Are Moray Eels Dangerous?

Moray Eels are not considered dangerous. They will only attack when provoked. It is a scary-looking eel though. These flat, green fish look like a very long belt.

They like to hide in cracks or crevices in a coral wall with just their head and a few inches of their body sticking out. They look particularly mean because they continuously open and close their mouths as though they can hardly wait to grab somebody.

Actually, they are just pumping water across their gills. Divers use to be very nervous about meeting a moray eel face to face, but recent work by naturalists has shown that if the diver moves slowly and carefully so as not to frighten the moray, the eel may even allow itself to be petted.

Morays live in of many parts of the world. They normally hide and sleep by day and hunt for small fish and shellfish by night.