Manta ray spotted off the coast of Assateague Island

It's not every day a manta ray is spotted off the coast of Assateague Island, but local Vickie Henry was able to capture the moment with her camera.

Henry enjoys going to Assateague with her dog, Maggie, to take photos of the nature and wildlife for her photography business, Maggie and Me Photography.

Last Wednesday, she was at North Ocean Beach, on the Maryland side of Assateague, taking photos of the horses when she noticed something in the water.

"It was such a beautiful day while we were at the beach," Henry said. "I was looking out at the water and I saw a huge splash."

Her initial thought was that the sea creature was an orca, or killer whale, because she saw it had black and white coloring, and that's the only whale or dolphin she could think of that looks like that.

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Following the southbound path of the supposed orca, Henry captured photos of the animal as it breached the water.

But once Henry returned home and uploaded the photos onto her computer, she realized it wasn't an orca after all.

"I realized it wasn't a whale — it was a giant oceanic manta ray," Henry said.

In the 41 years Henry has lived in the area, she had never before seen a manta ray swimming around Assateague, so she was excited to photograph one herself.

Henry added that she's been surprised by all of the responses she's been getting on social media after sharing the photos.

Staff at the Maryland Coastal Bays Program confirmed after seeing the photo that it was a manta ray and not its cousin, the sting ray. A manta ray sighting is rare, but not unheard of, said Sandi Smith, development and marketing coordinator.

The giant oceanic manta ray is the largest species of ray in the world, with a wing span of up to 29 feet and a weight of up to 5,300 pounds, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

These migratory animals can typically be found in ocean waters near New England, the mid-Atlantic, the Pacific Islands, the Southeast and the West Coast, according to NOAA. They can be spotted by their chevron coloring: black tops with white bellies.

Manta rays are listed as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act due to them being targeted and caught on accident by commercial fishers.

Contact reporter Sara Swann at (302) 324-7711, sswann@delmarvanow.com or on Twitter @saramswann.

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