The eagle has submerged.

I tried 4 new dive sites this weekend with mixed results. One dive was a spectacular success though, typified by this monster eagle ray that blew past us at about 90 feet. There was actually a second one following him that I missed until it was doing one at high speed. There was a lot of large fish around working the current - note the big tarpon cruising in the background. This shot also gives you a good look at the cool shovel type nose these rays have.

This guy has lost his tail. By way of contrast, check out the tail on this one. Now if you're wondering where the tail has gone....I don't know. I do know that eagle rays generally have a cluster of four spines around their tails and that hundreds of the spines have been found embedded in the noses of these guys.....and also these guys. It could also have been entangled and broken off or lost mechanically in some other way I guess, but I'm an optimist on the subject of big predatory sharks cruising our waters.....