![]() "When you look at her for a while and watch her swim, she's just a very elegant creature," says Clauss. ![]() Shaka's mother was said to be one of the few who could soothe the king's notorious fits of rage. Nandi is named after the mother of legendary African Zulu King Shaka. "I would say she's a bit of a princess and a camera hog." "There's no doubt that she doesn't mind the human contact," says aquarium veterinarian Tonya Clauss, who traveled to South Africa and monitored Nandi during the ray's long flight to Atlanta aboard a 747 cargo jet. And lucky for visitors, Nandi is something of a show-off. The Georgia Aquarium is now just one of four facilities worldwide with a manta ray on display, and the only one in the United States. ![]() Unlike some other ray species, like the stingray that killed animal adventurer Steve Irwin, manta rays don't have defensive barbs or spines. They have no real teeth and consume food - normally plankton, small shrimp-like creates called krill, or small fish - by filtering it through their mouths. Though they look formidable, manta rays are relatively harmless. Watch Nandi swim through her new home in Atlanta ยป The fish, the largest of all ray species, propel their sleek bodies through the ocean with strokes of their enormous wings. It's those wings that give manta rays such grace in the water. Aquarium officials say her new home should give Nandi plenty of room to grow - the wingspan of an adult manta ray can grow to 20 feet or more. ![]() The Ocean Voyager tank was originally built to house whale sharks, the world's largest fish species. Nursed back to health at uShaka Marine World, the largest marine park in Africa, Nandi was flown this month to her new home at the Ocean Voyager exhibit. The Indian Ocean native was discovered caught in nets meant to protect beachgoers from sharks in Durban, South Africa. And in a 6.3-million-gallon tank full of gentle giants, she's already a crowd favorite. The latest marquee attraction at the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, Georgia, the young female manta ray made her public debut Monday. ![]()
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