Bermuda Coral Reefs - Killa Puffa
This is a very popular Coral Reef site. This has rapidly become more common with divers than even the Aquarium or Shark Hole reef sites. 'Killa' here means killer and 'Puffa' stands for puffer fish, which is able to inflate itself as its defense mechanism. The story goes to say that an angry Puffer fish once attacked a dive master due to his overly fierce attempt trying to get the fish inflated.
This reef site is located just north of South West Breaker reefs and east of the Three Sisters reefs. This reef on the outer reaches of Pompano Flats has become a home to the now rare Queen Conch. This is one of the few areas in Bermuda where you can still find mighty mollusks like octopus in their natural habitat. Killa Puffa Reef is formed by massive isolated coral heads on a huge sandy flat. These heads reach within 10 feet of the surface.
Here the depth varies between 45 feet in the sand and 10 feet on the tops of the coral heads. As I mentioned earlier, Queen Conch can often be spotted feeding within the sandy banks. These are an endangered species and are quite rare to be found. Leaving the shells up side down will result in the conch becoming an easy prey for the many Eagle Rays that feed in this area and seriously hamper their survival.
The coral heads are abundant with massive sea fans and sea rods. Swaying in the water, these fans create ideal cover for Flamingo Tongues and Sea Horses. Look out for the juvenile File Fish pretending to be part of the Sea Rods. The reef creates overhangs at the edges where you can often find Grouper and Hog Fish.
You can often find schools of Barracuda here. These Barracudas have a typical habit of following the divers. This might get your pulse rate racing. Be assured, they are quite harmless and your rising pulse rate is the only entertainment that they are looking for :-)
I would suggest that you try to take guided dive here as several caves and overhangs can easily be misjudged by untrained eyes.
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 By Raj Bhattacharya
Raj, a seasoned travel writer and Bermuda destination expert, has extensive global travel experience. This website reflects his profound insights, garnered over nearly two decades of dedicated findings and research on the island. Raj has assisted countless Bermuda-bound visitors by providing direct, personalized responses to their queries and imparting his wealth of knowledge through this platform. This site serves as an indispensable guide for those seeking informed and reliable insights into Bermuda's treasures.
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