Stingrays are amazing animals that glide and undulate through the water. This winter I learned more about them in a visit to the Bahamas and Cayman Islands.

Stingray Adventures in Half Moon Cay, Bahamas (available on Carnival and Holland America cruises) is a great place to be introduced to stingrays. In a netted area, you are introduced to the stingrays. With snorkel and fins, you can explore the small area and see other fish on the small reef.

A guide told us many interesting facts about their stingrays.

• The 9 stingrays were females because they survive better in this environment.
• The female stingrays can be as large as 5 or 6 feet across while the males are only 1 or 2 feet across.
• Their colors vary to blend with the sand.
• The barb is on the tail and for self defense.
• Stingrays often lie in the sand with only their eyes showing. So we did the stingray shuffle to be sure not to step on them.
• When I touched the stingrays, they felt like a mushroom.
• When you feed a stingray under supervision, make a fist with your thumb in the fist. Otherwise you may get a “hickey.”
• When they eat, the suction is two times the suction of a home vacuum cleaner!
• We feed them prawns (shrimp).

The stingrays would glide by, bump into my ankle with their wings, and often the wing would go up my leg. It was amazing how many hung around me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A few days later, I experienced stingrays in the wild at Stingray City Sandbar I learned:

• Fishermen would clean their catch at this shallow sandbar and the stingrays started coming to eat.
• Now it is a world famous tourist attraction.
• The water is very shallow at the sandbar, 2 to 4 feet and then the water gets deeper.
• The stingrays hear the boats and come gliding in. Each boat is limited to 1 pound of food.
• Stingray’s life span is 15-25 years in the wild.
• When a predator, usually shark, hovers over a ray and swoops down, the stingray forms a ball and the barb sticks up.
• The rays I saw had the barb near their body at an angle (about 45 degrees) and not at the end of their tail.
• Kissing a sting ray brings 7 years good luck!

The female stingrays were huge. I remember a black ray who was at least 5 feet across. It was easy to tell the difference between the males and females because of their size. I touched a pregnant female. You could see and feel a bump in her body.

I highly recommend seeing stingray when you can. You will never forget the experience. This video will give you a taste of the adventure.

Then the adventure continued as I snorkeled and saw amazing coral and lots of fish.  The beauty of the ocean life is colorful and breathe taking!