Giant Oceanic Manta Rays - Revillagigedo Archipelago

Reposting from a previous post.

Greetings Imgur Animal Lovers.

I don't post much, but I thought some people may get some enjoyment out of some videos I took recently.

I am an avid scuba diver, and I recently made a trip out to the Revillagigedo Archipelago. The Revillagigedo Archipelago is a chain of 4 volcanic islands in the Pacific Ocean that is home to a unique ecosystem. The islands are located about 285 miles off the coast of Cabo San Lucas and were designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in July 2016 (although they had been protected much longer than that).

People visit these islands to have passive encounters with all kinds of pelagic animals, including whale sharks, scalloped hammerheads, silver tips, white tip reef sharks, tiger sharks, silky sharks, galapagos sharks, dolphins, humpback whales, and of course, giant oceanic manta rays.

Mantas visit this area primarily to get cleaned (see video above). The orange fish are Clarion Angelfish. They are endemic to this island chain, and they wait at cleaning stations for the mantas (and other animals) to cruise by. They eat parasites and other things that help keep the mantas healthy.

There are two types on manta: reef mantas (which tend to hang around the same place; Kona is famous for them) and oceanic manta rays. The oceanic manta rays are larger and can grow up to 30 feet in length and 23 feet in wingspan. They are largely pelagic and travel the ocean far from land, so they are incredibly special to observe in the wild.

Mantas are believed to be the most intelligent fish, as they possess the largest brain-to-mass ratio of any fish. Furthermore, the manta heats the blood going to its brain and is one of the few animals (land or sea) that might pass the mirror test, seemingly exhibiting self-awareness (wiki).

I have a ton more videos, and if there is interest in this post, I would love to share more of them (as well as other amazing animals I have been lucky enough to observe).