Most rays spend their time on the bottom. The whitespotted eagle ray flies. It cruises over sand and reef edges on wide, pointed wings, its dark back covered in white spots and a whip-thin tail trailing far behind. When one passes a group of divers, every head turns, and that is exactly why a sighting is the moment many guests talk about on the boat ride home.

Eagle rays are not an everyday sight in Punta Cana, and we will not pretend otherwise. They are an occasional, lucky bonus, which makes knowing where to look and how to behave when one appears all the more useful.

Quick Facts

Name: whitespotted eagle ray, Aetobatus narinari; older guides call it the spotted eagle ray
Size: commonly about 1.4 m (4.5 ft) across the wings, up to about 2.3 m (7.5 ft)
Diet: clams, snails and other shelled animals, worms, shrimp, octopus and small fish
Depth: from the shallows down to about 80 m (260 ft), most often in coastal water above 60 m
Range: warm waters of the western Atlantic, including the Gulf of Mexico and the whole Caribbean, and probably the eastern Atlantic
Reproduction: live young, small litters of up to four pups
Status: listed as Endangered by the IUCN (2020)

A note on names: the eagle rays of the Indian and Pacific Oceans were once lumped into the same species. Scientists have since split them off as Aetobatus ocellatus (and the eastern Pacific form as A. laticeps), so A. narinari now refers to the Atlantic animal you see in the Caribbean.

How to Recognize an Eagle Ray

The pattern is the giveaway: a dark back, from inky blue-black to gray-brown, covered in white spots and small rings, over a pure white belly. The head sticks out in front of the wings like a rounded beak, which is why some people call it a duck-billed ray. The wings are long and pointed, and the tail is very long and thin, with one or more venomous spines at its base, just behind the body.

The main look-alike in Punta Cana is the southern stingray, but they are easy to separate. A southern stingray is a plain gray-brown diamond with no spots and no projecting head, and it usually rests on or under the sand. An eagle ray is spotted, beaked and almost always swimming. If you see a ray hovering in midwater with a bird-like flapping stroke, it is an eagle ray.

Behavior: Diggers With Wings

Eagle rays are strong, active swimmers that cover a lot of ground. They often travel near the surface and sometimes leap clear of the water, and outside the breeding season they can gather in schools. On a reef dive you are more likely to meet one alone or in a small group, gliding along the sand line where the reef ends.

Their food is hidden in the sand. An eagle ray uses its shovel-shaped snout to root into the bottom, raising a cloud of sand, and pulls out clams, snails and worms. Its teeth are fused into flat, chevron-shaped plates that work like a nutcracker, crushing shells that few other fish can open. If you see a ray nose-down in a plume of sand, settle and watch: it may stay busy long enough for a good look.

They give birth to live young. The pups grow inside the mother, nourished first by yolk and then by fluid from the mother, and are born already shaped like small adults, at roughly 17 to 35 cm across. Litters are small, rarely more than four, which helps explain why fishing pressure has pushed the species to Endangered status.

Older articles sometimes describe eagle rays as dangerous because of the tail spines. In reality they are shy and avoid divers. The spines are defensive, and injuries come from handling a ray or catching one, not from swimming near one.

Where to See Eagle Rays in Punta Cana

Eagle rays are occasional visitors on our dives. They can turn up on our local reefs around Cabeza de Toro, cruising over the sand patches and the edges where reef meets open bottom. The site most associated with big animals and open water is The Wall at Catalina, a drop-off that falls to around 30 m (100 ft) and the signature dive of our Catalina trip. Keep looking out into the blue as well as along the wall itself.

No dive is ever guaranteed to produce an eagle ray, so we treat every sighting as a gift. Your best chance is simply to dive often, stay with the group and keep scanning beyond the reef. You can see the eagle ray on our species guide along with the other animals of our local dive sites.

Tips for Divers and Snorkelers

Do not chase. An eagle ray is far faster than any diver. Swimming after it only makes it turn away.
Stay calm and low. Hold your position, breathe slowly and let the ray decide how close to come. Curious individuals sometimes pass right by a still group.
Watch the sand line. Plumes of sand near the reef edge can mean a ray is feeding.
Never touch. The tail spines are defensive, and handling stresses the animal.
For photos, use a wide-angle lens, shoot slightly upward to put the white belly against the blue, and be ready early, because encounters are often brief.
Snorkelers sometimes see eagle rays passing over shallow sand, so keep an eye on the bottom too.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are eagle rays dangerous?

No. They are shy and usually swim away from divers. Their tail spines are only used in defense, and injuries come from people handling or catching them.

What is the difference between a spotted eagle ray and a whitespotted eagle ray?

It is the same animal in the Atlantic. "Spotted eagle ray" is the older common name; "whitespotted eagle ray" is the name used today for Aetobatus narinari since the Indo-Pacific populations were split off as a separate species.

How big do eagle rays get?

Most are about 1.4 m (4.5 ft) across, and the largest reach about 2.3 m (7.5 ft), according to FishBase.

Where is the best place to see eagle rays near Punta Cana?

They can appear on any of our local reefs, but sightings are occasional. Open-water sites like The Wall at Catalina give you a good view out into the blue, where they often cruise.

If you would like to try your luck, join us on the Catalina Island dive trip and spend a day watching the blue off one of the best walls in the region.