Meet
Cricket the
Manta Ray

Cricket the manta ray was first identified by the Florida Manta Project on October 14, 2022. She is a young female individual measuring 7.4ft (2.3m) in disc width. Cricket has a friendly and curious personality, and sometimes will even flip upside down to swim with divers. She is often seen with another manta ray named Lizard, and thus one of our volunteers gave Cricket the manta an animal-inspired name, as well. MMF has seen her a total of 27 times, making her one of the manta rays MMF has seen the most this season!

Explore the sections below to discover more about Cricket’s habitat and MMF’s groundbreaking work to protect manta rays.

Florida

Home to two distinct manta ray sites

The Florida Manta Project is the first dedicated study of manta rays in Florida, home to both a manta ray nursery site and a large seasonal aggregation of adult manta rays. In South Florida, MMF has observed almost exclusively juvenile manta rays that regularly use the same sites, making it a rare nursery habitat for young manta rays. Many are surprised to discover that the large mantas in this area are actually babies, which are born at an astonishing six feet across. Another unique aspect of South Florida’s mantas is that they live near large urban centers, which makes them particularly susceptible to fishing lines, boat propellers and other threats posed by fisheries.

Advancing knowledge and awareness

MMF plans to collect genetic samples to investigate the possible connectivity between the adult mantas in Central Florida and the juveniles in South Florida. Their groundbreaking work seeks to fill significant knowledge gaps, since so little is known about Florida manta rays, and to drive conservation and awareness. Consequently, MMF has created lesson plans for young students and regularly visits schools to present on manta rays and marine conservation, inspiring future generations to protect the creatures and waters that are so vital to our planet.

Dr. Andrea Marshall closely observes a tiny manta along the coastal waters of Florida. Adult mantas grow to 22 ft, so this is likely a newborn!

Florida Manta Project Leader, Jessica Pate, dives down to collect a sample from a manta in order to gain a better understanding of their biology.

Florida’s crystal clear waters make spotting mantas viable from the air. The local MMF team can cover huge areas to collect data on how many mantas and other species exist and where they are located.

Florida emerges as a key manta refuge

South Florida is not the only manta hotspot off the state’s coastline. In 2021, MMF began studying a seasonal aggregation of adult manta rays along the coast of Central Florida each spring. Here, they have documented reproductive behavior, which could indicate there is an important reproductive habitat right off the coast of Florida.