World Oceans Day is June 8, but The Seas with Nemo & Friends at Epcot is celebrating today! For those of you who might not be able to join the festivities, we wanted to introduce you to one of the marine animals you can see up close at The Seas.
Luna is a black-blotched fantail stingray with a wingspan of 66 inches – that’s about the size of a banquet table for 10! – and currently weighs nearly 400 pounds. The aquarists who care for her were amazed how quickly Luna learned to touch a “target,” in this case a flat acrylic piece that Luna could swim to. Target objects are used to teach an animal to go to a specific location.
Soon thereafter, Luna was following the target onto the underwater viewing windows, where our guests have the unique experience of watching her eat. It is an awesome moment to see Luna literally inches from their faces.
Stingrays like Luna can be found off the shores of southern Australia and are relatives of sharks. Sharks and rays need our help as they are overfished at a rate faster than they can produce young. You can help by learning to choose your seafood wisely.
Come see Luna, and look for the circular stingray with black blotches on the dorsal surface. You can’t miss her beautiful smooth wave-like motions as she swims through The Seas!
Comments
Watching Luna gracefully “fly” through the water, and especially seeing her swim up the window, brings a big “ooh” from the guests and a smile to every face!
Comments are closed.