Stingray climbs out of ocean for dinner

If you saw this stingray climb out of the ocean and make its way towards you, your first impulse might be to run. But it would be wrong.

The giant fish, captured on spectacular video thrusting itself out of the water towards tourists in the Maldives who are feeding fish, is not actually aggressive, according to experts.

Marine biologists Dr Mike van Keulen and Frazer McGregor from Murdoch University said it was likely the sting ray featured in the film clip was trained to come in to the ramp.

"The person throwing the fish has gloves on and actively hand feeds the ray," they said.

Despite their fearsome appearance, stingrays aren’t known to be aggressive.

"They interact with humans in many places, usually in response to feeding," said the experts. 

"There is no evidence of aggressive behaviour like back arching."

So now you know — flapping and jumping means "Can I have some fish, please?", and arched back means "I'mma get you, human!"