Healthcare… for Spotted Rays

Virginia Aquarium's Spotted Eagle Rays get check-up.

6/28/11 2:07 PM

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Spotted ray

Earlier this year, five of the six Spotted Eagle Rays in residence at the Virginia Aquarium in Virginia Beach—the third-largest collection of the water-winged beauties in the U.S.—got treated to full physicals, their first in two years. Examining the roughly 50-pound rays is no easy task, says Joan Barns, public relations manager for the aquarium.

“It was a very precise drill” requiring a team of 12, led by Curator of Fishes Beth Firchau, to complete. The team carefully lifted the rays from a holding tank via stretcher for weighing, spine trimming (like trimming fingernails on a human, she says) and blood work—about 10 minutes of care per ray. Why can’t human healthcare be so efficient? You can see the healthy rays soaring overhead in the Red Sea Tunnel Aquarium exhibit.

VirginiaAquarium.com