On the other hand, oceanic manta rays (also known as pelagic or giant mantas) are less easy to spot, as they stay in deeper water. They love the coral reefs where they can feed, and frequent the cleaning stations (the manta ray day spa). Reef manta rays tend to stay closer to the coast. Manta rays inhabit temperate, tropical, and subtropical waters around the globe, including parts of the Indian Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, and Pacific Ocean. Read on to find out more about the natural habitat of manta rays, as well as some of the best places to spot them in the wild. If you’re looking for an epic snorkeling or scuba diving experience, there’s nothing quite like swimming with manta rays.Īnd if you’re here, you probably know that we take small groups of people out for manta ray moonlight swims here in Kona (on the Big Island of Hawaii) every night.īut where else do manta rays live? What are some of the best places to swim with them outside Hawaii? These gentle giants have been around for millions of years, and their natural habitats span oceans all around the world. ![]() ![]() “They’re smart, almost like the dolphins of fish,” says Setyawan.The manta ray is one of the most graceful and majestic creatures in the ocean. Some are ready and willing to show off their bellies and identify themselves, while others swim in the other direction. Some are shy and some are more extroverted. His team can tell them apart from the unique spot patterns on their bellies. Manta rays’ large brain-to-body ratio allows them to have individual personalities, says Setyawan. His findings were published in May 2022 in Frontiers in Marine Science. “It took eight years of research to prove we had found it,” he says. In this protected environment, the babies are birthed and live until large enough to survive elsewhere. Setyawan says he and his colleagues have found the world’s first confirmed manta ray nursery in Raja Ampat. Scientists think that the animals give birth in manta ray nurseries, where most of the mantas living there are pups. Manta moms give birth to around one live pup every two to three years, and then she sets them on their way. Manta ray filter feeding above a coral reef in the blue Komodo waters (Credit: Kjersti Joergensen/Shutterstock) “It’s the best place to interact with mantas,” he says. ![]() In the morning or afternoon, for example, they regularly find their spot on the coral reef and enjoy what basically amounts to a marine spa treatment.Īs the tiny fish and crustaceans clean the rays, Setyawan bears witness to a sea creature in its element. Much of his observations occur in what are called “cleaning stations.” Manta rays often hover over coral reefs while cleaner fish, like the wrasse fish and the scarlet cleaner shrimp, remove parasites, dead skin cells and bacteria from the rays’ skin.Īlthough manta rays tend to fly solo, they’re known to gather at such cleaning sites during certain times of the day. It’s a slow-growing, long-lived species that has been shown in some cases to live up to 60 years, says Setyawan. The giant manta ray is the largest ray in the ocean, with a wingspan of up to 30 feet. Underwater view of Giant oceanic manta ray in tropical Nusa Penida island, Indonesia (Credit: Denis Moskvinov/Shutterstock)
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