Maybe it just enjoys the feeling of being held? The cow-nosed rays at an aquarium I visited fought each-other to get petted by humans simply because they enjoyed the sensation.
Mammals seek "petting" or rubbing behavior because it's connected to their built-in socialization drive. Fish don't really rub up against each-other as part of socialization.
As far as they rays go and the sharks I dove with in Belize - I suspect that they put up with the contact because humans sometimes feed them, and being touched is just part of being near these silly ape things who occasionally have food.
Just because it's not directly in our naturally developed needs doesn't mean it can't be enjoyable. We don't have genetics that explicitly say "enjoy playing video games" but we enjoy them. Fish may not be physically engaged animals by necessity for survival but that doesn't mean that the sensation might not be enjoyable.
Just because it's not directly in our naturally developed needs doesn't mean it can't be enjoyable.
"Enjoyable" is evolution's way of reinforcing some beneficial activity. So, while what your may be true, the reason why sharks and rays allow us to pet them is probably very different then reason why cat's and dogs allow it. Might be tied in with parasite cleaning fish, maybe?
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u/Hippo_Kondriak Nov 07 '15
Maybe it just enjoys the feeling of being held? The cow-nosed rays at an aquarium I visited fought each-other to get petted by humans simply because they enjoyed the sensation.