A black manta ray born at the aquarium celebrated its first birthday recently. This manta was born on August 5, 2024, in the “Kuroshio Sea” main tank, with a disc width of 160 cm and weighing 42 kg at birth. It has grown steadily without any health issues and now measures 270 cm across and weighs 160 kg. Its mother, also black, remains on display, allowing visitors to see both mother and calf swimming together in the Kuroshio Sea tank. Such a simultaneous exhibition of mother and offspring is unique worldwide to Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium.
According to an annual report, newborn manta calves have unstable swimming right after birth. To prevent abrasions and other injuries, divers supported the calf in the main tank for about 12 hours, successfully establishing a method for safely transferring it to a temporary holding facility. The aquarium has also conducted tag-and-release studies of long-term captive reef manta rays to investigate their capability for regional endothermy.
The annual report also described efforts involving the bowmouth guitarfish. Six newborn individuals were transported to Oceanogràfic in Spain and Lisbon Oceanarium in Portugal to begin monitoring their growth and sexual maturation through international collaboration. Furthermore, in partnership with Georgia Aquarium and Shedd Aquarium, two individuals were fitted with electronic tags and released to track their behavior and survival in the wild, contributing to the development of conservation measures.