An Aberdeen woman rescued a stranded Cuckoo ray that had washed up on the beachfront.
Leona Lowe was out walking Casper, her Cavalier King Charles Spaniel along Aberdeen beach on Monday morning when she came across the ray.
She said: “It was lying on its back and it took me a minute or so to realize what it was. I’ve lived near the beach for ten years so it’s not something you come across very often.”
The mysterious animal was a Leucoraja naevus, which is more commonly known as a Cuckoo ray or Cuckoo skate.
The two are often confused, according to Philip Smith, an Aberdeen University lecturer with the School of Biological Sciences.
Skates and rays look similar, but skates usually have shorter tails.
Leona Lowe said: “I could kind of see it was still moving so I realized I had to do something.
“But it did look quite sharp the tail. So I pulled down my jumper and tried to as gently as possible pick up its tail.”
Ms Lowe was right to take precautions, according to marine biology expert Philip Smith.
He said: “I wouldn’t recommend handling it, as it has thorns along its tail and a slime on its back that can be filled with bacteria.
“If you got a puncture wound from the thorns and then some of the slime in it, it could get infected.”
Leona Lowe was able to successfully return the animal to the North Sea, wading into the water to ensure it could escape the shore.
This is not Leona Lowe’s first encounter with unusual wildlife in Aberdeen. Back in 2020, she spotted the unusual Hoopoe bird while walking her dog near Pittodrie, generating a fervour among bird-watching fanatics.
She said: “I’ve been quite lucky actually. A couple of instances of pretty rare wildlife right near the city centre. So it’s amazing what we have here.”
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