We often see these large puffers (Arothron stellatus) up to nearly a meter in length patrolling the reefs, and normally they keep a respectable distance. A combination of hungry curiosity on this young one's part and misjudgment on mine led to an annoying experience when I miscalculated his interest in some old frozen scallops I had taken along to feed anemones. Naively tossing a few in his direction, he readily gobbled them up and came looking for more. The result was an unnerving close encounter and insistent pestering by the puffer whose strong mouth can crush thick shells and who I wasn't sure knew the difference between my fingertips and the scallops he obviously knew I was the source of. I should have known better.
18 March 2013