Friendship between humans and animals has been occurring since the dawn of humanity, but every once in a while, a friendship comes along that is so unusual you just have to see it to believe it. The boy in this video has built such a close friendship with this stingray that it seems to enjoy letting him pet it and even eats out of his hand!
Stingrays come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, making up the eight families of stingray species. The largest species is the manta ray, which is part of the eagle ray family. They can be over 20 feet wide and weigh close to 3,000 pounds!
The stingray in this video is most likely not a manta ray, as it lacks the distinctive cephalic fins near the mouth that make the manta look like it has horns, earning it the name sea-devil or devilfish in some parts of the world.
Stingrays are rarely aggressive, but many species do have a poisonous stinger that is most often used in defense when the ray is threatened. This happens most often for humans when they inadvertently step on one. Here’s a helpful tip: if you are wading in shallow ocean water where stingrays are known to live, walk with a shuffling step and you will likely scare them away instead of stepping on them!
Do you have any interesting stingray stories? What do you think about this amazing friendship? Let us know..
Please Share This Incredible Encounter With Family and Friends
