Seeing ocean giants such as manta rays should be a heartwarming experience, but scuba divers in Bali had a sad encounter when they came across a ray with serious injuries.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe came across a manta ray with a large injury to its back end, most likely from a predator such as a shark, although we can\u2019t be 100% sure,\u201d says\u00a0Scuba Junkie Penida<\/a>,\u00a0who shared the footage (with a sensitivity warning) on\u00a0Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s never easy to see something like this, but it\u2019s also a reminder that this is the reality of life in the ocean,\u201d they add. \u201cEven animals as calm and graceful as mantas are part of a much bigger food chain.\u201d<\/p>\n The manta was spotted at Manta Point dive site in Nusa Penida, Indonesia, with its tail and a large chunk of its body missing. This dive site is known for its regular visits from reef\u00a0manta rays<\/a>\u00a0who come to clean, socialise and for courtship.<\/p>\n Scientists from\u00a0Marine Megafauna Foundation<\/a>\u00a0(MMF) checked the Manta Matcher database and confirmed that the ray was an adult male called\u00a0Eldrador<\/a>. The last time he was seen, in September 2025, he was in one piece. The MMF team reportedly agreed that this catastrophic injury looked like it was caused by a shark bite.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIn many cases like this, there\u2019s usually unfortunately very little we can do,\u201d says Scuba Junkie Penida, encouraging divers to upload their manta sightings to\u00a0MantaMatcher<\/a>. “Documenting and sharing sightings like this plays an important role in understanding manta populations and their lives in the wild.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The outlook for this individual is unclear but bleak. \u201cMantas can recover from some pretty terrible injuries and this one does not seem to be a super regular individual at our sites, so you never know,\u201d\u00a0adds Dani from\u00a0Scuba Junkie Penida<\/a>. \u201cBut he was in pretty bad shape.\u201d<\/p>\n Eldrador \u2013 who also has an older, healed bite wound on his left hand side, has not yet been seen since this footage was taken in late March 2026.<\/p>\n Warning: This video contains footage some viewers may find distressing.<\/p>\n Graphic footage shows injured manta ray at Manta Point in Indonesia. Credit: Efra Manopo (instructor at Scuba Junkie Penida)<\/p>\n Image and video credit: Efra Manopo (instructor at Scuba Junkie Penida)<\/p>\n More wildlife stories from around the world<\/p>\n