USVI-On-Line

Sorry for the picture quality. It was amazing seeing the Manta Ray. It was so much bigger than I thought and came within 6 feet of shore. It was quite a site seeing it jump out of the water. I must admit if felt like I was in a Jaws movie when I saw it coming so close and it swam right underneath me. It was really moving at a fast pace too.

<embed width="600" height="361" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowFullscreen="true" allowNetworking="all" wmode="transparent" src="http://static.photobucket.com/player.swf" flashvars="file=http%3A%2F%2Fvid621.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Ftt296%2Fcindygad%2FMomsRaynormal.mp4">

So cool! How lucky for you to see it!

Amazing, in all my trips I have never seen a manta ray, good for you!!

How exciting. I have seen them "fly" and we saw some babies just off of our dock, but I have never been in the water with one! What a treat!

I am so thankful that the mantas seem to be coming back. I saw one during one of our first trips to St. John, maybe 1990? It was at Trunk Bay about 5pm and it was just my husband and myself there and he was buried in his book. I--of course like always--was in the water (to me, it's ALL about the water, whether swimming in it or snorkeling, I'm IN IT! )

Anyway, I saw a huge manta ray really close to shore and was SO excited. At first I thought it was a very large cloud shadow or something because it was so big. By the time I got close enough to realize it was a large mature manta, and got my husband's attention and he got up, walked down to the shore and looked at, he couldn't see it very well. Grrr.

Anyway, I kept telling people about it and never really got any kind of confirmation from others that they had seen them there but I'm an avid snorkeler AND diver and knew what I'd seen. SO nice, as I said at the beginning, that they're not only coming back but I'm feeling validated!

Are Manta's aggessive? Would they come up to/attack a snorkeler?
I mean, I would definitely keep my distance..but wondered if they would swim towards you, chase you etc..

I'm so jealous!

Awesome video! What would you guess his wingspan to be? He looked really big! I'm curious too about if the rays would be aggressive. I had an eagle ray come swimming in from my side and I didn't see him until he was kind of close He seemed to be only about 5 or 6 feet under water in an area that was probably 12' deep. It took me by surprise and I felt like I needed to get out of his way because he didn't look like he intended to divert his course

Mantas are not aggressive. They actually are gentle giants who eat plankton only. The do not have a barb like southern or eagle rays. Other rays are only aggressive when they feel threatened. They do not like to use their barb because once they use it, they lose it for six months and have no protection against other worse things in the sea than us humans. Be careful getting in the water and shuffle your feet as this is when most people would disturb a ray who has gotten under the sand and if he flicks his tail to get a way and hits you with the barb which is at the base of his body, not the end of the tail, it will be a problem. Seek medical attention and do not pull it out yourself.

John and I saw the manta twice today, once from shore--we tried to get our gear on and get in to photo him but were too slow, and then again later that afternoon, when we were in the water, but RIGHT AFTER I had brought our gear in for the day! It is very large. Wingspan is around 7 feet according to the Friends of the VINP site. Much bigger than an eagle ray.

They are not aggressive you do not need to worry about a manta or an eagle ray attacking you in an open water space. John encountered an eagle ray in about two feet of water once--right at the Gallows snorkel ramp. Believe me it veered away when it saw him (and John went flying in the other direction also!) We are going back tomorrow to try again for photos of the manta. If I get one I will post it here.

We were only in about 4 feet of water when it went underneath me. I could see it coming but could not get out of the way because it was moving so fast. My husband did say my fins got alittle spastic after it past me. I was just pointing and shooting and trying to record and not even sure if I had gotten the picture or not.

Becky, I saw a large spotted eagle ray right in that same spot at Gallows on our last morning there last April. We were all packed up and I went in for one last snorkle. As I pushed off the ramp that is a little dicey because it is shallow there and a little urchiny. As I pushed off a huge ray swept around my left flank and startled the daylights out of me. Then as it pulled ahead of me there was a baby with it....maybe a 18-24 inch wingspan. swimming along its right rear.

Figures I had packed my camera. Thrilling sight. Hope we see a manta ray this year. Seems like those sightings are increasing. Where did you spot that one?

Thanks guys..I didn't realize they don't have a barb...Good info. I think they, and the other rays are amazing to watch...
I took my daughter to an aquarium last week and she got to see rays, a sea turtle, sea horses, even lionfish..
Felt like I was showing her part of the islands
Hopefully I can take her to STJ one day and show her all the beauty there..

Simply Amazing!

They have been showing up around St. Martin also!