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KWONG: So in addition to being very unique, Dr. But when they're born, they're on their own. They tend to have very long lives and really long gestation. They all have these cartilaginous skeletons. That includes the sharks, the rays, the skates and the deep-dwelling chimaera fish as well. And that is one of the traits of all chondrichthyans, or cartilaginous fish. So they really have to be self-sustaining from the word go. KWONG: And you said they flap away on their own. They look like a rolled-up carpet when they come out of their mother, and they just unfurl, and off they flap. And that's one of the reasons why they're so small, because they're actually born at about between 4 1/2, 6 feet, maybe. And the cool thing is that what's come out is that this looks like this is potentially a nursery area for these manta rays. However, the ones that we saw at that first instance in the Flower Garden Banks were about 6, maybe 7 feet wide, so 2 to 3 meters at most. They are some of the most graceful creatures you can imagine, and they grow to be over 7 meters in width. And I just remember the first time I did, I was smitten - absolutely smitten.

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And when I called her up, just, like, full of manta ray fervor, she totally understood because she had her own manta ray meet-cute at the Flower Garden Banks Marine Sanctuary in the Gulf of Mexico.

She's been working with threatened marine wildlife for a long time. KWONG: Rachel is the founder and executive director of MarAlliance, a conservation organization based in Belize. GRAHAM: Very scientific, 'cause that's what we are. Some of us in the manta world also call them magical sea flap flaps. They look like flying blankets or carpets. And it's worth noting that their name, manta, means blanket in Spanish, and that's what they really look like. And you know who's a big fan of them, too? Rachel Graham. We need to show manta rays some love, people. They're cool and big, and they have a week on Discovery Channel. This is SHORT WAVE, the daily science podcast from NPR.Īll right, of all the cartilaginous fishes - this is a hot take - sharks get all the glory. So today on the show, I'm going to get some answers about what makes manta rays so magical and so smart and what has put them on the endangered species list. And I kind of start to wonder, you know, why didn't I know about these before? How did I not realize that a fish could be so intelligent and social and curious? Then I can't tell what I'm anthropomorphizing and what is real, and I just realize I have so many more questions about them. And I'm filled with so many more questions about them. KWONG: And my friends and I are just in awe. KWONG: And it's this beautiful, graceful manta ray ballet of these fish gliding over and above and between each other, eating. And they're so big that they block the light with their bodies, so the lights are blinking in and out like a momentary eclipse. There's this one area of the seafloor called the campfire, and there are maybe 20 manta rays just circling around like ghosts. For an hour, we watch manta rays feed on plankton.

Here, we're in their home, and I just need to be silent and watch.Īnd that's what we do. You know, so often we encounter creatures in - I don't know - built environments, zoos, et cetera. But the manta ray - it seems very, you know, spatially aware. I'm actually sucking my stomach into my rib cage because I'm so afraid of bumping the manta ray. And I realize I'm staring down the mouth of a manta ray, like, inches from my face as it pulls plankton into its belly. And it has wings that tip it towards us and then eventually barrel roll beneath us in a somersault. And it is eerie and silent and huge - like 7 feet across. They're all eating.Īnd then all the sudden, like, off to our right, there comes this, like, floating shadow specter of a fish. So I'm completely flat and staring down at this, like, oceanic highway of fish.

And he tells me to, like, grab on to these ropes and float on the surface with my face stuck down in the water. I drop off the back of the deck of a boat and paddle over to this surfboard that is resting on the surface of the sea kind of being held in place by a guide. So I am wearing a wetsuit and snorkeling gear. And what they discovered is it attracted plankton, and plankton attracted fish. Basically, a hotel on the Big Island had put LED lights in the seafloor to - I don't know - create ambience. And the whole design of this tour was kind of a happy accident.

So a few months ago, I went to Hawaii on vacation with some friends, and we decided to go nighttime snorkeling, which is exactly like snorkeling during the day, except you need giant LED lights to see by.

Baby manta ray