It was a beautiful sight to see when a “fever” of cownose rays was seen “moo-ving” around in Old Tampa Bay.
Pinellas County environmental scientists spotted the group of rays during a routine water quality sampling Tuesday, when they captured video of dozens of them gathered together.
The term “fever” is used to describe the rays’ behavior in flocking together in warm, shallow waters when they are ready for breeding or migrating, according to The Reef World Foundation. It is called that because their collective movements resemble a person shivering with a high fever.
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Pinellas County officials also said the rays could also have been searching for feeding grounds, and are possibly attracted to warm water discharged from nearby power plants.
The cownose ray is not a true “stingray,” but instead a species of eagle ray.
Eagle rays are open-water swimmers with pointed, wing-like fins, whereas stingrays are closer to the bottom of the sea and are diamond-shaped, based on findings from Scuba.com.