Encountering large vertebrates, many of these rarely present in coral reef environments, was often a pleasant diversion, and observing their behaviors was instructive. Several of the relatively large species did not measure up to the strict definition of megafauna, exceeding 46 kg or 100 lbs. in weight. These were bony fishes, sharks and rays, sea snakes, marine iguanas, and birds. Those species fitting the definition of megafauna were some sharks and rays, sea turtles, crocodiles, sea lions, dolphins, and whales. An intriguing, and somewhat frightening encounter with a manta ray was possibly a prelude to copulation. A sea lion bull attack was a stark warning not to locate study sites near sea lion harems. One of the most beautiful birds in the world was encountered in Panama, and we managed to attract it to the Uva Reef with a dead fish. Two fortuitous encounters with whale pods of considerable size, in the Galápagos Islands (sperm whales) and off Baja California, Mexico (blue whales), brought a feeling of heightened joy to observe these species whose populations were decimated by commercial whaling during the last two centuries.