Marine Wildlife

At The Wild Orchid Resort we have instructors on site who would be happy to introduce you to the beautiful underwater world of Moalboal and its inhabitants. Whether its your first bubbles or a continuation of your scuba diving journey, we would be happy to be the ones by your side!

The Moalboal coast is home to an incredible amount of marine species that you may run into depending on your luck. From the tiniest nudibranch to the biggest whale sharks that are occasionally seen peacefully swimming down the coast, you will love the range of biodiversity on our reefs.

Here are some of the more popular critters you may run into on your dives!

• Sardines: The sardines are completely harmless and swim around in gigantic schools. You can swim in and out of the schools, and they will disperse and then gather back together again.
• Turtles: Turtles are one of the Moalboal favorites among our guests. The most common species of sea turtles we see on our dives are Green Sea Turtles and Hawksbill Turtles. 
• Pipefish: With the largest amount of Pipefish seen one of our dives being 28, it is undeniable that they are one of the most common forms of sea life in Moalboal. Despite looking very similar to seahorses, they are only a very close and cute relative to them!
• Sea snakes: Despite being known as one of the most venomous snakes on the planet, Sea Snakes are quite peaceful. These creatures are rarely curious about human, completely ignoring or swimming right past divers and snorkelers unless provoked. These beautiful creatures contrary to land snakes have a small paddle instead of a pointed tail to swim better yet still come up to the surface to breath.
• Nudibranch: Breathtaking nudibranchs are seen on every dive in every shape, color and size to brighten our days. Nudibranchs are a type of sea slug and average from less than 1mm up to the 30cm is size. They are by far the funkiest animal in the ocean and we are grateful to have such beautiful ones on our coast.
• Shrimp: All types of shrimp and lobster are found around the coast, from Anemone Shrimp for the macro lovers to beautiful and big Spiny Lobsters. Often more seen at night the tinier shrimp commonly hide in their host anemone or dark holes until the sun goes down.
• Anemone fish: Anemone Fish are very commonly seen on our dives, so much so that end up swimming past them most times despite their beauty. These little fish are famously liked due to their role in the beloved movie “Finding Nemo” although they are much less friendly in real life. They are very protective of their host often trying to intimidate those admiring them.