Of mantas & men

A rather charming story was reported in a national newspaper recently. The article was about a film called The Last Dive, documenting the extraordinary relationship between a now 83-year-old American sailor and ex-Hell’s Angel, Terry Kennedy, and a Pacific manta ray he names Willy.

For those not familiar with them, manta rays are large sea creatures (in this case six metres wide). They also have the largest brain-to-body ratio of any fish, and apparently can recognise themselves in a mirror.

Kennedy and one particularly distinctive manta ray formed an unlikely friendship lasting decades, with the fish regularly “coming up to Kennedy’s boat and slapping his fin against the hull, [waiting] for Kennedy to climb on his back before taking off for a ride…” They would sometimes travel two miles away, before the fish delivered Kennedy safely back to his boat every time.