Spotted Eagle Ray
Once you enter the underwater viewing tunnels of Mermaid Lagoon, you'll come within inches of these incredible animals as they glide effortlessly over the surface of the tunnels, often stopping to feed, making for a perfect photo opportunity.
Spotted Eagle Ray
The Spotted Eagle Ray, as its name suggests, is a member of the eagle ray family, and is found in tropical waters all around the world, including the Pacific, around Africa, throughout the Indian Ocean, Australasia and the Gulf of Mexico. The Spotted Eagle Ray can be identified by the rash of white spots on its grey-ish blue top side, bright white underbelly, long, thin tail, and distinctive head, with a face that appears to be smiling!
Here at Sydney Aquarium we have several large Spotted Eagle Rays living in the Mermaid Lagoon exhibit, which is also home to our pair of dugongs, Pig and Wuru.
In the wild, because of their size, Spotted Eagle Rays are often a target for predators such as large sharks looking for a substantial meal. Their very small stinger doesn't offer much form of defence and they've been observed on several occasions being overwhelmed by large sharks, such as hammerheads and tigers.
Our Spotted Eagle Rays share Mermaid Lagoon with a number of sharks, including Leopard Sharks (or Zebra Sharks, to give them their correct common name), but this is a happy co-existance and the rays are free to glide around the open-top tank free from worry.