Manta ray sighting: Darwin man catches video of giant ray

It was a stroke of good luck when Darwin man Dean Lucas caught a video of this manta ray “putting on a show”.

CATCHING a glimpse of a majestic manta ray was pure luck for Darwin local Dean Lucas.

Mr Lucas was on a Sunday drive with his partner when they stopped to marvel at the still blue water off Darwin Trailer Boat Club at Fannie Bay.

“We decided to put the drone up and it got down to the last 20 per cent of battery and we were about to head home when we noticed a large dark shadow on the water,” he said.

“As I went closer it vanished and I waited for it again — shortly after a very large manta ray came to the surface and put on a show for the camera.”

It comes after a number of separate sightings near Nightcliff earlier this year.

Sightings of manta rays close to the shore in Darwin are fairly common during the wet season.

“It seems they come in close to feed and seek shelter in shallower waters,” Australian Institute of Marine Science research scientist Vinay Udyawer said.

“They are filter feeders, and mainly feed on plankton and small fish found in the water column.”.