A giant manta ray is causing excitement among scuba divers in Grand Cayman, and it appears it has decided to call the clear blue waters here home, at least for the time being.
“In the beginning of August, divers would come out of the water saying they had just seen an enormous manta ray,” said Ruby Stafford, manager of the Eden Rock Dive Centre. “At first I didn’t believe them, I thought maybe they were mistaken, and they had seen a southern stingray or a golden spotted eagle ray, but eventually I went in the water after work, and I saw the manta with my own eyes.”
Stafford, who shared her videos of the manta experience with the Compass, said, “It was amazing, it did barrel rolls around me and it was huge, about the size of a picnic table. It would visit the shallow water off the dive shop every afternoon for about two weeks and then afterwards there were several sightings off the north wall, and then last weekend the manta was spotted again off Macabuca,” on North West Point Road.
She added that another diver compared the various photos and videos that have been taken of the manta and, based on the size and the markings, they believe it is the same ray.
While mantas are occasionally sighted in Cayman waters, they are much less common than both the golden spotted eagle rays (which sometime leap out of the water) and the southern stingrays, which hang out at the Stingray City Sandbar. However, there have also been a few reports of manta rays taking up ‘residence’ in the Cayman Islands, and one manta even stayed here for several years.
Back in the 1990s, a manta that the divers named ‘Molly’ became a sensation in Little Cayman. According to local reports, this juvenile female manta, with a wingspan of approximately 10 feet, made its first appearance in the spring of 1991.
During night dives at Bloody Bay, people could see Molly sweep in, apparently feeding off the plankton in the water attracted by the dive lights.
Molly stayed in Little Cayman until 1995 and then suddenly disappeared. According to reports, the giant ray may have left to look for a mate.
There are also oral anecdotes dating back 50 years about a ‘devil ray’ living off the North West Point Road but this may also have been a manta ray.
According to a 2013 article in the Cayman Compass, there had been “50 reported manta sightings off Cayman since 2008”.
Residents are still encouraged to report sightings of manta rays, sharks, whales and other unusual sea creatures to the Department of Environment.
Anyone who sees a manta ray can email the DoE at [email protected] or call 949-8469.
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