'They seem pretty friendly': New stingray exhibit wows kids and adults at Assiniboine Park Zoo
27 stingrays will be at the Winnipeg zoo for at least a year
A new stingray exhibit at Winnipeg's Assiniboine Park Zoo aims to educate and give visitors a chance to engage with the surprisingly sociable fish up close.
Stingray Beach is a temporary exhibit set up in the zoo's rotating exhibit gallery, which allows visitors to touch and feed the stingrays from a shallow saltwater pool.
"They feel soft," said Chavie, 8, who was at the zoo Thursday for the grand opening with his dad, along with dozens of other families and students.
He said the best part of the experience was feeding the stingrays.
"I like that they keep swimming close to you," he said with a smile.
"It's pretty cool that we get to feed them and stuff," said David Desrosiers, who took his two-year-old son to see the stingrays, adding it's the first time he's ever seen the fish in person.
"They're kind of slimy," he said with a laugh. "They're soft and smooth, and they seem pretty friendly."
The temporary exhibit houses 27 stingrays of two different species — 25 cownose rays and two southern stingrays.
Chris Enright, the zoo's director of veterinary services and animal welfare, said the exhibit is a great way to learn about the species and ocean life in general.
"They're here in Winnipeg to help connect people with the oceans, to tell the stories of the ocean to a part of the country that's pretty removed from the ocean," said Enright of the rays, brought to Winnipeg from the waters of Florida, South America and the Caribbean Sea.
"They're quite docile and in the case of these rays here, they're outgoing and they really enjoy the interaction with people," Enright said, adding that they are still wild animals that need to be treated with respect.
The southern rays can get quite big as they get older, he said.
"We have youngsters right now and they're about two feet wide, and they can get up to four feet wide and over 100 pounds."
Stingrays can be found in salt water and fresh water in many parts of the world. While many swimmers may fear the fish, the rays normally only use their stinger if they feel they are in danger, the zoo said.
"Rays are often misunderstood creatures," said Enright.
Zoo officials say the stingrays at the Winnipeg exhibit will have their defensive barbs trimmed in special veterinary checkups.
The stingrays will be at the zoo for at least a year.
The zoo is open daily from 9 a.m to 5 p.m., including over the May long weekend, and visitors have the option to feed the stingrays at various times throughout the day for a $10 fee.
