GIGANTIC RAY CAUGHT IN PERU - Real or Fake?

Pictures of this giant mantaray have gone viral on the internet in the last few days. Billschannel viewers, Chris Cheong and Gabite Albar want to know if they are real or fake? Well, here is the story...

According many reliable sources, the spread of these pictures started on April 18th at 7:17PM Eastern Standard time. They appeared on the face book page of One Kelly Cruz Cumpen with a note in spanish telling us the thing in here picture was a huge black manta ray. The photos according to Facebook were taken at Playa La Cruz near the City of Tumbes, Peru.
From there the story spread to various news outfits and youtube channels with some added video footage.
Now, according to Instituto Del Mar Peru, the giant stingray catch and the subsequent pictures and video are....
REAL
Apparently some local fishermen were net fishing when the giant swam into their net. The fishermen claim it was injured when they discovered it, so they towed it to the beach.
The Mantaray did not survive the event but it was measured at 6.1 meters or 20 Feet across, leaving it smaller than just the world record which is 9.1 meters or 30 feet across.
Matarays are considered an endangered species and Peruvian Authorities are looking into the details of Mantarays capture.
Indonesia has the largest known population of Mantarays and is known as a place where tourists go to view them.
Big thanks to Chris and Gabite for sending me this story.