Balloons of the Bayou

  Every once in a while, something comes along that just makes you scratch your head and ponder.  It was time to catch a few fish for the injured heron so my daughter and son-in-law headed to the pier with me.  The pickings were slim for the poor bird, though, as I had a terrible time catching anything.  Three pinfish, two small white trout, eight shrimp and one menhaden rounded out his meal for the evening. Although his meal was small, the bird seemed happy to have found a new friend in my daughter.  She patiently coaxed him to come nearer and nearer while she held the little fish.  Soon the bird decided that all was safe and it ate heartily.  After we left the pier, the bird flew off to my brother's house to get a few handouts from the grill.  This bird is becoming spoiled!

  While tossing the net for bird food, I caught a funny little fish.  It is this one that had me pondering all sorts of wild thoughts.  What normally is a small, nondescript fish turned into the conversation piece of the evening.  My haul included a pufferfish. This fish, when agitated, can inflate itself to several times its original size.  It puffs up like a balloon with either water or air depending on where it is.  This inflation is a defensive tactic which makes it non-palatable to predators.  When attacked, the fish simply inflates and a potential predator cannot swallow the fish.  Small spines on the body aid in this defense.  It is said that there is some toxicity in the pufferfish which also is a defense mechanism. If eaten, it can cause death.  But back to that inflation and a supposed predator.  Imagine the surprise when a predator tries to swallow its prey and that very prey suddenly grows three times its normal size.  Add to that size a bunch of prickles and this would definitely present a problem!  

  I played with the pufferfish for a few minutes to show Elizabeth and Robbie the uniqueness of the fish.  It was equally adept at puffing on the pier as in the water.  They got tickled at the fact that the fish could not stay upright in its puffed-up state.  It rolled around on the pier like some white ball. The heron kept eyeing the fish and easing in for the kill.  I knew this was not a good idea and kept shooing the bird away. After a few minutes of playing with the fish, I tossed the critter back into the water so it could go about its pufferfish business.  Contrary to what one would believe, the fish did not immediately deflate and swim to safety.  Instead, it floated about belly-up for a couple of minutes.  Ok, fish..you are free!  I gently nudged it with the end of a pole causing the fish to flip and deflate.  Away swam our entertainment!  Be free, Little Puffer, be free.  (Sorry, Buddy Heron, you do not get to eat pufferfish!  Oh, and by the way, Elizabeth named the soon-to-be-one-legged heron "Skipper".)

I forgot to mention that the fantastic photographs in this post were taken by my talented daughter, Elizabeth!  Thank you for allowing me to share them!