FORT PIERCE, Fla. – You may have seen a small ray swimming past you at the beach, but nothing like this.
Dana Ashton shared cellphone video of a large spotted eagle ray swimming near the beach in Fort Pierce.
Ashton and her boyfriend went to the South Causeway Park last week to enjoy the outdoors and the water, but little did she know the ray was floating nearby.
“I thought it was a red fish or a fin poking up out of the water” Ashton said.
Ashton said the spotted eagle ray was very friendly and curious at times, as it searched the sand for small fish in about 2 feet of water.
According to the ocean advocacy group Oceana, spotted eagle rays live in tropical warm waters. Some can reach up to 11 feet and are hardly ever sitting on the bottom.