When I was very small, I remember going to Disney World and swimming through a “lagoon” filled with stingrays and sharks. Of course, I was so terrified of getting eaten alive that I swam straight across to the other side as fast as I could and sat there waiting while the rest of my family enjoyed a leisurely adventure with the animals. Once I didn’t feel like I was in mortal danger anymore, however, I too was fascinated by the stingrays.

Several years ago, I caught my first glimpses of stingrays in their natural environment while parasailing in Destin, Florida. From my vantage point in the sky, I watched a school of rays glide through the water in near-perfect unison, seemingly only inches away from unsuspecting swimmers. Several times since then, I have sat on hotel balconies and watched rays school through the surf, riding the waves and occasionally leaping out of the water like aquatic gymnasts.

ty and grace of rays for years, it’s probably time I learned something about them, don’t you think?

Rays breathe by taking in water through openings on their heads called spiracles. Rays also usually have long, slender tails, which can be armed with sharp venomous spines that the ray uses for defense or when feeding (and which are kind of scary, too). For this reason, it is advisable to use caution when wading on sand in water where rays might be present, because the stingray can exert enough force with its tail to drive the spines into wooden boats, so they can obviously inflict a great deal of pain and damage to skin. If stung, the best relief is to soak the sting in hot water, because the venom released by the stingray’s tail is made up of a protein that breaks down when exposed to heat.

Rays are easily identified by their flattened, disk-shaped bodies; their five gill openings and mouth are found on the underneath or ventral side. The shape of the disk can vary from circular to diamond-shaped. The most distinguishing features of the ray are the wing-like pectoral fins, which rays use to swim by propelling themselves forward almost like birds. For

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Destin Florida, Disney World, , bronze ray, tour guide,