In this video, you will see a child having fun with a strange playmate – a real life stingray!
As unbelievable as that sounds, this footage indeed shows a kid clearly enjoying time with the said creature. And guess what? The stingray even responds playfully, letting the youngster pet it and even flapping its pectoral fin (or body disc) into the water at some point.
The original video, embedded by 2ngaw on their site, was in foreign language so we weren’t entirely sure what was going on but both to be honest, most parts of the video does not require words to explain anyway. Simply seeing the kid and his unusual friend is awesome enough. It’s pretty noticeable that both didn’t seem to mind when crowds started taking pictures and videos of them.
When and where exactly did this happen? We took the description and ran it on Google Translate.
From there we learn that the video was taken at the harbor of Vueltas, Valle Gran Rey where stingrays, eagle rays and butterfly rays pass “regularly.” We also learned that the little boy’s name is Joel and that he frequently plays with the stingrays at the stairs and often feeds them with fish.
The said clip has been heavily shared on social media and has garnered more than 5,000,000 views on YouTube.
Although stingrays are commonly harmless, it should be noted they are also capable of attacking in case you get them angry. For example, a recent WTSP news story tells us of a 10-year old boy who was attacked by a stingray. The creature sank an 8 inch barb 3 inches deep in his foot.
Anyway, without further ado, here’s the video of the child playing with a stingray. Go view it and witness how the boy and his friend from the sea spend quality time together.