Here’s a diver swimming with a massive manta ray that might give you a slight fear of the ocean
Because it wouldn’t be right if we went all day without showing you something that will scare the crap out of you, here’s video of someone swimming with a massive manta ray that *may* cause you to pee your pants just a little. Before seeing this beautiful yet terrifying sight, we gave much consideration to trading in the land-dwelling lifestyle to spend more time under the ocean — looked into taking classes at a mermaid school and everything — but instead, we’ve developed a fear of the sea.
While our teeth are still chattering from this overwhelming image of an encounter between a swimmer and an unbelievably huge sea beast, we’ve now gained a much deeper respect for Ariel.
We can’t be the only ones wondering how she remains so calm and happy when she has this gargantuan sea creature for a neighbor.
According to the video description, that brave soul swimming alongside the giant manta is Alison Teal, who took a free-diving journey into the Hawaiian waters at night (!) and used a pair of handheld dive lights to guide the way.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HroqE9MEoTE?feature=oembed
After venturing fifty feet below the ocean’s surface, Teal found the manta rays and observed them feeding off plankton. Despite the giant manta ray’s imposing size — the creatures can go grow up 23 feet and weigh up to 3,000 pounds — manta rays don’t pose any threat to humans, although it is important to note that Teal intentionally avoided touching them because giant manta rays are at risk of becoming endangered.
So, we’re officially not cut out for the mermaid lifestyle, but we’ll gladly continue to observe it from a distance.
