Perhaps the Cayman Islands' most famous attraction, Stingray City and the nearby shallows known as Sandbar provide the only natural opportunity in the world to swim with more than a few hundred "tame" Atlantic Southern Stingrays which seem to enjoy the company of humans.
During recent years, the rays have entertained a wide variety of visitors: from those donning mask, fins, and snorkel for the first time, to celebrities which include Leslie Nielsen, David Hasselhoff, Travis Tritt, and media stars such as CNN's Peter Arnett, National Geographic's David Doubilet, and Stan Waterman.
2002 marked the 15th anniversary of this unique attraction. It was first described as the "world's best shallow dive", by Bob Hollis in a September 1987 article by acclaimed underwater photographer / writer Geri Murphy in Skin Diver Magazine. Geri actually gave the site its name, Stingray City, and has been one of its most enthusiastic visitors ever since.
For centuries, these mysterious animals in the sea have been unnecessarily feared by man. This misconception of rays being dangerous fish was caused by a lack of understanding of their anatomy. This species has long, whip-like tails which contain one or two razor-sharp, serrated barbs located at the base. The barb contains venom used to deter predators. It causes pain and swelling upon contact, but rays are not aggressive creatures and do not attack man or any other creatures. Their tails are used purely as defense mechanisms and are usually ineffective against their main predators, sharks.
Therefore stingrays really only cause trouble to humans in shallow water areas, and only if they are stepped on by mistake while lying unseen, feeding in the sand. Divers and snorkelers at Stingray City do not encounter this, because the rays are in perpetual motion in the water, circling visitors in search of a handout of squid or fish.
These salt water marine animals found at Stingray City are actually Southern Stingrays, the species dasyatis americana, found throughout shallow reef areas from Florida and the Bahamas to the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean, and coastal Central and South America. They have cartilaginous skeletons and belong to the same group of fishes as skates and sharks.
Stingrays have broad, flat, almost disk-shaped bodies, and small, ill-defined heads with their eyes and blunt snout on the topside, and large pectoral fins, mistakenly called "wings". This misnomer is suggested by the ray's method of swimming, a movement resembling a bird in flight.
The rays found at Stingray City and Sandbar have white underbellies and slate gray, brown, "khaki", or black upper surfaces. Males of this species are smaller and more numerous at the site. Adult females grow as large as six feet across. They give birth to live young, with three to five nine-inch long "pups" born at the same time.
Since rays' eyes are located on the top of their bodies and their mouths hidden are on their flat underside, they cannot see what they are feeding on. They instead sense it through highly developed electro-receptors combined with an acute sense of smell and touch. In their natural state, they slowly patrol the ocean floor until they sense prey, and then cover it with their body. Rays then create a shallow depression in the sand to cover themselves, often leaving only their eyes and long tail exposed. Although they appear to be sleeping, they are actually busy feeding on their normal diet of crabs, conch, shrimp, worms, and even small fish. These "snoozing" creatures also seem to be stirring up the sand in small clouds, as they expel sediment through vents located behind their eyes.
Stingray City is located in Grand Cayman's North Sound, and can be reached only by boat. The site was "discovered" in the summer of 1986 when local dive masters Pat Kinney and Jay Ireland noticed the congregation of rays which seemed to allow human interaction. They began to work with the rays, attempting to feed them by hand. This site had been known to local fishermen for many years, who watched the rays gather to feed on scraps of fish when they regularly cleaned their catches in this spot. Nearby, the Sandbar has also become a popular recreation spot, especially for families coming by boat on weekends. The rays gather here, in less than four feet of water, greeting snorkelers and swimmers, and obviously expecting food in return.
The unusual behavior of the rays has fascinated marine biologists, who so
far have not been able to present scientific explanation for the creatures' affinity for
human company.
During the last 15 years, Stingray City has been featured in many international publications, including National Geographic, and highlighted in many films. You can now learn about this fascinating natural attraction in detail in an illustrated paperback book by former Don Foster's Dive Cayman Ltd. instructor Mike Nelson, Swim with the Rays: A Divers' Guide to the Rays at Stingray City, available at local watersports outlets.
Stingray City and Sand Bar offer both divers and snorkelers a thrilling experience, which has been safely enjoyed by thousands of visitors each year.
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