{"id":580323,"date":"2026-04-02T07:59:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T07:59:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/580323\/"},"modified":"2026-04-02T07:59:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T07:59:08","slug":"new-drone-videos-solve-incredible-mystery-in-aussie-waters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/580323\/","title":{"rendered":"New drone videos solve incredible mystery in Aussie waters"},"content":{"rendered":"

An ancient ocean mystery has been solved using drones to capture slow-motion footage off the coast of Queensland<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Eagle rays<\/a> are similar in appearance to bottom-dwelling stingrays, but they are known to move quickly through the open water.<\/p>\n

Sometimes they\u2019ll even spectacularly breach the surface, flapping their pectoral fins like a bird up to three metres in the air, but until now, scientists didn\u2019t know why.<\/p>\n

A new investigation by James Cook University<\/a> has found that one of the main drivers for these erratic bursts was to escape hammerhead sharks.<\/p>\n

In others, there were simply schools of fish in the area that appeared to irritate them.<\/p>\n

Spectacular videos collected by its marine biologists clearly show they\u2019re not alone in the water before the jumps.<\/p>\n

Incredible reasons why marine creatures breach<\/p>\n

Published in the journal Marine and Freshwater Research<\/a>, the researchers note such behaviour is likely \u201cenergetically expensive\u201d, and so they suspected it must serve an important function.<\/p>\n

Prior to the study, the scientists examined research on dolphin and whale breaches, which are used for parasite removal, feeding, social cues, and, like the eagle rays, predator avoidance.<\/p>\n

They noted white sharks breached for another reason \u2013 primarily to attack prey \u2013 while basking sharks likely do it for courtship.<\/p>\n

To reach their conclusions, the team collected 11 videos of eagle rays breaching between June 2024 and January 2025, along with four additional instances captured by members of the public.<\/p>\n

In eight of the observations, other fish made contact with the eagle ray or moved above it.<\/p>\n

And in the majority of cases, remoras were involved \u2014 a species known to cling to and irritate larger fish.<\/p>\n

In four instances, the eagle rays were being pursued by great hammerheads, and the breach occurred after the shark \u201cexecuted rapid burst swimming and successive tight turns\u201d.<\/p>\n

The eagle ray would respond with evasive swimming before ultimately leaving the water.<\/p>\n

Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

You can also follow us on Facebook<\/a>, Instagram<\/a>, TikTok<\/a>, Twitter<\/a> and YouTube<\/a>.<\/p>\n