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| Manta Ray Flies to Freedom |
After years as a tourist attraction in the Bahamas, a 1,000-pound manta ray returned to the seas in an unusual manner. It flew.
The manta ray, appropriately named Zeus after the Greek god of the sky, was airlifted by a helicopter and released back into the Atlantic Ocean. It took more than two hours to place Zeus in a handwoven net on a round hydraulically welded frame and free him from captivity.
The massive black ray spent three years in a 2.7 million-gallon aquarium at Atlantis on Paradise Island in the Bahamas. He became a star among tourists at the resort, known for its waterslides and pink-towered hotel. (You can see another picture of Zeus in the Marine Habitat Photo Gallery on the Atlantis website.
Marine biologists eagerly studied Zeus, with his 13-foot wingspan and 3-foot-wide mouth. And even though he has regained his freedom, scientists can still monitor his whereabouts, thanks to a satellite-tracking tag.
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