A hand ‘tickling’ a sea ray that appears to be smiling was seen in a viral Tik Tok video. It gained about 100 million views in just over a week but there is an unsettling truth behind that video.
On the 7th of June, Tik Tok user @mafishguy posted a video of a sea ray laying on its back. In the background, a person asks, “how do you tickle a fish?” before a gloved hand tickles the belly of the small aquatic creature.
The ray immediately curls up its wing. Its mouth forms a U shape, which looks similar to him laughing, after being tickled.
Here is the original Tik Tok video:
@mafishguyNothing to see here….just ##tickling a ##fish and making him ##laugh
On the other hand, the program’s director of World Animal Protection in the United States, Ben Williamson, told Insider that the sea ray was obviously not smiling from being tickled. In fact, it was likely in distress.
“This stingray is clearly suffocating to death,” Williamson said. “The scientific literature is quite clear. Like all fish, stingrays have the capacity to feel pain. Anatomically, physiologically, and biologically, the pain system in fish is virtually the same as in birds and mammals.”
According to the Ocean Conservancy, the rays collect oxygen from the water using gills. Without water, a ray will suffocate depending on some factors like the duration they are out of the water, the ray’s age, body condition, and the stress pressed on them, according to a blog run by the Department for Environment and Water in South Australia, Good Living.
“Like all wild animals, stingrays should be left alone to live out their lives in peace, free from human interference and harmful hobbies, such as sportfishing,” Williamson said.
Sources: Insider, Tik Tok @mafishguy