On Your Bucket List at Atlantis Dumaguete
Some diver chase mantas, some chase whales. But all will agree that a once in a lifetime experience is seeing a male Seahorse (Hippocampus) give birth.
A true feminist, in mating, pregnancy and birth, it is the male who carries most of the burden. Seahorse mating dance begins with the male opening and closing his pouch to show off its emptiness to the female, signaling to her he is ‘free’ for breeding action. This action also inserts salt water into his pouch, which in turn activates his sperm to be able to fertilize the female’s eggs. They then place their pouches against each other and the female inserts her eggs to the male’s pouch (how romantic). Pregnancy lasts between 9-40 days, depending on the specie, with as many as 2000 offsprings!
