PENTAX Optio WP
ƒ/3.3
6.3 mm
1/80
50

The playful curiosity of this eagle ray reminded me of a story from the inventor of the Deepflight “flying submarine.” On an early test dive, he found himself dancing with a curious eagle ray…. Moving like they do might be a signal of kinship… and may help express universal gestures for play…

Which reminds me of Dr. Stuart Brown, the founder of the Institute for Play, who has a fascinating series of photos of animals playing (ravens sliding on their backs down an icy slope, monkeys rolling snowballs and playing leapfrog, and various inter-species games). “Warm-blooded animals play; fish and reptiles do not.”

“We are designed to play. We need 3D motion. The smarter the creature the more they play. The sea squirt auto-digests its brain when it becomes sessile.”

20 responses to “Snorkel Flyby”

  1. eye of einstein Avatar
    eye of einstein

    as if he was posing for you

    Have a great week..

    Reply
  2. biotron Avatar
    biotron

    ooooh – fantastic!

    Reply
  3. Vanita Avatar
    Vanita

    Stunning shot!

    In the Bahamas rays rubbed against our calves like cats do when you are opening a can of tuna. We have never stopped talking about the magic of that encounter.

    Reply
  4. native's Avatar
    native’s

    WOW! Amazing creature and shot!
    123

    Reply
  5. His Frogness Avatar
    His Frogness

    very cool, i envy you for having seen this creature so close !

    >>>seen on
    1-2-3 group

    Reply
  6. Ramones Karaoke Avatar
    Ramones Karaoke

    “Warm-blooded animals play; fish and reptiles do not.” – eminent or not, Dr. Brown needs to get himself an aquarium, put Clown Loaches in it and spend a few weeks interacting them. They certainly play, and they even demand attention and response when they’ve done something particularly clever or innovative. The warm-blooded thing is all too reminiscent of opposable thumbs – it’s too rigid and quantized, there’s a broad spectrum of animal intelligence out there that clearly breaks boundaries that were ‘known to science’ just a few years ago. Considering how tiny a crow’s brain is (compared to some of my classmates at school for example…) and yet how incredibly smart they are, it’s no surprise that little orange stripey fish can surprise you and overturn prejudices.

    But anyway, great picture!

    Reply
  7. avlxyz Avatar
    avlxyz

    these rays definitely know how to play.
    love the iridescent spots on him too!

    Reply
  8. j_silla Avatar
    j_silla

    Is it true, that the older the animal is the less it plays? I found link to baby sharks playing with a squid bone. http://www.silvija.net/2002MaldivesFeb/divebig.html

    Reply
  9. jurvetson Avatar
    jurvetson

    I too have trouble with sweeping comments like "fish and reptiles do not play"; they just beg to be falsified.

    One complication – the gestures of play are recognizable inter-species, and they couple with developmental imperatives (e.g., baby cats and dogs chasing and play biting each other about the neck). I did not see the sharks in motion, but they may have been trying to eat the squid bone based on smell and they may have been learning — in a way that appears cute to us — that they can’t quite bite through it.

    In other words, any description of animal play is complicated by our perceptual bias of anthropocentric apophenia.

    "While observations of… behaviors in these environments is a very important first step in coming to understand any new domain, this activity is in and of its self not sufficient to constitute scientific research. It is fraught with problems of subjective bias in the observer. We often see what we expect to see, we interpret the world through our own personal lens. Thus we are extraordinarily open to the trap of apophenia." (Conrad, wikipedia)

    Reply
  10. Ramones Karaoke Avatar
    Ramones Karaoke

    Yes, I’m with you on the dangers of assumption of ‘just like us’ – but … you do have to spend a lot of time observing, and it’s pretty clear that there is a sense of humour at work, even with fish. Of course, that depends on the fish – some of them are simply cretins … particularly the dramatically inbred (e.g. angelfish with recessive features amplified so they no longer remotely resemble their wild cousins). But some of them are great company, and charmingly inquisitive, and it’s very clear they are genuinely interacting with you. And thinking you are ‘just like them’ – which turns the tables a bit.

    Reply
  11. M Giovinazzo Avatar
    M Giovinazzo

    Attracted by the photo – well done,
    but a cool discussion too
    —
    Seen in my contacts’ photos. (?)

    Reply
  12. A Tout Le Monde Avatar
    A Tout Le Monde

    I would like to visit a museum of our planet and the inhabitants done by Extra Terrestial beings. I think we might be amazed at the observations they might make on our everyday life. They would probably need a whole museum just for Flickr addiction.

    Great photo by the way!

    Reply
  13. therese flanagan Avatar
    therese flanagan

    I’ve never seen an eagle ray before. This is an amazing shot. The sloping head reminds me of a bottlenose dolphin. Thanks for all of the information you provide on your photos.

    Reply
  14. ComputerHotline Avatar
    ComputerHotline

    Hello

    This photo should be used in class, at school !

    Please add your photo to Photos pour l’école / Photos for school
    Read the group rules first.

    You can add this photo in more groupes :
    flickr.com/groups/naturegroup/
    flickr.com/groups/54989341@N00/
    http://www.flickr.com/groups/animals/
    http://www.flickr.com/groups/animals-edu/
    http://www.flickr.com/groups/nature-edu/
    http://www.flickr.com/groups/natureland/
    http://www.flickr.com/groups/thenatureconservancy/
    http://www.flickr.com/groups/natureandfun/
    http://www.flickr.com/groups/beautiful_nature/
    http://www.flickr.com/groups/naturegroup/
    http://www.flickr.com/groups/earth-nature/
    http://www.flickr.com/groups/wikimedia_commons/

    —
    Seen on your photo stream. (?)

    Reply
  15. Spotted drum ♥ (on & off) Avatar
    Spotted drum ♥ (on & off)


    A+++ Grade Photo! please join us

    Reply
  16. truculent toe Avatar
    truculent toe


    A+++ Grade Photo

    Fantastic!

    Reply
  17. Eddi van W. Avatar
    Eddi van W.

    Hi, I’m an admin for a group called Creative Commons- Free Pictures, and we’d love to have this added to the group!

    Reply
  18. Kalinago English Avatar
    Kalinago English

    Hi Jurveston,

    Reading your note reminding me of an experience I had in Australia’s barrier reef – there was a brown maori wrasse who recognized the dive leader and came over, not only for the bread he knew was in the vest but also after getting fed stayed and played: the experience of stroking a fish like a dog is not something I’ll easily forget.

    Anyway, the main reason for commenting was to say thank your for his photo – I used it in a mophem I created and put up on youtube:

    Plenty of fish
    tiny.cc/pof

    xKarenne

    Reply
  19. jurvetson Avatar
    jurvetson

    sounds magical. thanks.

    Reply
  20. Carlosp_sub Avatar
    Carlosp_sub

    Snorkeling? Very nice underwater photo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Reply

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