I was lucky enough to jump aboard the very first Socorro trip of the season, and I was excited for two big reasons. First, Socorro is one of my favourite places in the world — some of my most unforgettable underwater memories were made here, and every return feels a little like coming home.
Secondly, we also had manta expert Aldo onboard, with a clear mission: identify as many new giant manta rays as possible. I love a mission — especially one that contributes directly to science and helps protect one of my favourite ocean animals!
This was my second trip diving with Aldo, and his enthusiasm is completely infectious. Throughout the expedition, he shared his deep knowledge of mantas with our guests, why they’re under threat, and why education and community involvement are essential for their long-term protection.
If you’ve ever dived with giant mantas in Socorro, you already know how special it is. They arrive like enormous underwater Airbuses — silent, graceful, and somehow sneaky — gliding effortlessly into the dive site. Their huge, inquisitive eyes feel like they’re staring straight into your soul. Once a manta casts that spell on you, all you want to do is protect them.
Diving with mantas is always interactive, but this trip felt different. It was almost as if they knew why we were there — rolling, hovering, and offering up their bellies for identification photos. Every dive ended the same way: everyone rushing for laptops, excitedly comparing belly patterns to see whether we’d documented a known manta… or discovered a brand-new one.
And if you identify a new manta, you get to name it.
Naming an ocean animal has been a personal goal of mine since 2014, when I first started working as an underwater videographer in Thailand. Back then, we had a turtle ID program, and I always wanted to name one after my favourite snack. So when I identified my first-ever new manta on this trip, the choice was easy. His name became Springroll — dream officially fulfilled.
I didn’t stop there. I identified another new manta on the same trip, this one with a belly pattern that looked eerily like a ghost face. Since my favourite hip-hop group is Wu-Tang Clan, with one of its most iconic members being Ghostface Killah, my second manta was named Wu-Tang.
By the end of the expedition, Aldo confirmed we’d identified 12 brand-new mantas and encountered 30 individuals in total — possibly a record for a single Socorro trip! Go us!
Most of the other mantas were named after loved ones, which means my niece and nephew are now fully convinced they each have a manta named after them. I’m just going to let them believe that… and maybe never mention that their “mantas” are actually called Springroll and Wu-Tang!
– Allie, Nautilus Videographer.
📷 Find out how you can submit your manta ray photos from anywhere in the world to the Manta Trust’s ‘Mantabase’!
Curious how it all unfolded — and to see the mantas who ended up with these unusual names? Watch Allie’s short video highlights from the trip below.
