Mike Veitch: Manta Rays
I have been very lucky during my diving career to have always worked in areas with a large Manta Ray population. From my start in the diving industry in Palau, to Fiji, French Polynesia, Yap, and now Indonesia; I have always had manta rays on my doorstep. I have been lucky enough to encounter some incredible experiences underwater throughout my career and many of those experiences involved manta rays. Although not represented here, my first memorable encounters with mantas were in Palau where we would often swim with them at night off the back deck of the liveaboard I worked on.
However, it was in Yap where I became infatuated with these graceful animals as I would dive with them on a near daily basis. Encountering 30+ mantas chasing each other around in Miil Channel during a mating frenzy was truly a mind bending experience. Over a 3-year period in Yap I was able to capture hundreds of photographs of manta ray behaviour as well as many hours of video.
Since I have been based in Indonesia, I have been lucky enough to encounter manta rays all across the country in areas such as Bali, Komodo, Raja Ampat, and Halmahera. Although the majority of my manta encounters have been with reef manta rays (Manta alfredi), I often encounter their larger ocean cousins (Manta birostris) in Raja Ampat. I have included two photos in the essay which show the back of both a reef and oceanic manta to show the difference in the markings between the two species. One of the easiest ways (other than size) to differentiate between the two is the large “T” shaped marking on the oceanic ray.
Although diving with manta rays is always enjoyable, some of my most memorable experiences with them have been while snorkeling. Mantas often congregate together while feeding and form staggered lines in the water to optimize their feeding. When they are doing this, they pretty much ignore the presence of swimmers and it’s easy to get up close and personal with them in these circumstances. The photos in this essay showing this behaviour at the surface are from Raja Ampat, Indonesia.
Find more of Mike’s photos and videos here.
Reef manta rays, Manta alfredi, feeding on plankton at the surface, Raja Ampat, Indonesia
A group of reef manta rays, Manta alfredi, feeding at the surface in Raja Ampat, Indonesia
A bright pink soft coral lit up in the foreground with a manta silhoutted in the background, Miil Channel, Yap, Micronesia
A reef manta ray cruises in toward the cleaning station at Manta Point in Bali, Indonesia
Mantas in Komodo National Park, Indonesia
Manta Ray and Diver, Rangiroa, French Polynesia, Pacific Ocean
Reef manta rays, Manta alfredi, feeding at the surface, Raja Ampat, Indonesia
A reef manta, Manta alfredi, swims along the top of a reef at Manta Alley, Komodo National Park, Indonesia
Barrel rolling reef manta ray, Manta alfredi, Raja Ampat, Indonesia
A tassled wobbegong rests on a plate coral in Raja Ampat as a reef manta ray, Manta alfredi, cruises past in the background, Raja Ampat, Indonesia
A reef manta ray, Manta alfredi, hovers above a cleaning station. A keen eye can spot the cleaner fish around the tail. Goofnuw Channel, Yap, Micronesia
Reef manta rays, Manta alfredi, feeding at the surface, Manta Sandy, Raja Ampat, Indonesia
Two Manta Rays in formation, Manta birostris, Goofnuw Channel, Valley of the Rays, Yap, Micronesia, Pacific Ocean
Photographer and Oceanic Manta Ray, Manta birostris, Blue Magic, Dampier Strait, Raja Ampat, Indonesia
Two reef manta rays, Manta alfredi, feed at the surface in rough conditions, Goofnuw Channel, Yap, Micronesia
Manta ray in silhouette, Manta birostris, Valley of the Rays, Goofnuw Channel, Yap, Federated States of Micronesia, Pacific Ocean
A reef manta ray, Manta alfredi, hovering in the current with the sun streaming behind it, Miil Channel, Yap, Micronesia