Above is a video I shot of a
stingray swimming in shallow water in Charlotte Harbor on
Pine Island.
Above photo: stingray washed up on St. Augustine
Beach. Check out the barb
on the tail. This excellent photo was sent to BeachHunter April 2007 by
Jim & Mary Midthun of Ham Lake, Minnesota.
There are many types of rays in
Florida waters. Most of them can cause you no harm. The Sting Ray can cause a
painful wound. They lay on the sandy bottom partially covered with sand.
Sometimes only their eyes are poking out of the sand. Sting Rays have a sharp
bony barb at the base of their tails. If you step on the animal, it reacts by
lashing its tail at your foot. The barb does have venom and it causes a
very painful wound which can easily produce a nasty infection.
Avoiding stingrays.
The best way to
avoid Sting Rays is to shuffle your feet when you are walking in the water.
During some months the rays are particularly common and it is not unusual to see
a dozen or more swimming away if you are the first person in the water. They are
not terribly shy and will allow you to approach quite closely before fleeing.
Beachhunter's
experience
Yes, I have been speared by a Sting Ray. It was a very very small one and it
stuck me in the toe. I lived. Actually I am amazed that in all the years I spent
surfing, paying no attention whatsoever to where I was stepping, I only got
stuck once. Sting Ray season is generally May through October. Actually, the
most painful wound I ever got was when I was paddling my surfboard and impaled
my hand on the top spine of a catfish that happened to be swimming underneath
me. I had to shake it off my hand. That really hurt and was the end of surfing
for that afternoon.! What do you suppose the odds of that happening are?
If you are injured by a Stingray, wash the area with salt water.
Remove any foreign material from the wound. Alert the lifeguard if there is one.
Lifeguards know how to handle Stingray wounds. Soaking the wound in water as hot
as the injured person can stand it for 30 - 90 minutes helps relieve the pain.
Deep wounds from large Stingrays and wounds to the abdomen or chest are very
serious and the person should be taken to the hospital right away. Most injuries
are to the feet and legs. If you are fishing and catch a Stingray, even if it is
out of the water it can stab you by flipping its tail violently. It is highly
unusual for a person to die as a result of a stingray injury, however,
there are at least three recorded incidents around the world resulting
in a death. A deep injury to the chest, neck, head, or abdominal
cavity, or an arterial puncture could most certainly result in death.
From time to time I get an email from someone with
lasting effects from a stingray injury. Their doctors have done all they can to
treat them, but they are still having pain and are looking for answers.
Unfortunately I cannot be much help since I'm not a doctor. But I've compiled
the following list of links that may help:
I'll keep looking for more info on stingray
injuries and how to treat them. Anytime I find additional info that I think is
new or different, I'll put a link to it here.
More detailed information on
stingrays, stingray injuries, and how to avoid being injured by a stingray can
be found in my FREE downloadable book on beach hazards. This book normally is
downloaded by about 50 people each week. However on Labor Day, more than 90
people downloaded it in one day as a result of Steve Irwin's unusual and
untimely death by stingray. My book is a pdf file and is about 1 megabyte in
size. It is called How to
Be Safe From Sharks, Jellyfish, Stingrays, Rip Currents and other Scary Things.
Follow the link for more info and to download the book. See a photo of the book
cover at the bottom of this page.
Stingray photo by Beachhunter
Below is a photo I took of a
stingray on Treasure Island in Pinellas county in August 2004. It is in about 8
inches of water, roughly 5 feet from shore, and was mostly obscured by the
sediment stirred up with each little wave. I had a hard time getting this
picture, as the little guy would suddenly become invisible. The ray's body is
about 8 inches wide, and the tail is probably 14 inches long. Although the tail
looks stiff in this photo, it is quite flexible. The entire tail is not
dangerous. The spine that is dangerous is actually invisible here since it is
near the base of the tail and is hidden underneath the tail.
Download the
above book for FREE now!
Just click on
the book cover to go to the download page.
Cownose Rays
Not
all rays are stingrays, although most of them do have the
capability of injuring you with their tail spike. Below is a
photo of a Cownose ray sent in by a visitor. Note the barb at
the base of the tail, very close to the body. Below that is a
photo I took of a school of Cownose rays swimming past
Clearwater Beach's Pier 60. I was standing on the pier looking
down. I have actually been standing in shallow water as a school
of these gentle rays swam past me. The treated me like a post in
the water, gently brushing my legs with their "wings" as they
slowly swam past, although it was clear that they knew I was
alive, and not a post.
Cownose ray on St. Augustine, FL
beach. Copyright 2008, H. Shiffer, Fuquay-Varina, NC.
here are many types of rays in
Florida waters. Most of them can cause you no harm. The Sting Ray can cause a
painful wound. They lay on the sandy bottom partially covered with sand.
Sometimes only their eyes are poking out of the sand. Sting Rays have a sharp
bony barb at the base of their tails. If you step on the animal, it reacts by
lashing its tail at your foot. The barb does have venom and it causes a
very painful wound which can easily produce a nasty infection. 
