Oceanographic Institute

On Saturday, April 11, I visited the Oceanographic Institute in Stuart. It had a large lagoon filled with game fish. They also had an aquarium with this giant spiny lobster in it. However, the highlight of the place is the stringray touch pool. There is a shallow pool where the stingrays swim around and you can touch them! I absolutely love stingrays. They feel very soft and silky. I have felt them before, but today was the first time that I was ever able to feed them! It was so much fun. I was able to feed a large Southern stingray a shrimp and a couple fish to some cownose stingrays. It was really fun. Since their mouths are on the underneath side of them, you have to hold the fish or shrimp upwards between two fingers. If you hold your hand out flat, the rays will swim over your and and suck the food in! It doesn't hurt and actually feels kind of cool. When I fed the southern stingray, I actually felt its teeth. they have flat, grating teeth which feel like sandpaper. I learned that different species of stingray have their barbs located on different parts of their tail. The location is dependent on where the stingray spends most of its time in the water column. I also learned that stingrays have "spiracles" behind their eyes which suck in oxygenated water and the carbon dioxide is then pushed out through the gills on the underneath side of them. All in all, I had a really good time hanging out with the rays and am happy that I was finally able to feed them!