Florida boater runs over manta at high speed.

A group that studies manta rays in Florida has shared disturbing footage of a high-speed vessel plowing over a large manta as it cruised near the surface beyond an inlet.

“I was filming a manta swimming in the nearshore swell when a boat exiting the inlet hit this manta,” Jessica Pate, lead scientist for the Florida Manta Project, stated via Instagram. “The manta immediately began swimming offshore with a deep laceration to his left side. This manta swam quickly east for 2.5 miles before we lost him while changing drone batteries.”

The group scientifically catalogs mantas and this incident, near Boynton Beach Inlet, occurred the same week a manta named Ozzy was killed by a vessel strike.

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Viewers of the footage (posted below) can swipe to a second frame to see the injuries caused by the strike. The manta is an unidentified juvenile male and it's not known if it survived.

Pate added: "This video is not meant to shame the driver of this boat. We just want boaters to be vigilant when operating in the immediate vicinity of Boynton Beach Inlet, especially during the months of September through January.”

This article originally appeared on For The Win: Vessel plows over manta ray, footage intended as message for boaters

Reporting by Pete Thomas, For The Win / For The Win

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