TAMPA, Fla. - For two decades, ZooTampa guests had an up-close view of stingrays and could even touch them, but on Thursday morning, all of the rays living in the touch tank were mysteriously found dead.In a statement to FOX 13, zoo officials said a dozen resided in a 16,000-gallon saltwater tank, called Stingray Bay, where guests were allowed to touch them.
The deaths were discovered Thursday morning. There were seven cownose stingrays, four southern stingrays, and one Atlantic stingray.Stingray Bay was home to only the rays, and all resided in the same tank with no other species.