This was the amazing moment a prize-winning underwater photographer captured a fever of cownose rays swimming together off the coast of Western Australia.<br /><br />Filmed on April 14, 2019, the footage shows the aquatic beings swirling around in an almost hypnotic manner in the Ningaloo Reef.<br /><br />The footage appears to be edited with a black and white effect but has only been affected by natural light as the freediving photographer was only six metres from the surface.<br /><br />A still image from the same event won snapper Alex Kydd a prize in the Australian Photography Awards.<br /><br />Kydd told Newsflare: "[It was] a rare encounter with a fever of cownose rays on the Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia. <br /><br />"The images were taken whilst freediving to approximately six metres and using natural light. <br /><br />"The rays were circling and rubbing together in a behaviour that is still not clearly understood. <br /><br />"It may have been possible mating or social behaviour. <br /><br />"The rays were spiralling up and down the water column from the surface to 20 metres for approximately 20 minutes until they were not seen again. <br /><br />"Undeterred by my presence, they continued to focus on each whilst I documented the encounter. <br /><br />"There have been few reports of cownose rays in the Ningaloo Reef region and over the last four years working there, I had never seen them. <br /><br />"The species of ray cannot be accurately identified, it is either Rhinoptera Javanica or Rhinoptera Neglecta. <br /><br />"It was a once in a lifetime encounter."<br /><br />Kydd also won first and third prize in the Australian Nature Conservancy Photography awards for his image of a whale shark and the cownose rays, respectively.
