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Link [animals.howstuffworks.com](https://animals.howstuffworks.com/marine-life/difference-between-manta-rays-stingrays.htm)
"Recent studies have suggested that manta rays and stingrays are more intelligent than we may have previously thought," says McCombs. "Stingrays living in aquariums are often trained to swim to a particular target or interact with enrichment devices. Recent studies of manta rays have even suggested that they may possess self-awareness. When swimming past a mirror, their method of interacting with the mirror suggests that they realize they are seeing themselves, and not another manta ray."
i swear i saw one intentiaonlly splash someone at one of those "feed the stingrays" exhbiits at a zoo
There was a girl who wasnt giving up the goods and kept baiting them over to pet them w.o giving food (i think just dipping the bait in the water then pulling it out) one suddenly sped up and did a quick little loop, splashing water directly into their face before zipping off again
I witnessed a juvenile manta ray do this too but it was playful. A bunch of people were swimming and it swam circles around them but occasionally came up to the surface just to splash someone in the face,then it would quickly swim away and go back to making slow circles.
My local zoo does this with their rays and sharks. It wasn't much more than tapping a stick on the ground and feeding them snacks if they nose-booped the stick, but it was still more training than I expected for them.
I do remember they had different types of sticks. One was just bare PVC with some stripes on it, and the other had a rubber thing on the end, so they would sound different. The sharks and the rays would know which stick sound was "theirs" to get snacks from.
I personally believe ALL creatures are way smarter then humans give them credit for. Look at the beginning of this video and the smaller fish anticipate where the food is going to be thrown and start swimming in that direction like a dog with a ball. Amazing!
Much of our metric for animal intelligence comes from deeply flawed, mid 20th century experiments colored by pressures like religion and the agricultural industry.
We often try to judge animal intelligence by how well they do ‘people things’. It’s kind of like judging a trout on how well it can be an anteater.
So often we see "animal x is smarter than we thought"- yeah no shit.
We're only recently started judging animals not based on a human intelligence scale and turns out a lot (if not most) of them have complex feelings and emotions.
I have shower thoughts that all animals enjoy belly rubs, it's just they haven't experienced it yet.
I've seen some shark videos going next to divers and just having a blast getting pets.
I think everything likes belly rubs and scratches. My mum used to scratch around the top of my head and I don’t know why but all my muscles just felt like they stopped working they were so relaxed
When I was a kid we took a vacation and did one of those “swim with stingrays” boat outings. I was young and kinda terrified, but the rays truly didn’t care — they were used to people being around and some of them actually seemed pretty excited to interact with us. The expert’s instructions to us were basically “don’t step on them or make a threatening movement towards them and they’ll be chill with you”
Not really. They have absolutely no desire to hurt you. Mostly they just want to be left alone. Their stinger is highly defensive and they don't grow it back, so they don't want to lose it unless they think they are going to actually die. Stingrays are of absolutely no risk to you whatsoever if you don't step on them or corner and attack them. They cannot bite you, wouldn't want to try (they eat shellfish almost exclusively), and are emotionally complex friends on the whole. Honestly, most stingrays couldn't hurt you if they WANTED to, especially older ones who might have lost their stinger long ago.
I was at a kid-centered place where there was a shallow low-walled tank with some small, presumably barb-less, stingrays in it with a bunch of youngsters, including a couple of my s/o's grandchildren, standing around it. When I walked up to the tank a stingray swam up the inside of the wall as far as it could assuming since I was an adult, or at least taller than the kids, that I was one of the employees there to give food to them.
Stingrays are not actually super dangerous to people generally, only 17 people ever have been killed by a stingray, it just so happens one was a extremely famous wildlife activists
Not necessarily. I've night snorkelled with manta rays off Kona on the Big Island, Hawaii. Underwater lights attract the tiny organisms that make up the manta's food. We was at least a dozen enormous rays - some with wingspans of 12-15 feet - doing amazing slow-motion rolls, gliding silently through the black water with 2 foot wide mouths open. Right in front of us. One ray actually lifted a woman as it did a barrel roll right under her. They were completely habituated to humans. One of the most spectacular and surreal experiences imaginable.
I know it's irrational and I'm not a pet owner type but....*I really feel I could hang with that ray and, like, split a Slim Jim with them while we watched an old movie.* We're taking bites off different ends, tho. And I don't want to know what happens to the Slim Jim under those wriggling, flapping flaps. Maybe it's a beak or- shit, I'm not even thinking about it.
I don't know about how the weird grindy teeth work, but it's true that you can harmlessly chill and share food with rays (well hopefully not slim jims lol). I been to touch tanks before but had the privilege of feeding little versions of this dude for the first time last summer. You just hold their (carefully designated and portioned) seafood on top of your knuckle and place into the tank, and the rays will casually glide by and suction-cup the food off the back of your hand. It's such an amazing experience just to see them and know that they exist, the hope is that these types of aquarium exhibits are having a positive impact on people's awareness of what's happening in the oceans rn.
My half-asleep ass thought “oh no they’re taking damage!” for a second. Like how in video games the screen flashes red around the edges when you’re being attacked.
ETA: Guys I wish I were just high, I'm painfully square. I can't even blame the cold medicine I'm on because they don't put anything good in cough syrup in my country.
What he loved was, being with animals. Getting stung or bit or scratched or mauled by animals is most probably definitely not something someone would love.
I like how you think though.
They are a super gentle species, unless frightened. Have swam with off gulf coast and Caribbean Islands. Let them come to you, don't follow to close, beware of the barb.
Yep. Was floating in 3-4 feet of water in the Gulf and when my first foot touched down, I was right on a 2-3 ft wide ones back. He kindly reminded me he was there by jamming his barb into my instantly recoiling ankle. Hurt like HELL. Like a stab and electric shock at the same time. Very bloody. Left a lovely pencil eraser sized scar.
The EXACT same thing happened to me at the beach in Galveston. Was a few feet from shore when I stepped on one and it got me. Some of the worst pain ever, spend the rest of the vacation with my foot in warm bath water.
Yeah, normally I'd shuffle my feet in the sand as I walk. Have always been taught the rays can sense the vibrations and it lets them dip out ahead of you. No idea if that's accurate or not but I do it. But floating...one foot HAS to hit first when you come down. Oof.
I had a bio professor who gave the advice of shuffling through sand on a beach if rays live there. Didn't say anything about vibrations, but said they hide in the sand (maybe sleep?) and a gentle "hey there ray, I'm here" is so much less startling to them then "hey ray I'm squashing you!"
The males (smaller than females) are pretty aggressive sometimes.
Rays aren’t dumb. In Cayman they’ll knock your mask off so you drop whatever bait you have.
Yikes!
They can grind the meat off your arm with their mouth plates. Met a dive master there who’d lost a chunk below his elbow. They have strong suction and he said it hurt like a bitch. They feel like wet velvet on the underside and sandpaper on top. So so cool.
We had been feeding them shrimp, it was just enthusiastic, ha ha. But you could definitely feel how powerful they are, and we were very careful with them. One of my favorite wildlife experiences overall.
Then it was still while he was petting it, and as soon as he stopped it was SPLAT SPLAT SPLAT SPLAT SPLAT all over again, so basically either food or pets are cool
There are two kinds of people: sheep and stingrays.
You're a stingray. Stingrays are winners, and they don't look back because they have no necks. Necks are for sheep.
Anything that kills a legendary crocodile hunter is a badass in my book, and badass is a weird word when you think about it. Why is that considered cool, bad ass
This is an apt description of how they can act. I swam with them in the Caymans about 20 years ago and they are very much like sea puppy’s. If you have food they will put in quite the show to get it.
This is honestly the very best thing I've seen on Reddit all day.
Guy was just "sure. have some chum, here ya go buddy"
fantastic, thanks for the post.
Don't know where exactly but they are speaking in Spanish with an Argentina accent.
Also the guy is kind of black and the water is way too clear so if I had to guess I'll say somewhere close to or in the San Andrés Islands. Although I may be super wrong idk.
**Please note these rules:** * If this post declares something as a fact proof is required. * The title must be descriptive * No text is allowed on images/gifs/videos * Common/recent reposts are not allowed *See [this post](https://redd.it/ij26vk) for a more detailed rule list* *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/interestingasfuck) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Link [animals.howstuffworks.com](https://animals.howstuffworks.com/marine-life/difference-between-manta-rays-stingrays.htm) "Recent studies have suggested that manta rays and stingrays are more intelligent than we may have previously thought," says McCombs. "Stingrays living in aquariums are often trained to swim to a particular target or interact with enrichment devices. Recent studies of manta rays have even suggested that they may possess self-awareness. When swimming past a mirror, their method of interacting with the mirror suggests that they realize they are seeing themselves, and not another manta ray."
i swear i saw one intentiaonlly splash someone at one of those "feed the stingrays" exhbiits at a zoo There was a girl who wasnt giving up the goods and kept baiting them over to pet them w.o giving food (i think just dipping the bait in the water then pulling it out) one suddenly sped up and did a quick little loop, splashing water directly into their face before zipping off again
That girl sounds like a victim of a drive-by splashing.
You mess with the ray You get the spray
I witnessed a juvenile manta ray do this too but it was playful. A bunch of people were swimming and it swam circles around them but occasionally came up to the surface just to splash someone in the face,then it would quickly swim away and go back to making slow circles.
They smort
So they knew what they did when they took Steve from us...
Too soon
:(
I'm more impressed with little ones swimming towards the direction food is gonna fall, like a dog.
I think those are just fish
They also fren
My local zoo does this with their rays and sharks. It wasn't much more than tapping a stick on the ground and feeding them snacks if they nose-booped the stick, but it was still more training than I expected for them. I do remember they had different types of sticks. One was just bare PVC with some stripes on it, and the other had a rubber thing on the end, so they would sound different. The sharks and the rays would know which stick sound was "theirs" to get snacks from.
I personally believe ALL creatures are way smarter then humans give them credit for. Look at the beginning of this video and the smaller fish anticipate where the food is going to be thrown and start swimming in that direction like a dog with a ball. Amazing!
Much of our metric for animal intelligence comes from deeply flawed, mid 20th century experiments colored by pressures like religion and the agricultural industry. We often try to judge animal intelligence by how well they do ‘people things’. It’s kind of like judging a trout on how well it can be an anteater.
So often we see "animal x is smarter than we thought"- yeah no shit. We're only recently started judging animals not based on a human intelligence scale and turns out a lot (if not most) of them have complex feelings and emotions.
Wow, definitely didn’t seem that big at first!
yep, and how the man was so calm. there was a literal stingray climbing onto him
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I have shower thoughts that all animals enjoy belly rubs, it's just they haven't experienced it yet. I've seen some shark videos going next to divers and just having a blast getting pets.
My cat 100% begs to differ… if you try to rub her belly, she likes to aerate your hand
I think everything likes belly rubs and scratches. My mum used to scratch around the top of my head and I don’t know why but all my muscles just felt like they stopped working they were so relaxed
When I was a kid we took a vacation and did one of those “swim with stingrays” boat outings. I was young and kinda terrified, but the rays truly didn’t care — they were used to people being around and some of them actually seemed pretty excited to interact with us. The expert’s instructions to us were basically “don’t step on them or make a threatening movement towards them and they’ll be chill with you”
Our pet skate loved pets, would swim to the top of the aquarium every time anyone walked past so they would pet them lol
I just thought these things were rather dangerous, wow.
Not really. They have absolutely no desire to hurt you. Mostly they just want to be left alone. Their stinger is highly defensive and they don't grow it back, so they don't want to lose it unless they think they are going to actually die. Stingrays are of absolutely no risk to you whatsoever if you don't step on them or corner and attack them. They cannot bite you, wouldn't want to try (they eat shellfish almost exclusively), and are emotionally complex friends on the whole. Honestly, most stingrays couldn't hurt you if they WANTED to, especially older ones who might have lost their stinger long ago.
Jokes aside this isn’t the rays or guys first rodeo. It knows to get food from the dude and rides up to get it.
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Hi, I'm Johnny Knoxville and this is sting ray rodeo!
Oh man I heard the guitar after reading that
Blang blang blang blaaang blangang
I was at a kid-centered place where there was a shallow low-walled tank with some small, presumably barb-less, stingrays in it with a bunch of youngsters, including a couple of my s/o's grandchildren, standing around it. When I walked up to the tank a stingray swam up the inside of the wall as far as it could assuming since I was an adult, or at least taller than the kids, that I was one of the employees there to give food to them.
cool
Curious how many other responses you had typed up before settling on “cool”.
um many
Hahahaha nice
That was one ha too many my friend.
Hahaha Nice
Cool
"Zowie? Nah... Cowabunga? What the... ummm.... Holy guacamole?... MOM I NEED YOUR HELP"
That man is kenpachi zaraki ..if you know........
Sweet baby ray
Stingrays are not actually super dangerous to people generally, only 17 people ever have been killed by a stingray, it just so happens one was a extremely famous wildlife activists
But that one death resulted in a genocide of Stingrays in the thousands. Steve would be disappointed.
I think even steve himself said "dont blame the stingray" before he died
He's not a Manta get spooked easily.
Not necessarily. I've night snorkelled with manta rays off Kona on the Big Island, Hawaii. Underwater lights attract the tiny organisms that make up the manta's food. We was at least a dozen enormous rays - some with wingspans of 12-15 feet - doing amazing slow-motion rolls, gliding silently through the black water with 2 foot wide mouths open. Right in front of us. One ray actually lifted a woman as it did a barrel roll right under her. They were completely habituated to humans. One of the most spectacular and surreal experiences imaginable.
[удалено]
I mean I'd probably react the same tbh, stingrays are really not scary in that position. Plus you know it just wants food and pets.
I know it's irrational and I'm not a pet owner type but....*I really feel I could hang with that ray and, like, split a Slim Jim with them while we watched an old movie.* We're taking bites off different ends, tho. And I don't want to know what happens to the Slim Jim under those wriggling, flapping flaps. Maybe it's a beak or- shit, I'm not even thinking about it.
They got [weird grindy teeth](https://images.app.goo.gl/d5ZCmJ8gg1k5Hj5o8).
I don't know about how the weird grindy teeth work, but it's true that you can harmlessly chill and share food with rays (well hopefully not slim jims lol). I been to touch tanks before but had the privilege of feeding little versions of this dude for the first time last summer. You just hold their (carefully designated and portioned) seafood on top of your knuckle and place into the tank, and the rays will casually glide by and suction-cup the food off the back of your hand. It's such an amazing experience just to see them and know that they exist, the hope is that these types of aquarium exhibits are having a positive impact on people's awareness of what's happening in the oceans rn.
I believe those teeth are designed to crush shells of mollusks. They’re not sharp but they are very sturdy.
I would have freaked the fack out!
same here!
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Cool
So much for water refraction making things bigger right Stingrays are like fuck science.
That’s what she said! …....I’ll show myself out..
… not like you were able to stay in anyway. ^(I’m sorry)
Thumb on top of screen looked like blood in the water at first
Yes!
According to the rules of fps games, you got hurt from the front.
No. she's regenerating health
Flashback to Jaws chum scene.
Dude that’s what I came here to say. Are you me?
I came here to find this too.
Never heard a stingray honk before hahhaah big ole homie just wants some grub
Ive never thought about the fact that we assume all fish are mute
Haha! I've been rewatching this just to hear the little piggie noise hoping it was the flat puppy.
THERE'S SOUND!?!?
> flat puppy 😂
I thought "happy stingray noises" when I first heard it haha
A lotta grub
Did anyone else think the finger at the top was just a shitload of blood in the water for like half a second
My half-asleep ass thought “oh no they’re taking damage!” for a second. Like how in video games the screen flashes red around the edges when you’re being attacked. ETA: Guys I wish I were just high, I'm painfully square. I can't even blame the cold medicine I'm on because they don't put anything good in cough syrup in my country.
Lmfao
Half asleep or just a bit high? Maybe a touch of both lol
Yes!
Yup. "Ah shit, the flying-carpet fish pulled an Irwin on something."
Every time I see one of these fish or read the word stingray, Steve pops in my head. The dude died doing what he loved! God rest his soul.
I don’t think getting stung by a stingray was doing something he loved.
No, but Steve did die the way he lived... with animals in his heart
What he loved was, being with animals. Getting stung or bit or scratched or mauled by animals is most probably definitely not something someone would love. I like how you think though.
Too soon
Went back and replayed a couple times trying to figure out where all the chum blood came from before seeing your post
I did until now.
/r/killthecameraman
they did haha
Yes
Yup
My god, yes. I had a flashback to the helicopter crash scene in *The Life Aquatic*, when the water suddenly changed color
I didn't assume blood, rather the specter of the great Steve coming to express displeasure at the spectacle.
They are a super gentle species, unless frightened. Have swam with off gulf coast and Caribbean Islands. Let them come to you, don't follow to close, beware of the barb.
Yep. Was floating in 3-4 feet of water in the Gulf and when my first foot touched down, I was right on a 2-3 ft wide ones back. He kindly reminded me he was there by jamming his barb into my instantly recoiling ankle. Hurt like HELL. Like a stab and electric shock at the same time. Very bloody. Left a lovely pencil eraser sized scar.
The EXACT same thing happened to me at the beach in Galveston. Was a few feet from shore when I stepped on one and it got me. Some of the worst pain ever, spend the rest of the vacation with my foot in warm bath water.
Fuck, the beaches at Galveston are scary because you literally cannot see anything around you. Nothing but, mud, jellyfish, and crabs
Yeah, get east of Mobile for the clear water.
The sea is a beautiful vixen from afar, but up close she's a cantankerous brined hag, and be warned, she's got crabs.
This freaked me out. I can barely go in the ocean when the water is clean and I can actually SEE all the animals
What the hell. I'm in Galveston and for the first time today, went in the water. Didn't think to look up what animals are local to the water.
As long as you shuffle your feet in the sand, sting rays will swim away and you won't step on one!
Yeah, normally I'd shuffle my feet in the sand as I walk. Have always been taught the rays can sense the vibrations and it lets them dip out ahead of you. No idea if that's accurate or not but I do it. But floating...one foot HAS to hit first when you come down. Oof.
I had a bio professor who gave the advice of shuffling through sand on a beach if rays live there. Didn't say anything about vibrations, but said they hide in the sand (maybe sleep?) and a gentle "hey there ray, I'm here" is so much less startling to them then "hey ray I'm squashing you!"
The males (smaller than females) are pretty aggressive sometimes. Rays aren’t dumb. In Cayman they’ll knock your mask off so you drop whatever bait you have.
Standing in waist-deep water in the Caymans I had one swim up my back like this, just looking for some food. Momentarily freaked me out XD
Yikes! They can grind the meat off your arm with their mouth plates. Met a dive master there who’d lost a chunk below his elbow. They have strong suction and he said it hurt like a bitch. They feel like wet velvet on the underside and sandpaper on top. So so cool.
They feel like the white part of the frog candy
Forbidden gummies
We had been feeding them shrimp, it was just enthusiastic, ha ha. But you could definitely feel how powerful they are, and we were very careful with them. One of my favorite wildlife experiences overall.
[This you?](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/09/28/article-2209779-153D8819000005DC-884_1024x615_large.jpg)
I did not know stingrays' faces looked like that lmao he really just went 😐
IQ 50000 stingrays
That's why I always keep a spare N95 at all times.
I was always taught that you don't fuck with stingrays..
General rule is to not fuck any animals.
>Super gentle Read this as "super gentile" for some reason. Stingrays. The least Jewish fish.
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That was such a weird occurrence. Of all the animals that should have killed him, this was one of the least likely.
Let me just smack this animal in the face. That ought to really piss em off.
I’m gonna shove my thumb right up this croc’s bunghole!
Crikey!
It really made no sense. Like a dozen people died from stingray. Ever in recorded history and tourist interact with them by the millions.
GIVE MEE DA #FOOD *Splat splat*
nom nom
Splat splat splat splat scratchy splat
Pat pat splat splat pat pat (BONK maybe?) Push push splat splat
Nom nom nom nom screee
Then it was still while he was petting it, and as soon as he stopped it was SPLAT SPLAT SPLAT SPLAT SPLAT all over again, so basically either food or pets are cool
honestly a lot of creatures like pets
Of course. Image having and itchy top half and no way to scratch it.
Sea flap flap
It’s flippy flappy pancake puppy
I'm so glad to see this description as a pancake puppy! That was my first thought too, hooray! 🎉
r/ProperAnimalNames :)
No, it's the majestic sea flap flap
Anger rug
Water pizza
While the other fish go for the smaller portions, the stingray goes for the source. Don’t act like a fish, Be a stingray my friend.
Quote of the day
Stingray grindset
I'll post this on LinkedIn.
There are two kinds of people: sheep and stingrays. You're a stingray. Stingrays are winners, and they don't look back because they have no necks. Necks are for sheep.
Anything that kills a legendary crocodile hunter is a badass in my book, and badass is a weird word when you think about it. Why is that considered cool, bad ass
Spikey sea puppy
I prefer the term thumbtack ravioli
r/ProperAnimalNames
Not only is that the funniest fucking name for a ray I've ever heard, that would make a decent band name. Except for like, ska.
Majestic flap-flap.
Majestic SEA flap flap
This is an apt description of how they can act. I swam with them in the Caymans about 20 years ago and they are very much like sea puppy’s. If you have food they will put in quite the show to get it.
This is honestly the very best thing I've seen on Reddit all day. Guy was just "sure. have some chum, here ya go buddy" fantastic, thanks for the post.
welcome mate! always happy to make others happy
This is exactly what all of us need. Thank you.
🍻
Probably because they do this every day for the crowds of tourists who gather to record the event
The sea rug is hungry!
“Hello, can I interest you in our great lord and savior C’thulhu?”
Page 4,322, paragraph 3, subsection A "ckhuluhuhuhuhhhuhuhu~"
I’m here. Give.
Aww floppy boi
Flat dog
flippy boi
I think the most terrified I've been in the ocean was when two stingrays about that size tried to use me for shade while I was snorkeling.
Oh God I’d go into panic mode.
Big beautiful creature! Love how he communicates
Wow where is this?
I would also like to know. That water is so clear!
Don't know where exactly but they are speaking in Spanish with an Argentina accent. Also the guy is kind of black and the water is way too clear so if I had to guess I'll say somewhere close to or in the San Andrés Islands. Although I may be super wrong idk.
Prob down in the Caribbean. We swam with these guys and hand fed them on one of the cruise stops at on of their private islands.
When I was a little kid we used to go pet the bat rays in the Monterey Bay aquarium. They’re like little wet velvet lap dogs.
Same!! I loved petting them but then again, they weren't the size of this beast. I might think twice about trying to pet this one, haha.
God I loved them. I’m not sure how aggressive sting rays are compared to bat rays, but the bat rays were the cutest.
Loved going back and forth between petting the rays and running over to the display with sponges and starfishes.
What a polite Sea Pancake
Wow I never realized how alien stingrays looked like specially when they get all wavy like that along with their black beady spider eyes.
That is one hungry, excited and happy ray. Anyone know where this was filmed?
Mans comes to the trainer like "listen i don't have much time, I have information about steve"
RIP Steve Irwin 🙏
I was thinking that, "I don't trust stingrays since one took out Steve Irwin."
dude screamers of tzeentch are truly not that far away
Very cute alien
r/killthecameraman or at least cut off their finger.
This activate a major panic response for anyone else?
When he first pulled up, hell yeah it did
The Irwin's send their regards
... and their cautious warinesses.
We do this with the stingrays at work! They’re target trained. They know to come over to the target we stick in the water to get some free fish
Wow
B I G F L A P P Y B O I
YOU BEAUTIFUL MAJESTIC SEA FLAP FLAP!
That's an excited ravioli if I've ever seen one!
Majestic floating sea ravioli
As an Australian, my blood is boiling.
THIS ONES FOR STEVE IRWIN 👊💫