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AssetID: 34421912

Headline: Manta Ray Transported Back to Ocean - By Helicopter

Caption: PICTURE SHOWS: LeyLey the manta ray is flown by helicopter back to the ocean ... STORY COPY: How do you return a 700+ pound (318kg) manta ray back to the ocean? Use a helicopter! These stunning images (and video) show LeyLey being airlifted from the Atlantis, Paradise Island resort in The Bahamas, one of only two aquariums in the Western Hemisphere to presently care for and study the manta ray. The operation involved a marine scientist and a team of 20 marine aquarists working to transfer Leyley, who has a 11.4-foot wingspan, from the resort's 2.7-million gallon marine habitat back into the Atlantic Ocean, as part of their renowned release and research program. The transfer took 105 seconds, from lift-off to the ocean. Leyley's transfer marks the 13th manta ray release for the resort, whose marine husbandry practices and research have contributed greatly to data collection of the species. Leyley's journey commenced at 7:50 a.m. on 14 June with a comprehensive medical examination, including blood sampling by the resort's veterinarian and the installation of a satellite tag by Dr. Robert Hueter, Senior Scientist at Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota, Florida. Soon after, Leyley was transferred using a hand-woven net stretched across a custom-engineered frame designed to withstand the weight of a manta, the largest known species of ray. Once she was comfortably settled, the helicopter raised the net on a hydraulically welded frame to ensure her maximum safety and comfort. As part of its multi-year research efforts in tagging manta rays, Mote will track Leyley's journey and the depths and temperatures she encounters, to help understand the migratory behavior and survival of released mantas. This data will be valuable not only to Atlantis in their care for mantas, but to many aquariums, marine researchers and educators, as they work in tandem to learn more about this one-of-a-kind, mysterious giant of the marine world. The public can search for Leyley and view her migration patterns in near-real-time by visiting: http://www.ocearch.org/. "We are thrilled to tag and track our sixth manta ray in partnership with Atlantis," said Mote Senior Scientist Hueter. "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. We look forward to tracking this animal's journey and sharing it with the world."

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