Underwater photography

What are sheep?

by
Shaun the sheep, Kids Sea Camp, Margo (eyton

Counting Sheep and falling asleep

Sea slugs, Kids Sea Camp, diving with Kids, diving with family
Shaun the Sheep by Margo Peyton

I have been to the Philippines many times. It is my favorite place in the world to dive for many reasons. One is that I have the world’s best dive buddy who can spot almost any alien! Tom has become a treasure hunter, and at the end of most trips, everyone is following him. The Philippines is the #1 spot for finding Aliens. Another reason is that my sister, Biggsy, lives there, and she introduced me to my first muck dive and showed me my first sheep. Lastly, in all my 35 years of diving and traveling the world, it’s the only place I have fallen asleep and dreamt about. Now I fall asleep counting sheep.

What are sheep?

Last summer, we arrived at Amunini, and Marcio was chatting about this funny little sheep named Shaun. After the first day, Kewin also seemed to be all over that topic. “Sheep,” I said. “What are sheep?” Tom’s ears perked up, too. Biggsy and I buddied up on my first sheep dive, and she quickly waved me over. She pointed out a green leaf the size of a rose petal. Was that the sheep? She pointed to the leaf. I could see nothing with my naked eye. It looked like sand stuck to the leaf. I peered through my 60mm Macro lens and saw it. Shaun the Sheep. It was so tiny that it was gone if you did not remain perfectly still, and you had to reset again.

The size of a grain of sand

A single grain of rice was adult-sized. What’s so special about that? A flea is the same size, but this little guy was adorable. It had rosy cheeks, funny, wobbly ears, and it was green or white with pink. Kewin found one that was yellow and blue. This was incredible! We were all counting and herding sheep. I did find the same leaf in Roatan in August, and I found the cousin. (See the Gallery)

I am looking forward to my panda finding me some sheep.

Margo Peyton

Counting Shaun the sheep at Kids Sea CAMP

by
shaun the sheep, kids sea camp

Shaun the Sheep, a tiny sea slug, has been discovered.

Destination: The Philippines with Sea Explorers, Amun ini, and Kids Sea Camp. Neither my wife nor I had ever been to the Philippines before. Margo and Tom Peyton, fellow dive industry friends, had invited us multiple times. Tom talked about a strange alien life he found mesmerizing and how incredible it would be to experience. It’s just impossible to describe, he said, but mindblowing and life-changing, a world you will become obsessed with exploring.

My first muck dive in the Philippines: Marcio, another guest, fellow photographer, and avid, loyal Kids Sea Camp adventurer, spoke of a sheep. I was curious; he had my attention. The guides you see can show you almost anything you request, but who knows what to request in a land of aliens? Marcio named the critter focus of this trip for himself and piqued my curiosity: Shaun the Sheep.

As I descended below the surface of the clear Philippine water, I was not fooled by the desolate, grey, bare sand. Tom Peyton said, “This is the home for some of the most incredible creatures I will ever see.” With all the colors of the universe residing on the most minuscule of animals, like the hundreds of nudibranchs found here or pygmy squid, and then there are the mesmerizing colors of the mandarin fish. Tom was so correct. The obsession began as I saw the true master of camouflage, the pygmy seahorse. While the Philippines’ underwater world is nothing short of a new planet, one critter in particular stole my heart even before we met: Shaun the Sheep. Marcio showed me a photo from his dive, and I was hooked.

Keep in mind my wife, Cristina Zenato, and I dive with sharks for a living, so it was pretty interesting to watch myself get so excited about a creature I could barely see with the naked eye. When you see how cute this little guy is, you will understand why.

What is Kleptoplasty?

A tiny leaf slug (Costasiella Kuroshimae) that grows to a length of 7 millimeters. They graze on algae, suck up their chloroplasts, and retain them within their tissues, allowing them to supplement their diet through photosynthesis. This process is called kleptoplasty.

How could I not become obsessed with an animal the size of a grain of rice capable of using photosynthesis? To feed my obsession, I needed to learn more. Shaun has multiple siblings, like the Bumblebee-looking (Costasiella Sp), and distant cousins living in the Caribbean.

But how do you find something so small in the vastness of the ocean?

In the same way, you find any small creature in the Philippines, you find its home. Shaun the Sheep lives on a specific algae called Avrainvillea. Find the algae, see Shaun the Sheep. Rest assured, my quest for Shaun the Sheep is not over. I am looking forward to seeing and photographing its Caribbean cousin.

By Kewin Lorenzen