7-Foot Long, 400-Pound Spotted Eagle Ray Unexpectedly Leaps Into A Boat, Gives Birth to 4 Pups in Gulf of Mexico

A family was on a fishing trip off the coast of Alabama in the Gulf of Mexico when a rare 400-pound, 7-foot spotted eagle ray suddenly leaped onto their boat and gave birth to four pups.

April Jones, 34, told Fox News that she and her husband, father-in-law, and son were participating in the Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo but had a hard time catching a fish when a giant ray flopped around their boat. The experience scared them, but they were also in awe of what they witnessed.

Suckerfish Hitching A Ride

Spotted stingrays could grow up to 11 feet and are one of the largest eagle ray species in the ocean. Unfortunately, their species is near threatened, and they are rarely seen in Alabama. Although the incident with the family last Saturday was not the first time anyone observed one flying out the ocean since they usually do this to escape a predator.

In a Facebook post, Jones said that there was a remora or also known as suckerfish, attached to the spotted eagle ray's belly when it jumped onto their boat. A remora has a sucker-like organ that they use to attach to other large animals to hitchhike around the ocean.

The relationship between these animals is an example of commensalism. This biological interaction shows one species benefitting from the other while the other does not derive benefit or harm.

At that point, they are still confused about why the spotted eagle ray jumped onto their boat. Jones suggested that perhaps the stingray was trying to get the suckerfish off its body. But little do they know that something was happening with the stingray that explains its strange behavior.

Stingray Stress-Birthed to Four Pups

Jones said that they and the spotted eagle ray were in the wrong place at the wrong time, thinking it was a big wave that they hit since some water came in and she felt something hit her, Newsweek reported.

There was also banging and clanging in the back of the boat as her son screamed, while her husband exclaimed, "What is that?" The family freaked out for a moment upon seeing the giant stingray as they initially thought it was a shark. The stingray started to thrash around the boat, trying to get back into the water.

But the animal was too heavy to lift and became extremely stressed. They estimated the stingray to be about 400 pounds and about 7 feet long.

They managed to bring the stingray to the shore, where they asked for help to ease the stingray back into the water. But when they moved the ray, they found four pups that the stingray stress-birthed during its ordeal. Sadly, all four did not survive, and there was nothing that they could have done to save them.

The family boat also suffered some damage from the incident. Jones said the boat's bimini top was broken and the power poles had stopped working.

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