Here’s a fascinating tale of divers filming manta rays at night off Kailua-Kona, Hawaii last month. What started out as an incredible experience diving with these magnificent creatures turned into an underwater mugging.
Cameraman Travis Matteson was filming the mantas (Manta birostris) for a travel TV show when his nearly $10,000 of camera gear was plucked from his hands from a playful manta ray. Matteson’s dive and film partner Johnny Reidt caught the entire incident on film. Dragging the camera through the water, the manta filmed eight minutes of fly-by footage of the reef at night. What’s even more amazing is the manta ray, being a good citizen, returned to area right underneath the boat and dropped off the camera where the team was able to recover the camera and discover the extra footage.
[via Boing Boing]
