If
you've ever worked with animals or shared your home with them, you'll
know for certain that all of them are sentient beings, just as we are -
with intelligence, emotions and distinct personalities.
Each
week on this blog I'll seek out a story from across the world that
shows the true nature of the animals that we share our planet with.
Stories that inspire, lift the heart and demonstrate their equality to
man and their right to a peaceful existence.
In old mariners' tales of yester-year Manta Rays were often said to be associated with the devil and were seen as evil. However, our understanding of them now is mostly as being graceful, peaceful creatures. Indeed the sight of them occasionally leaping out of the water is simply one of the most beautiful things you could see.
They are usually quite shy creatures - but whilst helping a team to film underwater, well-known diver Sean Payne had an encounter with one that changed his perspective on them completely.
A large female ray came out of the depths and seemed to take a shine to him - swimming right up to him and pushing her body into the underside of his. She was playful and when he decided to stroke her she responded as if she were a dog having her belly tickled. In his account of this wonderful meeting he even describes how her wings vibrated with what seemed to be like pleasure.
Like many other people describing animals Sean says he felt a real connection, despite being from an extremely different species. She wanted to be with him and swam around him touching him and wanting to play. She even followed him protectively up to the surface of the water.
I love this story for 2 reasons:
1. It reminds me of watching baby rays dancing in the shallows of the Indian ocean when I was in the Maldives and 2. because fish and underwater animals are so often dismissed as being incapable of this type of reaction and that they even have no intelligence, emotion or physical capacity for pain. The scientific fact is that they have all of these things. Hence we should not eat them/ harm them. How lovely that this animal still trusted a human and wanted to interact with him, and, that she wasnt let down. But what a shame that this isn't the case universally.
Have a wonderful rest of the week.
Chantal x
A Ray to Remember
In old mariners' tales of yester-year Manta Rays were often said to be associated with the devil and were seen as evil. However, our understanding of them now is mostly as being graceful, peaceful creatures. Indeed the sight of them occasionally leaping out of the water is simply one of the most beautiful things you could see.
They are usually quite shy creatures - but whilst helping a team to film underwater, well-known diver Sean Payne had an encounter with one that changed his perspective on them completely.
A large female ray came out of the depths and seemed to take a shine to him - swimming right up to him and pushing her body into the underside of his. She was playful and when he decided to stroke her she responded as if she were a dog having her belly tickled. In his account of this wonderful meeting he even describes how her wings vibrated with what seemed to be like pleasure.
Like many other people describing animals Sean says he felt a real connection, despite being from an extremely different species. She wanted to be with him and swam around him touching him and wanting to play. She even followed him protectively up to the surface of the water.
I love this story for 2 reasons:
1. It reminds me of watching baby rays dancing in the shallows of the Indian ocean when I was in the Maldives and 2. because fish and underwater animals are so often dismissed as being incapable of this type of reaction and that they even have no intelligence, emotion or physical capacity for pain. The scientific fact is that they have all of these things. Hence we should not eat them/ harm them. How lovely that this animal still trusted a human and wanted to interact with him, and, that she wasnt let down. But what a shame that this isn't the case universally.
Have a wonderful rest of the week.
Chantal x
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