Those fortunate enough to experience manta rays close up on a night dive will tell you it is an experience they will never forget. Keller Laros, aka the Manta Man, has made more than 11,000 dives and shares his knowledge of these magnificent creatures at the Manta Learning Center at the Sheraton Kona Resort &Spa at Keauhou Bay. Celebrating its first anniversary, the center presented Manta Week, which culminates Saturday evening with a silent auction.
Those fortunate enough to experience manta rays close up on a night dive will tell you it is an experience they will never forget. Keller Laros, aka the Manta Man, has made more than 11,000 dives and shares his knowledge of these magnificent creatures at the Manta Learning Center at the Sheraton Kona Resort &Spa at Keauhou Bay. Celebrating its first anniversary, the center presented Manta Week, which culminates Saturday evening with a silent auction.
The Manta Pacific Research Foundation was founded in 2002 to study these graceful, gentle giants who feed in waters on the reef outside of the hotel. One of the largest creatures in the ocean, mantas can have a wingspan reaching more than 20 feet and weighing in up to 2,000 pounds. Each manta has unique markings and most of them seen in Kona waters have been given names. An ID catalogue was established in 1991 and is available for viewing at the center.
For more information, visit manta pacific.org.