Spotted Eagle Ray

Photo: michel candel · CC BY-NC-SA

Spotted eagle rays pass through Hiroshi Point's outer sandy areas from April through September, when calmer seas bring clearer water and the animals forage over the sand flats for molluscs and crustaceans buried beneath the surface. They cruise in slow, undulating flight just above the sand at 15 to 20 meters, occasionally pausing to excavate prey with their shovel-like snouts before continuing along the base of the reef wall. Groups of three to five are not uncommon during the dry season months.