Often seen gliding through the water, filter-feeding on zooplankton, krill, and other small fish. Manta rays are some of the most majestic creatures in our oceans. During this journey, they will also jump out of the water. Manta rays also take part in migration in order to reach warmer, more abundant waters. Manta and mobula rays are often seen jumping out of the water when they are in groups, which indicates that is part of their mating ritual.Īlthough these animals can live in groups, mantas can also be solitary and when alone often don’t jump out of the water. Those that jump the highest and make the biggest splash, are thought to give themselves the best chances of mating. It’s also important to note that it’s mainly male rays that jump, but females sometimes jump too, likely to draw attention to themselves. Jumping out of the water may be a display so that females can identify the strongest of the rays, and for them to attract a suitable partner.Ĭheck out this video of mobula rays jumping out of the water:Īs the rays land, the impact of their landing sends a huge boom through the water, which may signal to females that this male is suitable to mate with. This means when trying to attract a mate, it can be difficult to stand out from the crowd. These animals often travel in large groups, hundreds and sometimes even thousands strong. It could even be a way of hunting as a group, there are a number of potential reasons why they may be jumping but the reasons outlined above are the most plausible. They may also be jumping in order to give birth and to escape predators, but they seem to do it for a reason and it looks as though they enjoy jumping out of the water. Manta rays may jump first in order to show off and attract a mate, as well as to remove parasites and also to communicate. The reason why manta and mobula rays jump out of the water is not yet clear, but there are some theories as to why they do it. These rays can be seen jumping as high as nine feet or more, it’s a pretty spectacular sight to witness rays jumping. In total there are nine species of mobula ray, and all of them have been witnessed jumping out of the water. Groups of manta rays have been spotted jumping out of the water for sometimes hours at a time, especially around the coast of Mexico. Therefore, although rare behavior for some manta rays, they do actually jump out of the water for reasons that are still very much a mystery. Mobula rays are closely related to sharks and are part of the Mobulidae family, which also contains two species of manta rays. A recent genetic study in 2017 revealed that manta rays are more closely related to devil rays than previously thought and that they all belong to the same genus family ‘mobula’, whereas previously there were separated between manta and mobula.
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