Mandy the Manta Ray Stays on the Move

Aquatic translation device in paw, roving rodent reporter Zoey the zoo mouse and photographer Zeek are heading under the surface of the Manta birostris exhibit to learn more about Mandy the resident manta ray.

Mandy: Why hello, you two. Welcome to my tank. (Swims straight up and dives back down)

Zoey: Thanks. My goodness, you really are a mover, aren’t you?

Mandy: Oh, I just love to flow with the fluidity of the water (swoops over Zeek and Zoey), groove with the pulse of the planet …

Zoey: You look like you have wings!

Mandy: My fins operate like wings. Some humans even refer to us as sea bats because of the way we “fly” through the water … but from what I understand, bats are flitty little things, so I’m not sure I get the comparison. (Swims behind Zeek and Zoey)

Zoey: Yes, I’d say you’re much more graceful. Where’d you go? (Turns around) Oh, there you are. So, some of the other marine animals were saying that no one ever sees you eat. How do you get your nourishment?

Mandy: I’m eating right now!

Zoey: What? You are? Ugh, you’re making me dizzy …

Mandy: Yes! As I cruise along, my gill rakers—little appendages in my gills—filter plankton from the water and siphon them straight to my tummy!

Zoey: Plankton? That’s what you eat?

Mandy: Mmm hmmm. Exercise and food all at the same time … it’s a very holistic way to dine, isn’t it?

Zoey: I know that some whales eat plankton, too, but it’s hard to believe organisms so small could sustain creatures so large!

Zeek: And so active …

Zoey: What are you, like 20 feet wide?

Mandy: From fin tip to fin tip, I’m actually 22 feet wide. (Breaches) Wheeee!

Zoey: I didn’t know you could leap like that!

Mandy: I can fly under and over water! Isn’t that cool?

Zoey: Very impressive! I see you don’t have a companion. Are you lonely here?

Mandy: No, manta rays live pretty solitary lives in the wild, so being the only one here … that’s fine with me. Not that I’m antisocial (sweeps between Zeek and Zoey) … I’m just sort of meditative. Be right back—I just want to cruise by the bubble emitter for a second.

(Swims away, swims around the bubble emitter for a few seconds, and comes back)

Mandy: Ooooh, I love that! When I lived in the wild, I tried to get near scuba divers so I could feel the bubbles.

Zoey: You lived in the wild?

Mandy: Yeah. There are things I miss, like crustacean goodies that were mixed in with the plankton, but at least there aren’t any sharks around here.

Zoey: Why? You seem too big to be attacked by one.

Mandy: Oh, the big sharks can be tenacious. It may not happen often, but occasionally they’ll make a meal of a manta ray.

Zoey: Are you getting any pictures, Zeek?

Zeek: She’s a bit of a moving target … Mandy, can you hold still for a minute?

Mandy: Hold still? No way! (Breaches again)

Zeek: Looks like I have my work cut out for me, Zoey.