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Navy
divers recently helped in the search for the Hippocanthus
Dalei Seahorse in Darwin. While they were unsuccessful,
the publicity surrounding the search saw a Barramundi farmer
donate several seahorses to the Territory Wildlife Park.
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Photos:
LSPH Kaye Adams.
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LSPH
Kaye Adams and LCDR Steve Mullins
Navy divers from HMAS Coonawarra have been scouring Darwin Harbour
in search of seahorses they can house in an exhibit at the Territory
Wildlife Park.
HMAS Coonawarra’s welfare fund generously donated $10,000 to sponsor
a new Seahorse exhibit at the park, but finding the elusive critters
proved to be a far tougher challenge.
Teams of Navy and Wildlife Park divers had been trying for weeks
to find some of these elusive creatures in their favourite habitats
around Darwin harbour without success.
Mr Steve Matthews, manager of the Marine Harvest Barramundi farm
on Bathurst Island finally came to the rescue in response to an
article in the NT News.
Mr Matthews said that the farm had plenty of mangroves, which
the seahorses prefer, and that everybody at the farm had been
on the lookout since they saw the newspaper article.
He eventually captured seven seahorses and one pipefish for the
Park.
They were all sent from Bathurst Island to Darwin via light plane
and since then the delicate marine animals have been kept behind
the scenes at the Wildlife Park Aquarium as their progress in
their new environment is closely monitored The seahorses are currently
measured at only 5cm long and it was their black colouring and
copper underbelly that made them extremely difficult to find during
the many diving expeditions.
Territory
Wildlife Park staff believe that this will be the first time the
seahorses have been on public display and that the seahorses may
be juveniles and expect them to grow a little, although it will
be a “wait and see” experience as more is learned about these
creatures.
Once
the Seahorses meet their quarantine requirements and are weened
off live food they will be placed in their new display at the
Aquarium.
