Thornyback ray:

While Ashley and I were observing otters in Area 11 from the wildlife viewing deck, we observed a Hermann’s seagull picking at what appeared to be a piece of garbage that had washed up onto the muddy shore of the slough. After the gull had moved on to something more exciting, I tromped down through the pickleweed to pick up the garbage. However, it was not trash at all, but rather a dead and rotting carcass of a thornyback ray! Later, when Nick picked it up, we found some hooks and line that may have snagged the animal and eventually led to its demise. We’ll have to check with Sean to be sure.