Gigantic manta rays pass right over thrilled scuba diver

Kristy has been scuba diving for 30 years, having dipped her fins in the waters of Belize, Mexico, Galapagos Islands, Cuba, Cayman Islands, Papua New Guinea, and Indonesia. She is a seasoned diver who has met whale sharks, turtles, and many other creatures who call the ocean home. But until this moment, she had never had an encounter with a manta ray. It was on her bucket list to see these magnificent animals in the wild so she traveled to the island of Komodo in Indonesia.Show more

Kristy drifted along with her camera, 20m (60 feet beneath the waves, watching white tipped reef sharks and sea turtles glide by. Suddenly, out of the blue, an enormous manta ray appeared and headed straight for her. It changed its course to meet her face on, as if curious about this clumsy human. Just before colliding with her, it slowly banked to the left and passed almost directly over here head. Kristy was given a close look at the underside of one of the world's most majestic animals. and to make things even better, the first manta ray was followed closely by a second. The trailing manta passed by almost as closely, leaving Kristy astonished and thrilled with the encounter.

Many scuba divers go their whole lives without seeing one of these rays. They are huge, sporting wingspans of up to 6m (18 feet). When fully grown, only large sharks and killer whales are a threat to these rays. They can swim very rapidly to escape predators. But manta rays have only one pup at a time, making it difficult for them to compensate for losses due to fishing. Unsubstantiated claims that their gill rakes have medicinal properties have made the manta a popular catch for the Chinese markets.