Ev-aqua-tive

I like catfish—to look at and to eat, although there may be something wrong with that combination. But I was, somewhat to my surprise, actually struck with awe at the sight of the huge catfish drifting through the tanks in the Amazonia exhibit at the zoo. Maybe it’s the otherworldly quality of the murky water, which reflects and distorts light in unexpected ways; maybe it’s the blank, glassy stare of the fish, which makes you wonder what exactly they’re seeing; maybe it’s the ancient quality of the catfish themselves, members of an older group than these Johnny-come-lately bony fishes. Probably it’s a combination of those things that makes one think of long-ago seas, of wide rivers winding through steamy tropical forests full of the sounds of birds and insects, the calls of monkeys: a world very distant from our own.


Is that what the fish are seeing?

{A note: I do write all text and take all pictures. Please do not reproduce either without my permission.}