There's a spot in the deepwater channel between a hotel and the fringing reef where you can get up close and personal with stingrays. One of the hotel guides has been feeding and taming these lovely creatures for 2 years and visits most days with food. We went along in the dinghy, tied up to a mooring ball and hopped into chest deep water on the side of the channel. As soon as the rays saw us they were swimming around looking for food. The biggest animals are the females and the smaller ones are the males. While we were in the water they brushed past us with their silky skin and presented their snouts for stroking. Like a big pussycat. An untamed stingray is a different matter. Their barbed tail can cause a fatal injury. We always give them plenty of room when we meet them on a dive.
While we were there the handler came with hotel guests and the animals went crazy to get to him – it may have had something to do with the dead fish he was throwing in the water. He also pulled in 20 remoras, sucker fish that swim under sharks and turtles, and 10 to 15 black tip sharks. It was wonderful to get close to these small sharks and observe in the crystal clear water.
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