September 17 is World Manta Day. This special day celebrates manta rays and raises awareness of the threats these beautiful, mysterious sea giants face.
Image from: www.worldmantaday.com
The manta ray is very intelligent, it has the largest brain volume of all fish, and it is the most intellectually performing cartilaginous fish. They have a strong curiosity, and individuals are attracted to bubbles and like to swim with divers. Each manta ray has uniquely patterned spots on its abdomen that act like human fingerprints, allowing them to be individually identified as they migrate around the globe.
Image courtesy of Nu Parnupong
There are two different species of manta rays common to our divers: Reef Manta and Oceanic Manta. The reef manta ray typically grows from a wingspan of up to 3.5 meters (up to 5 meters on record), while the pelagic manta ray has a wingspan of up to 7 meters.
Manta ray related popular science articles can be clicked to read: "manta rays" will not hurt people, but some people want to kill it
Although you can see manta rays in countries such as Australia, Mexico, Peru, Costa Rica, Indonesia and Thailand, one of the largest reef manta rays is found in the Maldives.
It is estimated that there are about 5,000 manta rays in this small island nation. As the monsoon continues to change, these manta rays migrate through its 26 atolls, appearing in places like Hanifaru Bay in Baa Atoll, a UNESCO biosphere reserve in the Maldives. Between May and December, hundreds of manta rays and whale sharks gather here to feed in the bay.
Some facts about manta rays
Manta Facts
Despite their large size, manta rays are filter-eaters, feeding on tiny plankton and small fish.
Manta rays are close relatives of sharks and rays whose skeletons are made up of cartilage rather than bone.
The Manta Trust website has a database of manta rays' belly spot patterns to help record and identify individuals.
Image courtesy of www.mantatrust.org
The largest manta ray has recorded individual wingspans of up to 7 meters and weighs up to 2 tons! The world's largest population of pelagic manta rays is found in Peru.
Manta rays do not give birth to a cub until 12.5 months after they are pregnant. When they were first born, they looked like tiny burritos.
Pregnant manta rays photographed by you divers in Comodo, Indonesia
Manta rays have the largest brain volume of any fish. Their curiosity and complex social interactions just prove it!
Manta rays are completely harmless marine life and are therefore popular with divers and snorkelers.
Sadly, manta rays populations around the world are under threat, and their populations are declining in many regions.
Manta rays can easily get entangled in nets and die as accidentally caught by-catches. Even if they are released alive, their survival rate does not seem to be high.
Manta ray gill rakers (commonly known as "puffed gills") are used as a counterfeit medicine in China and East Asia – the main driving force behind the manta ray's arrest, yet these so-called effects have never been scientifically proven.
Unsustainable and unregulated tourism can cause manta rays to stay away from important cleaning and feeding locations due to overloaded receptions and violations by tourists in the water.
A climate collapse threatens to alter the distribution and abundance of manta rays' rations, plankton. Coral bleaching can also lead to habitat destruction around cleaning stations.
The theme of World Manta Ray Day on 17 September 2021 is "Mantas In A Climate Crisis".
Next month's UN climate change conference COP26, which is due to take place in Scotland, is an urgent time to highlight how the climate collapse will affect a wide range of species. World Manta Ray Day is a day to celebrate all manta rays, but we should also pay more attention to the climate crisis.
Nature has manta rays, nature has blessings!
Disclaimer: This article is originally written by YouDive Integrated Network News, and some of the pictures come from the network. Welcome to forward, reprint please contact us.