The world’s largest manta ray was spotted lurking off the coast of Long Island, New York, carrying a passenger as it hunted for food.
A video shared by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) captured the majestic creature with another fish riding along.
Known as a giant oceanic manta ray, this creature can have a wingspan up to 26 feet and weigh over 4,000 pounds.
‘This video shows an oceanic manta ray feeding close to shore off Jones Beach State Park,’ NYSDEC said in a Facebook post.
‘Manta rays are filter feeders. They consume large quantities of zooplankton closer to shore, and out in deeper water they can forage for medium-sized fish.’
Manta rays are found across tropical, subtropical and temperate oceans, and spend most of their lives out to sea.
But the NYSDEC said they sometimes venture into New York waters during warmer months.
The rays were listed as a threatened species in 2018 after humans nearly decimated the population for their valuable gill plates, which are used in international trade and traditional medicines.
A video shared by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) captured the majestic creature with another fish riding along.
Jones Beach is one of America’s busiest beaches, welcoming around six million visitors every year.
The NYSDE released the video on August 17, but did not clarify when the ray was seen.
The ray’s companion appeared to be a shark, but could have also been a different species of fish.
Sharks do not travel together with manta rays as partners, but they occasionally meet in the ocean when sharks use the rays to scratch their skin or when large sharks hunt them.
Small fish, such as a suckerfish, frequently travel with manta rays, using them as shelter or a way to gather food.
Giant manta rays are considered rare to encounter because most regional groups contain only 600 to 2,000 individuals.
Their open-ocean habits, solitary nature and slow reproduction rates make them exceptionally vulnerable to overfishing and accidental entanglement.
Mantas are threatened by pollution and fishing, though their own biology works against them, too.
Known as a giant oceanic manta ray, this creature can have a wingspan up to 26 feet and weigh over 4,000 pounds
Female mantas don’t reach sexual maturity until eight or 10 years old and only give birth to one or two pups every two years or so.
Gestation can last up to 13 months, though no manta rays have ever been seen giving birth in the wild.
However, in 2020, dozens of babies were found swimming in South Florida, leading researchers to believe the area was home to a nursery.
Manta nurseries are usually free from predators and have abundant food sources – only two others have ever been found, and neither is in Florida.
Researchers believe the creatures are a new species of giant oceanic manta ray and are set to investigate this case.
However, the urban environment has a number of potential dangers for these creatures, including boat propellers, toxic sewage and beachgoers, which also threaten their healthy development.
After a surprise encounter with a young manta in Juno Beach, marine biologist Jessica Pate spent more than three years scouring South Florida for more.
The team identified at least 59 rays at the time and gave them names like Gillie, Ginger and Stevie Nicks.
They believe the rays they’ve encountered are juveniles, based on the lack of mating scars on the females.
In addition, the males have relatively small claspers, or genitalia.
Ocean mantas spend most of their lives out to sea.
In a report this week in the journal Endangered Species Research, Pate says their repeated presence in southeastern Florida points to the area being a nursery for young mantas.
If correct, it would be only the third such creche ever found.
The others, identified in the past two years, are in Indonesia and the Gulf of Mexico.
‘It was amazing because it was an unexpected finding,’ Pate told National Geographic.
