Otorongo the Vermiculate River Stingray

Temperament

If you believe stingrays and other members of the primordial group of cartilaginous fishes to be no more than instinct-driven machines, you are mistaken. For proof, we need go no farther than Otorongo, our male vermiculate river stingray. He is always gliding around his tank, looking for something to entertain him. His most cherished source of entertainment is to place himself in a bubbling stream of water, eagerly turning over on his back to be tickled on his belly by the bubbles. And if he is in the mood, he even tries to play with the visitors: he raises part of his oval body high above the water surface and slaps his fin against the glass, eager to amaze and entertain the passersby. So, as you can imagine, the space around the large aquaterrarium is always abustle with visitors.

But Otorongo is not just popular with visitors; he is also a favorite of zookeepers. And when he sees his favorite caretaker Nataša Velenská working at the back of the tank, he is so overcome with curiosity and the desire to be with her he raises the greater part of his body out of the water: for he knows that Ms. Velenská will scratch him on the head – something he adores!

Life in Prague Zoo
Otorongo occupies a spacious tank in the Feline Pavilion and Terrarium. He is kept company by South American fishes and, in particular, by green anacondas and a Central American river turtle. His aquatic neighbors come in for a lot of teasing from this cartilaginous humorist, who is, in his own way, just trying to get them to play with him. He is said to have found a great playmate. His best playmate so far was our first Central American river turtle, named Mavuša. The two formed such a formidable duo that they ended up evicting the anacondas from the water, where these snakes would normally spend the overwhelming majority of their time. The duo simply teased and hectored them until they wore out their patience. As for the current turtle, she is not quite as fun a companion as Mavuška used to be, and so Otorongo has been forced to attempt to tease the anacondas into playing with him (they having returned into the water after Mavuša’s departure): but the snakes respond to his pleadings with nothing more obliging than a clear refusal. Fortunately, the exhibit and Otorongo’s caretakers provide enough stimuli to entertain this extraordinary individuality.