Hilarious: a “Camera-loving” Parrotfish decided to PHOTOBOMB an unsuspecting Diver
Imagine asking a friend to take a photo of you snorkeling when all of a sudden a giant blue parrotfish pops in front of a camera.
That was the situation faced by Sophia Roth in Key West, Florida, at the weekend. The owner of Snuba, a local diving tour company, was out with a group checking out the many coral reefs in the area.
She was smiling for the camera when all of a sudden a parrotfish came out of nowhere and swims in front of the lens.
Boo! This parrotfish came out of nowhere at Eastern Dry Rocks in Key West, Florida, to surprise diver Sophia Roth … and steal her photo
Hilariously, it also seems that the fish is smiling too. ‘It’s one of my favorite (pictures),’ Roth said. ‘The picture is funny because the parrot fish looks like he is looking at the camera and smiling.
‘It’s cute.’ Key West has the third largest barrier reef in the world, and is the perfect environment for the likes of parrotfish to live. Parrotfish earned their name due to their teeth, which form a parrot-like beak used to graze algae from coral and rocks.
They are found in relatively shallow tropical and subtropical oceans throughout the world, with the majority of species reaching 30-50 cm in length.
Parrotfish are considered a huge benefit to protecting coral reefs because they eat algae and excrete sand
The parrotfish is not the only creature who has shown a love for a camera, with llamas, stingrays and an elephant also previously photobombing tourists’ shots. The colorful and voracious herbivores were recently named by National Geographic as ‘the #1 thing to ensure the health of coral reefs’.
This is because they spend 90 percent of their day eating algae. They also excrete sand, which is of huge benefit to sand erosion.
National Geographic say parrotfish excrete over 200 pounds per year. Protecting parrotfish and urchins can help restore coral reefs.
