Dozens of rays filmed swimming off Panama City Beach

PANAMA CITY BEACH —  Dozens of devil rays swimming along the Panama City Beach coast at sunset were captured on film by a lucky tourist this week.

Emily Rahim shared the video saying she spotted "easily" 100 of them from her balcony.

The rays are often seen along the shoreline, and are known for their acrobatics, jumping out of the water and riding the waves.

“Devil rays are naturally curious animals,”   said Vanessa Wilson, the stingray trainer at Gulf World Marine Park in a 2017 interview. “The great thing about them, though, is that they are one of the species of rays that do not have barbs. However, they are still wild animals and not used to human interaction. For the safety of the devil rays, it is good to remain a safe viewing distance from them.”

In other words, they can’t sting but don’t try to pet them.

Devil rays are found in the waters year-round, according to Wilson. They tend to stick to shallow coast water and some bays, although they also are seen in the open ocean. People are most likely to see them in pairs during the warm summer months, which is their breeding season.

“We most often have reports of devil rays,” Wilson said.

But, of course, they aren’t alone. Lucky visitors also can see cownose rays, southern rays and spotted eagle rays in the Gulf of Mexico.