fingers have been lost when attempts are made to touch or hand-feed eels! (the eel cannot discern between fingers and the raw food they are holding).
Sharks get a much worse reputation than they deserve! If you link the ‘Jaws’ Theme music to all sharks, you are terribly mistaken. Sharks are seriously misunderstood creatures and are not as deadly as they are made out to be. You are more likely to be struck by lightning than die from a shark attack. But you wouldn’t like to provoke one.
Native to the rivers of South America, there are several cousins of the deadly piranha living in Sea Life Bray. Piranhas are known for their razor sharp teeth and fierce bite. Despite a sometimes bad reputation in many countries they are kept as household pets. In fact many of them are vegetarians! However, we wouldn’t recommend putting your fingers too close. You never know, they may be hungry!
Native to the rivers of South America, there are several cousins of the deadly piranha living in Sea Life Bray. Some of them were originally bought in pet shops and kept at home until they began to grow big, very big. But back in the Amazon, the species has a very bad reputation, stripping the flesh off an entire cow carcass in minutes!
The Lionfish is fascinating to watch – but don’t be taken in by their gormless gaze. Fatalities may be rare with the Lionfish but those spines are covered in a mucous containing neurotoxin which can cause nasty reactions! In the Caribbean Sea, lionfish are terrors in a completely different way – these alien invaders to the region have disrupted the local food web, posing a major threat to the coral reef ecosystem!
These are just some of the spooky sea creatures waiting to meet you the National Sea Life Centre in Bray this Halloween. Are you brave enough to meet them face to face?
