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More Manta Tales
Right before sunset on February 29th, more than ten Shortfin devil rays (Mobula kuhlii) were jumping in the small bay where the Sentinels dive site is located. Large schools of tiny fish also filled these waters. In fact, local fishermen had just netted many bucketfuls for sale in the local market. Not only were the devil rays jumping, but they also grabbed the anchor line of a midsize wooden fishing boat. Three times residents in the tiny fishing village had to pull back on the land line to prevent the devil rays frompulling the boat out to sea. The rays had already pulled a mooring buoy away.
Fishermen here are very familiar with this particular ray and can describe it in detail. It is about one meter across and colored dark brown above and white below. Its tiny doral fin is white-tipped. Its small tail has no stinger. It is called bumengo in Gorontalo language.