Spotted Eagle Ray

Spotted Eagle Ray

Spotted eagle rays are a wonderful treat to watch as they soar gracefully around the reefs. They are excellent swimmers and love to cruise around in groups or alone; they have even been known to jump out of the water! This is a very impressive sight as spotted eagle rays can have wingspans of up to 8 feet (about 3 meters).

Spotted eagle rays feed primarily on crustaceans and urchins, using their hard plate-like teeth to break through shells. They look for food by running their flexible snouts over the sands on the ocean floor.

Eagle rays have long whip-like tails which are typically more than 10 feet in length. Although the end on the tail is barbed, these rays tend to be gentle giants, and will only become aggressive if seriously provoked. Eagle rays are commonly preyed upon by larger sharks and use their tails to defend themselves from becoming someone’s lunch!