STINGRAY BAY: MEDIA KIT

Stingray Bay has been the talk of the town! What is it? Columbus Zoo and Aquarium guests and members will now have the opportunity to see stingrays up close and to touch these majestic creatures! The Stingray Bay experience will encourage visitors to interact with the Zoo’s brand new school of stingrays by watching these beautiful animals “fly” through the water and dipping their hands in the water to come in contact with them.

Where is located? Located in Jungle Jack’s Landing near Zoombezi Bay, Stingray Bay will feature an 18,000-gallon saltwater pool for stingrays to call home. Staff and volunteers will monitor the pool, inform guests about the best ways to touch the animals and answer questions when the exhibit opens daily at 10 a.m.

What types of stingrays call Stingray Bay home? Dozens of cownose and southern stingrays will glide though the waters of Stingray Bay. Educational interpreters will explain the role of these stingrays in the environment. Stingrays are typically bottom feeders with molar-like teeth used to crush the shells of their prey such as crustaceans, mollusks, and other invertebrates.

I’m excited to touch the stingrays, but is it safe? Absolutely! The rays barbs have been carefully trimmed off their whip-like tails. The painless procedure is similar to cutting human fingernails.

Safe for all ages, the landscaped pool features a waterfall and a wide ledge for toddlers to lean against when touching the rays.

This sounds cool! How much does it cost? Admission to Stingray Bay is free for Columbus Zoo and Aquarium Gold Members and discounted for Members. General admission to Stingray Bay is as follows:

Non-member children and adults $3 Columbus Zoo member children and adults $2 Zoombezi Bay season pass holder $2 Gold membership holder Free Ride wristband holder at $10 Free Stingray feeding (one cup) $2

FAST FACTS: Cownose Rays and Southern Stingrays

Cownose Rays (Rhinoptera bonasus) Although cownose rays are sometimes referred to as skates or stingrays, they are technically neither; cownose rays belong to their own family of rays. Cownose rays are named for the long pectoral fins that create two creased lobes in front of their domed head, giving them a “cow-ish” look. Cows are not the only animals this species resembles, when their wingtips break the surface of the water they look like the dorsal fin of a shark!

Appearance Cownose rays get their name from their unique forehead which resembles the nose of a cow. They are brown to olive-colored on top with no spots, and pale below. Cownose rays have long, pointed pectoral fins, and a long whip-like tail with one or two venomous barbs which they use in defense. The barbs are made of modified scales, or “dermal denticles”. These barbs have toxins and mucus in their grooves, produced by glands located on the underside of the spine.

Size Male cownose rays are approximately 2.5 feet across and females are between 2 and 3 feet across. Both male and female rays have a tail that is about twice as long as their body.

Range Cownose rays can be found in the Western Atlantic from the Northern U.S. south to Brazil, including the Gulf of Mexico.

Habitat Cownose rays are considered an open ocean (pelagic) species, but can inhabit inshore, shallow bays and estuaries. They prefer warm temperate and tropical waters to depths of 72 feet.

Feeding Like other rays, their mouth is located on the underneath side. Cownose rays feed on bottom-dwelling shellfish, lobster, crabs, and fish. To locate their prey, these rays have electroreceptors on their snout as well excellent senses of smell and touch.

Predators Predators include cobia and a variety of sharks (sandbar, bull, and hammerhead). Many sharks have been found with barbs from cownose rays embedded in their head and jaws.

Reproduction Gestation periods last between 6 and 8 months. Young are 11 to 18-inches wide.

FUN FACTS: Cownose rays can jump out of the water, landing with a loud smack, likely as a territorial display.

This ray is shaped like a kite and is a very graceful swimmer. Its broad wing-like pectoral fins, up to 3 feet across, are used to propel it through the water, making it look like it is flying.

Southern Stingrays (Dasyatis Americana) Southern rays are distantly related to sharks and skates. They belong to the Family Dasyatidae which includes 70 species of stingray. There are only 9 other species in the same genus, Dasyatis, including the red stingray and roughtail stingray.

Appearance Southern stingrays have a flat, diamond-shaped body with an indistinct head. They are gray to dark brown in color, with a pale belly. Southern stingrays have one or more venomous barbs located on their whip-like tail. These barbs, used for defense, are made of modified scales, or “dermal denticles” and have toxins and mucus in their grooves produced by glands located on the underside of the spine.

The mouth of a southern ray, like all rays, is conveniently located on the underneath side of its body to allow the stingray easy access to bottom-dwelling prey. They have a row of five gill slits that are located on the underneath in addition to openings, called spiracles, on the top just behind their eyes. These help the stingrays breathe easily while resting on the bottom.

Size Male are approximately 2.5 feet across and females are approximately 4 feet across. Both male and female rays have a tail that is about twice as long as their body.

Range Southern stingrays can be found in the tropical and subtropical waters of the western Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico down the coast to southeastern Brazil.

Habitat These stingrays make their home in shallow coastal waters to a depth of 180 feet. They prefer lagoon or coral reef habitats where there are sandy bottoms and seagrass bed.

Feeding Southern stingrays feed during the day and night. They look for shellfish, worms, shrimp, crabs and small fish along the sandy bottom. To locate their prey, these stingrays have electroreceptors on their snout as well as excellent senses of smell and touch. Once they have found their food, they undercover it by blowing water out through their mouth and flapping their “wings” over the sand.

Predators Large fish, including lemon and hammerhead sharks, will prey on Southern stingrays.

Reproduction Gestation periods last between 4 and 11 months. Young are close to 8-inches wide.

FUN FACTS: Unlike the cownose ray, the southern stingray is not social and is usually found alone or in pairs, rarely in large groups.

Southern stingrays spend much of their time buried in the sandy seafloor with only their eyes and spiracles (breathing openings behind their eyes) showing. At night, they slowly graze along the seashore.

HERE’S THE SCOOP ON STINGRAYS…

There are two types of fish: bony and cartilaginous. Stingrays are a fish species most closely related to sharks (cartilaginous fish). Stingrays are commonly found in the shallow coastal waters of temperate seas and spend the majority of their time inactive and partially buried in the sand. A few spend their entire lives in fresh water. Stingrays move by undulating their bodies like a wave or by flapping their fins like wings. Stingray mouths are located on their underside, which makes it easy to eat when searching the ocean floor for food.

Four fun facts • Stingrays come in two different general "types" - the "benthic" (or bottom) stingrays and the "pelagic" (or swimming) stingrays. • Freshwater giant stingrays are among the largest of the approximately 200 species of rays. They can be found in a handful of rivers in Southeast Asia and northern Australia. • In 2009, a National Geographic research team caught one that weighed an estimated 550 to 990; the stingray's body measured 6.6 feet wide by 6.9 feet long. The tail was missing. If it had been there, the ray's total length would have been between 14.8 and 16.4 feet. • Stingrays can be found in both freshwater and marine habitats throughout the world. Many species are "euryhaline" or capable of living in waters of a wide range of salinity.

Barbs put the “sting” in stingray! The venom apparatus or "sting" of a stingray is a spine or modified dermal denticle (the scales covering sharks and stingrays) with two ventral grooves filled with venom- producing tissue. The venom apparatus is surrounded by a cell-rich covering or sheath that also may produce lesser amounts of venom.

Stingray barbs are made of a dentine and enamel-like material, similar to the tooth-like scales on sharks. These spines are found on the top side of the tail.

Stingray venom A stingray’s venom is largely a protein-based toxin that causes great pain in mammals and may also alter heart rate and respiration. Since the venom carried on the barb is protein- based, it can be inactivated by exposing it to high temperatures. If stung, victims should immerse the wound in hot water or apply a heat compress immediately. Although this should reduce the initial pain of a stingray injury, victims should also obtain medical assistance so that the wound can be properly examined and cleaned to avoid secondary infections or other complications.

Marine parks, zoos and aquariums that display stingrays and allow guests to come in contact with the animals— like Stingray Bay at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium — regularly remove or trim the spines of their animals so that visitors won’t be injured.

Words to know • Benthic- The benthic zone is the ecological region at the lowest level of a body of water such as an ocean or a lake • Dermal denticles- Tough "scales" that cover the skin of elasmobranches (sharks and rays). Even though denticles are similar to scales, they are really modified teeth and are covered with hard enamel. These structures are packed tightly together and grow with their tips facing backwards. The function of these denticles is for protection against predators. • Pelagic- The pelagic zone of the ocean begins at the low tide mark and includes the entire oceanic water column. • Spiracle- a breathing opening near the stingray’s eye. • Venom- A poisonous secretion of an animal, such as a snake, spider, or stingray,usually transmitted by a bite or sting.

REFERENCES: Monterey Bay Aquarium, Mote Marine Laboratory, National Wildlife Federation, Wikipedia, Living Exhibits Inc.