Are Manta Rays more active by day or by night?
Mantas are most commonly seen during daylight hours because that’s when most observers are most active. We have virtually no idea what Mantas do at night or how active they are. Manta courtship (see above) seems to feature prolonged chasing, which would be best accomplished in clear, open water during the day. Mantas may feed most actively at night, when many planktonic creatures rise surfaceward, providing a rich bounty on which Mantas may feed. Beginning about an hour after dark at a certain seaside hotel on the Kona Coast of Hawaii, groups of Mantas are often observed feeding on krill and other planktonic organisms concentrated in the hotel’s underwater lights. Unfortunately, this spectacle has largely ceased, possibly due to too much interaction from the throngs of excited divers and snorkellers who converged on the feeding Mantas.
