Getting up close to wild stingrays and sharks
Getting up close to wild stingrays and sharks
Learn about tiger sharks and various types of rays, including the spotted eagle ray, the manta ray, and the stingray.
Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz
Transcript
How people and wildlife can get used to each other can be observed impressively on the South Pacific island of Moorea. Here, wild stingrays are waiting for divers and tourists who regularly bring them food. By feeding these animals they have become confiding and tame so you can now swim with them and pet them. Normally this is not possible and caution is advised as the stingray has a dangerous sting he can use at lightning speed if he feels attacked.
Here a group of spotted eagle rays is to see. These so-called schools can include up to 200 animals. Spotted eagle rays move together in these groups to cross the oceans. Otherwise the animals reside in shallow coastal waters, such as bays and coral reefs, where they hunt their food. At his long whip-like tail, he also wears a poisonous sting. Overall, the rays can reach a maximum length of 3.3 meters. Head, torso and pectoral fins of the animal are a diamonds-similar body profile. Striking is the protruding snout that slightly resembles a beak. The top of the ray is black or bluish, and patterned with many white spots. However, its belly is white. In search of food, the eagle rays mostly hunt at night, whereupon they are also looking for small snacks during the day. Eagle rays feed mainly on bottom-dwelling animals such as crabs, snails, clams and worms which they flush out of the sand.
The giant among the ray species is the manta. He belongs to the family of the manta rays, for the two striking head fins. Manta rays can reach a wingspan of up to seven meters when grown out and bring a weight of approximately 1,000 kilograms on the scale. They are peaceful giants without a poisonous sting and feed on plankton, which they filter from the water. Due to their size, only large sharks can be dangerous for them such as the hammerhead or the tiger shark.
One of the largest and most formidable shark species is the tiger shark. This shark is found only in the tropical waters, as well as along the coast of the Galapagos Islands, Hawaii and Tahiti. It owes its name to the distinctive striping on the sides. Probably the skin pattern is used as camouflage. It is very pronounced in young animals, but is weakening in adult sharks again. However this is not a disadvantage for the animal, because of its size, in the adult state it has no more natural enemies. A full grown tiger shark weighs up to two tons and can be up to seven meters long. Therefore, he is one of the large shark species.
A group of scientists are trying to catch one of the giants by a bait to be able to examine it and to tag it with a satellite transmitter. Each year, there are few accidents with people that are fatal. The tiger shark is one of the few species that can be very dangerous to humans, as it is in addition to its size very curious and not very picky when it comes to his prey. The tiger shark has a varied range of food. He is an omnivore. In addition to turtles and fish he also eats - as seen here - ship waste, that is floating in the sea numerously. Seabirds are also on his menu as this feather shows, as well as sharks of its own kind. The sharks are explored with the help of transmitters and acoustic telemetry. They collect data about pressure, temperature and light intensity during a certain period of time. In addition, the transmitter can transfer information about large-scale movements and diving behavior of the animal. The data is sent via satellite to the researchers as soon as a shark rises to the surface. The team releases the shark again. Hopefully, the data from the attached transmitter helps to learn more about his mysterious life.
Here a group of spotted eagle rays is to see. These so-called schools can include up to 200 animals. Spotted eagle rays move together in these groups to cross the oceans. Otherwise the animals reside in shallow coastal waters, such as bays and coral reefs, where they hunt their food. At his long whip-like tail, he also wears a poisonous sting. Overall, the rays can reach a maximum length of 3.3 meters. Head, torso and pectoral fins of the animal are a diamonds-similar body profile. Striking is the protruding snout that slightly resembles a beak. The top of the ray is black or bluish, and patterned with many white spots. However, its belly is white. In search of food, the eagle rays mostly hunt at night, whereupon they are also looking for small snacks during the day. Eagle rays feed mainly on bottom-dwelling animals such as crabs, snails, clams and worms which they flush out of the sand.
The giant among the ray species is the manta. He belongs to the family of the manta rays, for the two striking head fins. Manta rays can reach a wingspan of up to seven meters when grown out and bring a weight of approximately 1,000 kilograms on the scale. They are peaceful giants without a poisonous sting and feed on plankton, which they filter from the water. Due to their size, only large sharks can be dangerous for them such as the hammerhead or the tiger shark.
One of the largest and most formidable shark species is the tiger shark. This shark is found only in the tropical waters, as well as along the coast of the Galapagos Islands, Hawaii and Tahiti. It owes its name to the distinctive striping on the sides. Probably the skin pattern is used as camouflage. It is very pronounced in young animals, but is weakening in adult sharks again. However this is not a disadvantage for the animal, because of its size, in the adult state it has no more natural enemies. A full grown tiger shark weighs up to two tons and can be up to seven meters long. Therefore, he is one of the large shark species.
A group of scientists are trying to catch one of the giants by a bait to be able to examine it and to tag it with a satellite transmitter. Each year, there are few accidents with people that are fatal. The tiger shark is one of the few species that can be very dangerous to humans, as it is in addition to its size very curious and not very picky when it comes to his prey. The tiger shark has a varied range of food. He is an omnivore. In addition to turtles and fish he also eats - as seen here - ship waste, that is floating in the sea numerously. Seabirds are also on his menu as this feather shows, as well as sharks of its own kind. The sharks are explored with the help of transmitters and acoustic telemetry. They collect data about pressure, temperature and light intensity during a certain period of time. In addition, the transmitter can transfer information about large-scale movements and diving behavior of the animal. The data is sent via satellite to the researchers as soon as a shark rises to the surface. The team releases the shark again. Hopefully, the data from the attached transmitter helps to learn more about his mysterious life.