Seahorses help usher in Year of Horse in Singapore
Date: 11-Feb-02
Country: SINGAPORE
Author: Amy Tan
Caribbean and Brazilian seahorses in auspicious Lunar New Year shades of bright yellow and vibrant orange have been housed in a tank for maximum effect ahead of next week's holiday.
"Only every 60 years does the Water Horse come around," Bruce Mackay, curatorial director of Underwater World, told Reuters last week. "It makes a lot of sense to have seahorses on display."
The Chinese zodiac incorporates 12 animals and five elements - fire, water, wood, metal and earth. The Year of the Metal Snake gives way to the Year of the Water Horse on Tuesday.
The exhibition that kicked off this week also showcases male Big Belly seahorses from Australia which fill their stomachs with water in an elaborate mating dance.
"They are odd looking," said Mackay, an expert in the field. "It has fins like other fish, it's got gills like other fish but it doesn't have a form like any other fish."
Seahorses use an upright swimming style, have no teeth and suck food through their snouts. Male seahorses give birth to live young and some species pair for life.
Marine biologists still have much to learn about at least 50 species worldwide, Mackay said.
Several species are classified as being at high risk of extinction by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources.
Underwater World spent six months and S$50,000 ($27,300) preparing for the show, which may become a permanent exhibit.
Aside from adding to the festive Lunar New Year spirit, the organisers hope to spread the conservation message.
"They'll treat them differently by having seen live animals than if they had just seen dried seahorses or pictures in books," Mackay said.
The use of dried seahorses as medicine has caused concern among conservationists.
"Too many people, particularly in Asia even now, come into the aquarium and see the fishes as swimming food," Mackay said. "You've got to change that perception."
