TAMPA, Fla. — On Monday, experts from the Florida Aquarium successfully brought their seven stingrays back home after they weathered Hurricane Milton at Tropicana Field.
When Hurricane Milton made landfall it brought with it wind gusts of up to 101 mph to the area. Footage from outside Tropicana Field showed large sections of the roof torn apart and flapping in the wind.
10 Tampa Bay's drone footage taken the next morning showed shreds of the Teflon-coated fiberglass roof scattered across the stadium seats and the rows of cots that were set up on the field.
No one was hurt when the roof was blown off — including the beloved stingrays.
Despite roof damage to the stadium, the seven male cownose stingrays remained safe in their 10,000 gallon, 35-foot habitat, located off right-center field, a release from the aquarium said.
Every year, the stingrays spend the MLB season at Tropicana Field as part of the Tampa Bay Rays Touch Experience, the first-ever interactive marine exhibit at a professional sports venue.
“We’re pleased to report the cownose stingrays handled the storm well. With the Tampa Bay Rays support, our staff was able to provide onsite care over the past several days and today, we brought them safely back to the Aquarium,” Craig Johnson, the aquarium's associate curator, said. “We will continue to monitor their health over the coming days, but currently, all are eating and behaving normally.”
The release said the seven cownose stingrays are currently on public display in a separate area of the Florida Aquarium’s second-floor Stingray Beach exhibit, which is sponsored by the Tampa Bay Rays.
The cownose stingray is named for its distinctive head shape, resembling a cow’s nose, and is the same species found in the waters of Tampa Bay.
Stingrays are an integral part of the Tampa Bay Rays identity. The team has featured the Florida Aquarium’s stingray touch tank since 2006.