Beautiful creatures ... and how to watch them
Paul Naylor has provided SCUBA ’ s Critter Confidential column since our first issue a decade ago . As he publishes the fourth edition of his acclaimed guidebook , Great British Marine Animals , we ask him about his mission to document animal behavior
So , a fourth edition of Great British Marine Animals ... what ’ s new and what has changed since the third edition in 2011 ? With ten more years of diving , underwater photography and observations under my weight-belt , this is by far the biggest upgrade of Great British Marine Animals . More than 500 new photographs show the animals going about their lives . Forty extra species are included and the book is still arranged to aid identification of common animals , but the aspect that
I ’ m increasingly passionate about is emphasising the amazing behaviour of the creatures living around our coast to add depth to their stories .
How many dives – or hours underwater – have gone into researching your books ? Well over two thousand scuba dives and it ’ s been more hours than that underwater , because many of my dives are very shallow and over an hour long . I ’ ve also rediscovered the joy of snorkelling in recent years .
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