Friendly giant mantas Daniel & Terry wait for diver to play

[headcrabwarrior6161]

manta rays are my favorite aquatic animals

[KKumli]

First manta's Daniel, 2nd one's Terry and we've never seen Terry's dorsal surface till now, great shots of those white epaulets without any markings at all it seems - do you have stills of the dorsal? Great gill shot, the remora looks tiny and streamlined. Wish the other would let go of the wingtip!

[wongcpa8]

Thanks for the comment & your dedication to the manta research. Now we know of their names. Warmest Regards.

[unccrazy333]

awesome video fun to watch and informative!!!! can manta rays sting???????????

[wongcpa8]

Manta ray can be up to over 20 ft wide. The Manta's barb [actually just a tail] is not venomous any more due to the lact of natural enemies & use of it for generations. We can safely say all rays have venomous barb except manta.

[Xiph1980]

Wow, it's enormous! Never saw one with a diver so close to it. Gives their size a bit more perspective. They are gorgeous though :)

[Pulv]

these people are so lucky.. but i will never undestand why most divers have to touch everything they see... they should have much more respect for nature..

[zingtea]

Yes, unfortunately diver does not = naturalist, which is increasingly the case with it getting easier to get SCUBA certified.

[zingtea]

But I still think the border between playful interaction and harassment is not very clear. E.g, that manta definitely wasn't trying to get away, and I've seen what they look like when they do.

[Pulv]

yes thats true.. but do they have to touch the manta, when they want to play with him? and you got a big point on getting SCUBA very easy.. thats very sad and im very glad to have a good diving education, which contains e.g. the respect for everything

[zingtea]

You're right, they don't need to touch the manta, I wouldn't.

[bubbleinsights]

It's sad to see people touch everything they can underwater. I think the responsibility should ultimately lie with the dive operators - they should ensure that nobody touches either the wildlife or the coral! They should be reported and fined alongside the trespassers.

[DougYorkNo1]

Awesome video thanks for sharing it!

[kidhalo]

Amazing Videos

[tj1990]

THEY ARE MASSIVE!!

[gorth419]

CRUD THATS BIG!

[LoveEverlasting]

Wow, are manta's always this big? =O She's huge! Well... I'm expecting an answer like, "Oh no... they get much bigger!" xP

R.I.P Steve Irwin! (You will always be remembered for the great things you did, and for what a great person you were... see ya in heaven mate!)

[wongcpa8]

Manta ray can be up to over 20 ft wide. The Manta's barb is not venomous any more due to the lact of natural enemies & use of it for generations. We can safely say all rays have venomous barb except manta.

[mcbigg]

That is so cool. A truly memorable experience. Great video.

[scubafan67]

same here... i've seen spotted eagle rays and stingrays but THIS is what i'm wanting to encounter. thanks for the video. not many show the relative size of us to them :)

[wongcpa8]

The best dive boat to Socorro is the Nautilus Explorer nautilusexplorer.com. Plenty of giant manta encourters but will be greeted with 15-22 divers. We went in when others were finishing their dives to get the solo act. We waited for 10 minutes at shallow for them. Also, plenty of mantas during our Kona, Hawaii night dive with Jack's Dive Locker. Ask to be in Jack's video if you want to their DVD afterward. Youtube search kona night dive, or eching. My own videos are wongcpa8.