But when I finally came face to face with a bull shark, I only felt amazed by the beauty and perfection of her torpedo-like body, long pointed fins, and graceful movement. I had never been so close to a wild animal before--and so completely ignored by one. She didn’t want to eat me? What else was going on here? I wanted to spend the rest of my life finding out.
Since then, I’ve asked a lot of questions in my career as a scientist that have brought me all over the world. When I was studying fish in the Amazon rainforest I learned that, in fact, the real rainforest smells different than the one at the zoo (or maybe that was just the orangutans?). In Mexico, I studied whale sharks and their daily lives, and I even got to know some of them by name.
The current question I am trying to answer is my favorite one yet. It is a question about manta rays! If you’ve never heard of manta rays, I can’t wait to tell you about them. Close your eyes. Imagine a kite on a breezy day, the way it floats and flutters almost like a bird. Now picture that the kite is shaped like a blanket, flat and wide, but with two big wings and a long tail. Picture that that kite is curious about you; actually, it’s looking at you! Now you have a manta ray.
Some scientists believe that there is a new species of manta ray in the Caribbean Sea. If there is, what are they doing, and where are they going? Why did they come here? These questions are important because the answers help us decide the best way to protect manta rays from dangers like boat traffic and illegal fishing. Once we know more about these mysterious animals, we can better help the Mexican government protect them.
