Ready the pitchforks…
Okay, internet, before you try to crucify me for such an absurd statement, hear me out. If tuna is the chicken of the sea, then stingrays are certainly the cats of the sea.
Take for example, the cownose ray. They have these adorable flaps above their mouth (right where the nose should be) that they periodically open and close to make it appear as if they are the happiest stingray you will ever set eyes on.
Not only are they always in a good mood, they have another face under their bodies. When the cownose ray lifts itself up to shine for the camera, you can see its actual mouth (not its fake nose-mouth).
And yes, the rays mouth does indeed appear as a smile. It smile all the time. You can tell the world’s worst joke, and it will fake the best smile so it doesn’t hurt your feelings.
Take a look at the adorableness:
But wait, it gets better:
In addition to stingrays having adorable smiles, you will find they are particularly playful, like the following video displaying a fluttering dude playing hide-and-seek with the camera. Perhaps he got bored in his tank and since the people don’t like it when the fish tap on the glass, he decided to entertain himself with a game of peekaboo instead.
He managed to entertain us too:
So maybe stingrays aren’t quite on par with cats:
Stingrays will never be as weird, fluffy, and majestic as cats. But they will use their dental plates to slurp fish off your hand, give you a wave with their fin, and smile the whole time. Cats will simply hiss at you and walk away.
[Featured Image Credit: Live Door]