In Salomon again our Manta-luck didn't desert us. In fact we chose to shift our anchorage to Ile Takamaka in order to search the outer reef with our dinghi for our favourite rays. This proved to be difficult due to the onset of the southeast trades with increasing surf. So you can imagine our joy when we were just relaxing with a sundowner aboard "Rutea" with our friends Ruth and Neal when suddenly a conspicuous Fin broke the surface right next to us! Ruth was the first to spot it and it turned out that we didn't need to look for Mantas after all - they had found us ;-)
Incidentally we had anchored directly at a place where for two weeks two to five rays showed up to surface feed. We managed to take ID shots of 11 individuals, here are the images.
*** breaking news *** we just learned they are all new to the Manta Trust database - so we managed to increase the total number of known individuals of that area from 44 to 55 - yippiehhhh!!!
Ma034jf_Magic-Spot_150506_1625
Ma034jf_Magic-Spot_150507_1110
Ma035jm_Keanu_150504_0930
Ma035jm_Keanu_150504_1800
Ma036_Freckles_150504_1400
Ma037m_Twostripes_150504_1805
Ma037m_Twostripes_150504_1810
Ma037m_Twostripes_150507_1110
Ma038j_Kinktail_150507_0850
Ma038j_Kinktail_150507_1015
Ma039m_Haudegen_150507_1112
Ma039m_Haudegen_150507_1114
Ma040mj_Salomon_150520_0855
8) "Split" - M83 - Ma007m
11.02.2015, Rasfari Corner Cleaning Station, North Male Atoll, Maldives
This mature male is a regular to North Male Atoll. He was first identified in October 2005 at Lankan and was last sighted in November 2014. He has been recorded a total of thirty four times. (Information provided by Manta Trust)
9) "Freckle-Face" - M14 - Ma008f
26.02.2015, Rasfari Corner Cleaning Station, North Male Atoll, Maldives
This mature female was first identified in July 2005 at Lankan Beyru and was noted to be pregnant in October that same year. In 2009 she was recorded with a big shark bite near the base of her tail on her left pectoral. She has been sighted a total of 37 times all of which have been in North Male, and was last recorded in November 2014. (Information provided by Manta Trust)
Ma039m_Haudegen_150507_1115
7) "Carolina" - M2634 - Ma006f
11.02.2015, Rasfari Corner Cleaning Station, North Male Atoll, Maldives
This mature female was first identified in April 2013 in Rasfari North and once again in March 2014. Our sighting has been the third recorded encounter with her. Carolina here is at mid- term pregnancy.
(Information provided by Manta Trust)
6) "Cocktail" - M1883 - Ma005m
11.02.2015, Rasfari Corner Cleaning Station, North Male Atoll, Maldives
This mature male was first identified in 2010 in Rasfari North. He has been sighted a total of three times and was last recorded in October 2014.
(Information provided by Manta Trust)
5) "Scorpio" - M144 - Ma004m
11.02.2015, Rasfari Corner Cleaning Station, North Male Atoll, Maldives
This mature male was first identified in June 2006 in North Male Atoll. He was not observed again until January 2014 which was his last recorded sighting. Our encounter has been the third recorded sighting of this individual.
(Information provided by Manta Trust)
4) "Shiraz" - M124 - Ma003m
11.02.2015, Rasfari Corner Cleaning Station, North Male Atoll, Maldives
This mature male was first identified in May 2006. He is a regular to North Male Atoll and has been occasionally sighted in Ari Atoll. He has been recorded a total of twenty times. He was last seen in November 2014. (Information provided by Manta Trust)
3) "Sundowner" - M197 - Maldives
11.02.2015, Rasfari Corner Cleaning Station, North Male Atoll, Maldives
This mature male was first identified in October 2006. For 6 years there were no recorded sightings of him and then in September 2013 he reappeared in North Male at One Palm Reef. He was sighted twice since then in North Male Atoll and was last recorded in November 2013.(Information provided by Manta Trust)
2) "Toblerone" - M417 - Maldives
11.02.2015, Rasfari Corner Cleaning Station, North Male Atoll, Maldives
This mature male was first identified and added to the Manta Trust database in May 2007 and has been recorded thirty four times since then. He is actually a regular to the Baa Atoll region and was first recorded in North Male in 2013. (Information provided by Manta Trust)
>>planned route - join us ...
>>current position ...
