Manta Traffic

Manta rays are a very intelligent animal. They have large brains and when you have a one on one encounter with the one you can see that it is analyzing you trying to make out just what you are. Over the years I’ve tried different techniques to make them feel more at ease in hopes of having them move closer, like talking calmly to a strange dog. I’ve found that when a manta is watching me but still keeping its distance I will reassuringly bob my head a couple times and more often than not it will do similarly and move a bit closer and sometimes on top of me. They are fascinating creatures and we are lucky to have almost daily encounters with them as Mermaid II dives through Komodo.

This most recent trip through Komodo on Mermaid II we witnessed another behavior displaying a mantas true intelligence. At a dive site called ‘Shogun,’ there is a portion of the site where the current can move at a healthy pace and it makes for an exhilarating drift though schooling travellies and snapper. It is at this point in the dive, where the current is strongest that the mantas often come to feed.

The mantas have figured out how the current, eddies, and counter currents all work together, and can clearly tell the difference between rising and a falling tide. To minimize energy and maximize consumption, the mantas will use the current and countercurrent like two lanes of traffic. The mantas start on the surface facing the current with their mouth wide open so that all the water and plankton passes through their mouth. When they have reached the end of the road so to speak, they will dip down and catch the countercurrent transporting them back to where they originally started and repeat this process for as long as the current runs. As divers, we just have sit in the eddy where the current is more

Mermaid II, Diving Cruise at Komodo
June 11-18, 2018
Alex Lindbloom