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700-pound manta ray tagged and released with help from Mote Marine Laboratory, Atlantis resort

Leyley's release marks the 13th manta ray tagged and released for the Atlantis, Paradise Island resort.
Photo: Courtesy of Mote Marine Laboratory

PARADISE ISLAND -- Last week, Leyley the manta ray went back home.

A marine scientist and a team of 20 marine aquarists released the 700-plus-pound manta ray from the Atlantis, Paradise Island resort back into the Atlantic Ocean. Leyley has an 11.4-foot wingspan and was staying in the resort’s 2.7 million gallon marine habitat.

Leyley’s day of release started with an exam and the installation of a satellite tag by Dr. Robert Hueter, senior scientist at Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota. Mote Marine will track Leyley’s journey and the ocean depths and temperatures she encounters as part of the laboratory’s research efforts to help understand the species’ migratory behavior.

“We are outfitting this animal with two tags to gather finer-scale data on immediate post-release behavior and acquire some longer-term migration data,” Hueter said in a release. “We look forward to tracking this animal’s journey and sharing it with the world."

Atlantis, Paradise Island is one of only two aquariums in the Western Hemisphere to care for and study manta rays. The transfer marked the 13th manta ray release for the resort, which aims to contribute to the data collection of the vulnerable species through its marine husbandry practices and research.

Leyley is the sixth manta ray Mote will be tracking.

The public can follow Leyley and her migration patterns at ocearch.org.

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