Wildlife
Hol Chan Cut is open to the sea beyond the reef, so allows marine creatures to travel from the outside of the reef to the inside and vice versa. Over 160 species of fish have been recorded in the reserve, along with forty types of coral, five species of sponge, two seagrasses, three species of sea turtle and three marine mammals: the Short-beaked Common Dolphin, Pantropical Spotted Dolphin and West Indian Manatee. Spotted eagle rays and Southern stingrays are common at the bottom of the channel. Lobsters, Moray eels and sea anemones live among the rocky outcrops and there are many corals including brain coral, with elkhorn coral, leaf coral and finger coral lining the sides of the cut. Jacks, Groupers, Snappers and Barracuda are all common. The mangrove forests act as nurseries for many fish species and adult Blue Striped Grunts, French grunts, White grunts, Gray snappers, French angelfish, Gray angelfish and Seahorses may also be found among the mangroves. The seagrass beds have Parrot fish and Hogfish and occasional turtles. Manatees are rare visitors. Shark Ray Alley has Nurse sharks and Southern stingrays and occasionally other fish.
Read more about this topic: Hol Chan Marine Reserve
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