That’s a lot of rays. Photo: Sandra Critelli
Nature is incredible. Two times a year, these golden rays migrate in groups so large they turn the surface of the sea gold. In the late spring, they head north, then in the fall they point south and return to warmer waters in the Gulf of Mexico. According to some reports, there can be as many as 10,000 in a group, each following the current from the Yucatan Peninsula to western Florida. The photo above was taken by Sandra Critelli off the coast of Holbox Island, just off Mexico.
Golden cow-nose rays migrate in groups called fevers, and can measure nearly 7 feet in width. While golden rays aren’t dangerous, they are able to seriously injure or even kill humans if provoked. They’ve got a poisonous spine in their tail that can be more than a foot long, and carries enough venom to do serious damage.
