Concerning Manta Rays: Mutual Trust

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A little over a month ago a video about a manta ray was posted. Apparently it trended for a considerable amount of time, and has amassed close to 100,000 views on YouTube: somehow I've remained oblivious to this.... What it shows is, a touching moment when a manta ray entrusts itself to a couple of divers. The manta was tangled up in some fishing line, and presented itself to the divers, whereupon it allowed them to interact with it to remove it. Videos like this always make me feel optimistic.

Manta rays have always been somewhat of a fascination for me: flying through the oceans on aquatic wings. The true meaning of a gentle giant. I'm mesmerized at how trusting animals can be. They realize they need help and they know how to find it. Being a rider, I know how much trust a horse needs to have of his/her rider: they need to trust that you won't lead them into harm- I often think animals trust us more than we do other humans. It goes to show how innocent animals are. Even though they have plenty of reason to distrust our race, they keep on forgiving. We have much to learn from the wise animals we share our planet with.