Sea creature with 22-foot wingspan gives rare, belly-up sighting. See ‘amazing’ photos
An “extremely large” species of sea creature made an impressive — and rare — appearance off the coast of New Jersey, stunning photos show.
A naturalist with the Cape May whale watching group captured a manta ray breaching out of the sea, according to an Aug. 22 post on Facebook.
“This is a rare sighting — but we were lucky enough to witness the ray jumping out of the water multiple times!” officials with the group said in the post. “Manta rays are an extremely large species of stingray, with wingspans averaging at around 22 feet.”
Photos show the ray jumping out of the water and flopping onto its back into the sea.
“Belly up too!” someone said in the comments.
“Amazing!!” another person said.
Others pointed out how striking the photos are.
“Oh what a lucky sight!” someone said in the comments. “Beautiful!”
Some said they didn’t know manta rays lived off Cape May shores, the southernmost point of the state about 40 miles southwest of Atlantic City.
Officials with the whale watching group said they see them “with some frequency” in Delaware Bay, which separates New Jersey and Delaware.
Still, “it was a truly unique and unforgettable sighting,” officials said.
This story was originally published September 11, 2023 at 3:38 PM.
