The animals allow humans to pet them and feed them

Sep 7, 2012 14:42 GMT  ·  By

Stingrays might be some of the most gracious marine animals presently inhabiting our oceans, but the fact remains that they can also cause people severe injuries, provided that they lose their temper and decide to strike.

Therefore, divers know to usually avoid them altogether, or simply keep their distance should they happen to come across these animals.

However, one area in the Cayman Islands is officially known as Stingray City, seeing how visitors to these shallows sandbars are allowed to not just swim alongside these marine creatures, but also to pet and feed them.

Apparently, because fishermen going about their business in these waters kept throwing fish guts and the like overboard, these animals learned to associate the noise made by boat engines with food. Therefore, whenever a boat approaches them, they immediately assume it's meal time.

As far as we are concerned, getting this close to stingrays seems like quite an amazing experience.