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Our evasive quarry, the Panamic green moray, Los Frailes. (Photo
courtesy Robert S. Kiwala)
The next day when we went to check on them, the “escape-proof ”
cage, made from two-inch PVC pipe covered with strong netting, was
empty. Clearly, we had grossly underestimated the moray's Houdini-
like skill. Not only are morays extremely strong, but they also have the
ability to push their tails between two objects to force them apart. We
reasoned that they had done just that with our cage, slipping the end
of their tail between the flexible plastic pipes and separating them just
enough to squeeze their whole body backward through the gap.
Not one to be beaten by a fish, Bob Kiwala secured the holding box
by lashing all the pipes together so tightly that nothing could possibly
squeeze between them. One more eel was collected; this time the cage
worked, and any plot it might have had to escape was foiled.
We still needed two more morays, but we hadn't seen any on our re-
cent dives, either at night or during the day. Bob talked to a fisherman
some distance down the beach from us who said he'd accidentally caught
a couple of eels casting from shore. At this point we were beginning
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