Woman on boat in Florida Keys hit by Eagle Ray

An eagle ray weighing as much as 300 pounds landed on top of a woman on a boat in the Florida Keys last week, throwing her to the deck and pinning her underneath it.

The woman, Jenny Hausch, was on the chartered boat Friday with her husband and three children, taking pictures of a group of eagle rays as they flew out of the water.

"One of the rays jumped in the air and she gets this perfect shot," the captain said, adding that rays always jump twice.

On the second jump, one ray hit her in the chest and she fell down, hitting her head.

"It keeps slamming and slamming on top of her, trying to swim away," the captain said.

Hausch's husband and children watched in horror.

Two Florida Fish and Wildlife officers who happened to be on a nearby boat heard the screaming and came to help pull the ray off of Hausch. Everyone thought that Hausch was dead, but when she was freed she didn't have a scratch on her.

Source

READ MORE - Woman on boat in Florida Keys hit by Eagle Ray

Georgia Aquarium Acquires And Displays First Manta Ray

The Georgia Aquarium is now home to the only manta ray on exhibit in the United States. The ray, named Nandi, was rescued from shark nets along the South African coast last year.

Most aquariums can't house a manta ray because of how large the animal gets -- up to 26 feet across and weighing about 6,000 pounds. The graceful animal is the largest of the rays.

But the Georgia Aquarium's 6.3 million-gallon salt water exhibit has plenty room for Nandi, who is about 9 feet from the tip of 1 wing to the other and still growing.

Aquarium spokesman Dave Santucci said Nandi had outgrown her home in South Africa, and the Georgia Aquarium jumped at the rare chance to exhibit a manta ray.

Nandi was released into the aquarium's enormous Ocean Voyager tank on Friday and has her official public debut today.

Manta rays are listed as a threatened species. The mammoth diamond-shaped animal has a black top and white bottom with wings that move gracefully up and down as they swim through the water.

Just three other countries house manta rays at aquariums: Japan, Spain and the Bahamas.

Source: Live5News.com

Photo credit: John Bazemore / AP

READ MORE - Georgia Aquarium Acquires And Displays First Manta Ray