[ Dominic Ozanne ] 

The manta ray is one of the most mysterious creatures of the deep. Very little is yet known about the gentle but intelligent mammals that are capable of travelling vast distances.

Beginning his journey in the Cayman Islands, Clunes gets up close and personal with one of the manta rays closet cousins – the sting ray. In Ecuador he meets Andrea Marshal one of the world’s leading experts on mantas. She is in the process of electronically tagging specific populations so that she can make a close study of their behaviour.

But Clunes ultimate goal is to swim with mantas who mysteriously gather en masse every year at Hani Faru in the Maldives. Initially frustrated in his attempt to witness this annual ritual, Clunes travels to Sri Lanka where he sees how mantas are routinely slaughtered by local fishermen to meet a demand from China for their gills for use in traditional medicine. Returning to the Maldives, Clunes finally succeeds in swimming with dozens of mantas as they ‘barrel roll’, gorging themselves on plankton.