Stingrays and Rays

Southern Eagle Ray - Myliobatis australisCreative Commons License Sylke Rohrlach via Compfight

My family and I love to surf and play in the shallow water and waves in southern California. Sting rays and rays like the bat ray live in California.

When my dad and I paddle out and wait for waves to catch, we can see bat rays in about nine feet of water, swimming around.  In the shallow water, there is a species of stingray called the round stingray. Stingrays and rays are different.  Stingrays can sting but rays only have barbs and can’t sting.

We have heard about people getting stung every once and a while. My dad, brother, and I where surfing on a very small-wave day. My dad walked out to push my brother into a wave and then he said he thought something bit him on the toe and it hurt.  We kept surfing for about one hour and then we got back to our place and we realized he got stung.

The cure is hot water – as hot as you can handle.  The poison is a neurotoxin that can be fought off with hot water.  Because the poison had time to set in, he said it started to get worse. After about forty minutes in the hot water, he said it got better and there was no effect after that.

A few days later we were out surfing and I saw my mom carrying my sister into the beach.  I wondered what was wrong so I caught a wave into the beach.  My sister was crying and there was blood dripping from under her foot.  We knew she was stung, so we went up and put her foot in hot water.  She said it felt better right away and she is back to normal now.

Have you ever had any encounters like this in nature?

-Evan