Flying Mobula Rays caught on Tape

Sometimes, there are rare events that happen in the wild which get caught on tape. A school of Mobula rays were seen near the coast of the North Mexican Baja area. These rays are commonly seen in this area but what makes this school unusual is the number individual rays in it.

There were thousands of these rays that gathered into a giant school. Why they all decided to gather is still a mystery. However, while these rays were being filmed, they started to act strangely. Apparently, these animals don’t only look like they’re flying when swimming under the ocean, they actually flap their fins and propel out the water. The rays flew out of the water for a few feet and dive back.

Mobula sting rays (Mobulamunkiana), also known as devil rays, are known to stay near the eastern pacific and the Californian gulf area. They can grow to about 2 meters in length, from wing to wing. Even though these rays are seen in big schools, they are tagged as a near threatened because of their high catch rate and low reproductive levels. Large schools, which are usually migratory ones, usually swim near areas where fishermen fish. Fishermen information about the specie is very limited to the areas around the California Gulf and Mexico which makes it more difficult to track the number of rays that are actually catch. Thankfully, these rays are now being protected by wildlife groups to make sure that they keep reducing and that we see other Mobula sting rays in the future.