Mobula rays often gather off the coast of Baja. Watch their amazing gathering in the video below.
Mobula rays swim in schools which can number in the hundreds, feeding on crustaceans and small schools of fish.
These sea devils can form, without warning, huge schools along the Eastern Shore of Baja, Mexico, creating a spectacular natural phenomenon. This was the case in 2012, when a group of about 10,000 mobula rays was filmed off the coast of Baja, California (video). But nobody knows why they gathered there or where they went afterwards.
As well as large ‘wings’ on their sides which propel the rays through the water, they also have a barbed tail. While the rays congregate in large numbers, the groups are so sparse that very little is known about the species, including why they jump out of the water. The huge wings of the mobula ray can measure up to 5.2 m or 17 ft in overall. The rays can weigh up to a ton each, meaning the can only ‘fly’ a few feet before falling back into the water.
I would say these rays use this strange behavior to remove parasites aggregating under their wings… But I have actually no ideas. What do you think they are doing there… Just having a lot of fun?
