Huge manta rays pass directly over the excited diver

Huge manta rays pass directly over the excited diver.
In her 30 years of scuba diving, Kristy has explored the oceans of Belize, Mexico, the Galapagos Islands, Cuba, the Cayman Islands, Papua New Guinea, and Indonesia. She is an experienced diver who has interacted with turtles, whale sharks, and several other marine life. But she had never come into contact with a manta ray before this point. She went to the Indonesian island of Komodo with the goal of seeing these wonderful creatures in the wild. While drifting 20 meters (60 feet) below the surface of the water with her camera, Kristy watched white-tipped reef sharks and sea turtles swim by. Unexpectedly, a massive manta ray materialized and was swimming directly toward her. It veered off course to face her directly, seemingly interested in this awkward person. It gently banked to the left and almost directly over her head before slamming into her. Kristy was given a close-up view of the interior of one of the most magnificent animals in existence. And to top it all off, a second manta ray appeared shortly after the first. Kristy was amazed and delighted by the meeting as the trailing manta went by nearly as closely. Many divers never see one of these rays in their entire lifetime. They are enormous, with wingspans up to 6 meters (18 feet). Only huge sharks and killer whales pose a hazard to these rays when they are fully developed. They can move quickly in the water to avoid predators. Manta rays, however, only have one pup at a time, making it challenging for them to make up for fishing-related losses. The manta has become a popular capture for the Chinese markets due to unfounded claims that their gill rakes have therapeutic characteristics.