Obama Ray was identified on August 16, 2017, by James Wing in Kauna’oa Bay. She was approximately 4-5 feet wide.

We named this manta Obama Ray in tribute to the former US President of the United States Barack Obama who expanded “Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument” to 582,578 square miles of land and sea in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands; thereby making it the largest ecologically protected area on the planet and comparable in size to an area twice the size of Texas.

Fun Fact: First we thought Obama Ray is a male, but after taking a closer look no claspers were found so the manta is actually Michelle Obama ????.