A massive eagle ray leapt into an Alabama family's boat and gave birth

An Alabama woman was fishing with her family in the Gulf of Mexico when a 181-kilogram eagle ray leapt out of the water, hit her in the shoulder and landed in her boat. 

April Jones was participating in the state's biggest fishing tournament with her husband, son and father-in-law when the rare sea creature jumped into the air. The family watched as the ray slipped behind Jones and crashed into their fishing rods, landing at the back of the boat.

"She just kind of slapped around back there and we tried to get her out, but she ended up just weighing way too much for us," Jones told As It Happens guest host David Cochrane. 

"The boat was taking on water, so we had to make the decision to take off for land versus continuing to try and get her out. Because if we did, we could've potentially sank the boat."

It gave her son, eight-year-old Gunner, quite a fright.

"It was scary. I thought it was a shark," he said. "I stared at it and kept screaming."

Jones and her family weren't sure if the ray could survive the 20-minute ride back to shore — so they poured water on her to help her breathe as they headed for the closest boat launch on Dauphin Island.

Jones got off the boat, ran to the Dauphin Island Sea Lab and brought one of the staff over to inspect the eagle ray.

By the time she had returned, some fishers had helped her family lift the heavyweight and placed her back in the water. They told Jones that the eagle ray swam off after a few minutes. 

"We don't know now what has come of her, if she's living her life now or what ended up happening," Jones said.

But the surprises didn't stop there. They soon learned the ray had left behind four pups, which she'd given birth to on the boat unbeknownst to the family. 

The young rays showed no signs of movement, and were presumed dead.

Stress-induced labour

Brian Jones of the Dauphin Island Sea Lab didn't get to observe the mother ray, as she had already swam away, but her pups gave him an important clue as to what might have happened.

"In short, stress," he told As It Happens in an email. "Many wild animals bearing young will spontaneously release their offspring, in hopes that the babies are developed enough to survive and pass along their genes to the rest of the population."

The Jones family donated the pups to the sea lab, which plans to preserve and display them inside an aquarium, teaching visitors about the rare species.

As for why the creature launched itself into her boat in the first place?

"She could have been running from a predator," April Jones said after meeting with the sea lab staff. "There have been people that have seen them, you know, just jump out of the water."

A catch to remember

In the midst of the spontaneous, stress-induced delivery, Jones still took quite a hit from the eagle ray's initial landing.

"It definitely hurt. It felt like I was probably in a car accident," she said. X-rays of her neck and shoulder show a muscle strain, which she said will take some time to heal.

Eagle rays can grow up to 2.5 metres without their tail. But with their tail, they can reach five metres in length. According to the Florida Museum, the heaviest eagle ray on record was 230 kilograms.

The eagle ray is a rare sight to see — and Jones says it was really something to behold. 

"She was just a beautiful ray. I have actually never, as far as I know, have ever seen one, even in an aquarium," Jones said.

Despite the calamity, Jones says she loves fishing and is eager to get back into the water. 

She was one of thousands of anglers who participated in the 89th Annual Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo, a competition that not only rewards the biggest catch, but collects scientific data on the state of local fisheries and numerous species.  

But Gunner isn't so sure. Asked if he would go fishing again, he said: "Not until we get a bigger boat."

Written by Mehek Mazhar. Interview with April and Gunner Jones produced by Tayo Bero.