Sir David Attenborough has shared a moment that took his breath away: the first time he went scuba diving on a coral reef.
“The first time I used scuba gear to dive on a coral reef, I was so taken aback by the spectacle before me, I forgot – momentarily – to breathe,” says Sir David Attenborough in Ocean with David Attenborough. The film was released in cinemas on his 99th birthday (8 May).
When Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus (SCUBA) became commercially available in the 1950s, people around the world were able to glimpse the magical worlds that lie under the water.
Attenborough was one of them. In the film, he recalls the overwhelming moment he first saw a bustling coral reef. “Nothing I had ever seen on land had come close to the sensory overload of so much life, of such diversity right before my eyes,” he says.
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Coral polyps are tiny animals that come together to form colonies. Several different colonies make up a coral reef, which provide food and shelter to a huge range of fish, crustaceans and other animals. In fact, coral reefs support one quarter of all marine species.
With over 30 million certified scuba divers around the world, Attenborough is not alone in his love for coral reefs. “One could spend days swimming above it and never tire of the colours, the movement, the interactions,” he says. “It’s life at its most mesmerising.”
Video credit 'Ocean with David Attenborough' is in cinemas across the UK, Ireland and the globe now. Visit oceanfilm.net to find your local cinema and buy tickets | Main image credit: Getty
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