We all know that stingrays are not to be mucked about with. Poor old Steve Irwin, despite being totally at home with the animals eventually came a cropper to one.
Although stingrays aren’t naturally violent towards humans (unlike some animals), if you get on the wrong side of one or surprise it, it might well be the last thing you do.
I like to try and save people’s lives whenever I can (as long as it doesn’t require me to get up from my computer), so here is a little advice from a stingray safety expert:
Stingray most often attack when they are stepped on, so when you walk into the water, shuffle rather than stamp. And if the water is shallow, throw a couple of stones in ahead of you to scare any stingray away.
The barb of a stingray is actually rarely lethal because it’s generally slammed into the leg or foot region (poor old Irwin got the spine lodged into his chest cavity) but it will hurt incredibly badly. The stingray’s spine is barbed and often needs surgery to be removed; even once the spike has been taken out, it’s liable to get infected by bacteria and fungi. Basically – it’s all round bad news.
OK, now this video is pretty gruesome, so if you’re squeamish turn away now (or just don’t click on play you idiot):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gl4mPePw9mQ
It turns out that these stingray characters will even have a go at kids, shock horror. This Florida boy got hit hard on the foot too:
So the moral of the story, as ever, is keep out of the water, no good can ever come from getting in the deep blue sea. We don’t know half of what’s down there, but what we do know is already terrifying.
