Spotted Eagle Ray

Photo: michel candel · CC BY-NC-SA

Spotted eagle rays patrol Kinasi Wall in formation of two to six individuals, their white-spotted dark dorsal surface and distinctive protruding snout making them immediately recognisable as they bank and wheel along the wall face in the strong currents that run here on the flood tide. As active hunters of buried bivalves, crustaceans, and worms, they excavate the sandy substrate adjacent to the reef base with their shovel-shaped rostra, creating feeding pits that are subsequently colonised by opportunistic reef fish and invertebrates. Female eagle rays may carry up to four pups per year, and Mafia's protected waters have allowed the local population to maintain densities rarely seen at comparable sites in the western Indian Ocean.