From Courtship, Escaping Predators or Just for Fun, Why Do Stingrays Jump Out of the Water?

String rays and manta rays don’t just have wings for show—they actually use them to fly out of the water and through the air.

Described as “one of the most remarkable sights in the sea” by researchers studying ray breaching, it is as remarkable as it is mysterious; no one knows for sure why rays breach.

In the pristine tropical waters around Heron Island in southeast Queensland, near the Great Barrier Reef, Associate Professor Ian Tibbetts from the University of Queensland’s School of Environment has studied rays for years.

The stingrays in the area commonly find it in their interest to breach, leaping over 10 feet above the water before plunging back down. Both the large-bodied manta ray and the smaller stingrays, especially eagle rays, will breach, and the working hypothesis is that it helps remove parasites stuck to the ray’s skin.

MORE STORIES LIKE THIS: Fish Swim in Schools for Stealth–as 100 Fish Make Less Noise Than an Individual Swimming Alone

However, it’s also theorized as being a courtship ceremony, a dominance display between rival males, and even a fun way to pass the time.

“I rather like the fun idea, right? if you can, why not?” Dr. Tibbets said to ABC News Down Under. 

Tibbets said that it’s the eagle rays that are the most common “fun jumpers” but mobula rays also jump—sometimes to confuse predators chasing them in shallow water.

“It’s seldom caught on camera because it’s quite a rapid event, but sometimes rays will have a series of jumps,” he said.

ALSO CHECK OUT: Watch a Huge Spotted Eagle Stingray Glide Majestically Around Scuba Diver

Yet another theory posits that multiple belly-flopping stingrays help send a loud underwater message to any itinerant rays that may have strayed from the group.

ABC News reports that the waters around Heron Island are a hotspot for watching ray jumping. This tiny never-before-inhabited spit of land is the center point of a national marine sanctuary that protects thousands of acres of lovely ocean habitat for reef sharks, sea turtles, colored fish of every description, and 12 species of ray.

SHARE This Great Diving Destination And Its Enigmatic Rays With Your Friends…

>read more at © GoodNews

Views: 0