Welcome to the Sea Sanctuary!

Go Forward

Welcome!

Hello! Welcome to the Sea Sanctuary. Here, you'll be learning all sorts of interesting facts about, you guessed it, the sea!

Click through the animals to continue.

Introduction

To begin, it's important to know that the ocean is huge- it takes up a massive 71% of our planet. It's home to millions of the earths creatures! Fish, whales, octopuses, squid, dolphins, eels... The list could go on forever.

Because of its vastness, only around 5% of the ocean has actually been explored. This means that we really only know a fraction of the species that live there. Spooky!

The Pacific Ocean is the largest one, covering around 30% of the earth. It measures 161.8 million km². Quite the walk!

Cool Creatures

The ocean's bound to have some freaky creatures lurking around. Let's look at some of them!

First up, the sunfish! Like, just look at it. Why does it look like that? I'm scared. On average, it weights in at around 1000 kg (2200 lbs) and can be up to 14 feet. For reference of how massive that is, the average man is around 5'9". It isn't covered in scales, but skin! Yes! Skin! It also hosts over 40 parasites. Another fun fact, female sunfish can lay up to 300 million eggs per brood!

This creature is legitimately THE worst thing I have ever seen. This Satantic, unearthly being is called the stargazer, and it's known as "the meanest thing in creation." These things are capable of vacuuming up, electrocuting and delivering deadly venom to their enemies. They can swallow their prey whole, and they'll cough up the scales! To add, they have large spines on their back that will release a toxic venom if attacked. Bad news, I think!

Finally! Something kind of cute. Meet the Octopus Wolfi- the teeniest tiniest octopus ever. Most of them are around 2.5 cm in length and weight less than a gram. For reference, a loonie is a little less than 2.5 cm long. Despite how small it is, it's a thriving species! I respect them.

Look at these funky things! The axolotl is a different type of salamander in which they only live in water. They're talented, too- they can regrow their limbs! However, these poor things are critically endangered. They're popular in aquarium trade, and in Mexico, where they live, they're considered a delicacy.

Pretty Plants

Everyone knows about coral reefs! The colourful and diverse ecosystem on the ocean floor. Here are some fun facts!

• My title is a lie, I just thought it sounded cool- corals aren't plants. They're actually animals!

• Coral reefs get their pretty colours from algae! The algae live inside of the coral, providing them with food.

• Many parts of coral reefs can
actually be harvested to make medications that can treat cancers and other illnesses.

• Reefs make good homes for many animals, such as fish, crabs, clams, and sponges.

• They grow very, very slowly. The larger ones grow at a rate of 1-2 cm per year, and they're estimated to have taken as long as 30 million years to form.

A Fishy Goodbye

Unfortunately, we've reached the end of our ocean adventure. Thank you for visiting! Feel free to click back and check it out all over again. I hope you enjoyed this oppor-tuna-ty! Are you hooked yet?

Click the giant angry octopus to return home!