Are stingrays dangerous?

[mom4fun]

I see all these excursions that involve stingrays. I thought they could hurt you. Someone please explain.

 

[disneybeachprincess]

The stingrays barbs are removed for the excursions so no danger at all ~ they are gentle creatures & in the wild the main danger is stepping on a poisonous barb if one is under the sand in the ocean. It rarely happens & you will be completely safe on the swim with the stingrays excursions!

 

[SnipsNSnails]

The excursions on Grand Cayman, they most certainly do not remove the barbs as these are wild stingrays. Stingrays are not aggressive, as long as you don't step on one or try to hurt it, you will be just fine. I've never heard of and a quick search doesn't bring up any reports of injuries on any stingray excursions. And even if stung, it would require minor medical treatment and isn't life threatening.

 

[maria-fan-22]

Stingrays are defensive creature, like most animals(contrary to popular human belief) stingrays will only sting you I you literally force a body part into the barb. They will tell you to shuffle in the sand and avoid the bard area. Steve Irwin died because he snuck up behind a ray and his chest was in the barb area when the ray found out about his presence.

Stingrays are very gentle creatures and are harmless as long ad you are harmless to them.
Have a great cruise!

 

[KingRichard]

Do a search on Steve Irwin and you will get your answer.

 

[MouseMomx2]

Do a search on Steve Irwin and you will get your answer.

What happened to Steve Irwin is the definition of "freak accident". He swam right over a stingray that was buried in the sand and startled it, causing the barb to go in the one square inch it had to go to kill him. The only reason it got any press was because he was famous.

Any wild animal has the potential to do you harm. Stingrays are pretty low on the list. A quick search of "deaths caused by stingrays" show that only 17 have occurred...ever. More deaths happen from dogs each year.

We have visited Stingray City twice and it was amazing. The stingrays are really friendly and were only assertive when they were all clamorring for the food we had. Swimming with them was a fantastic experience. We have also done the stingray excursion on Castaway Cay but much preferred the one on Grand Cayman.

 

[mcroadman]

We very much enjoyed petting the rays on this excursion in G. Cayman Is.
The crew from Moby Dick tours had been going for more than 10 years to this site. They knew the rays and had named them. They even explained a lot about the Steve Irwin accident.

They are very interesting animals and if they don't want to be held, you can't hold them, they are like a giant muscle! But these were just gently circling for attention. The water is so amazingly clear, 15 feet down! You wont step on a black ray in those waters. You have to respect them- of course all intelligent animals have ways to defend themselves.
I later say a small light brown ray while snorkeling, it swam very fast away from us.

 

[bumbershoot]

What happened to Steve Irwin is the definition of "freak accident". He swam right over a stingray that was buried in the sand and startled it, causing the barb to go in the one square inch it had to go to kill him.

And he pulled it out, I've heard. Had he not pulled it out he might have had more of a chance.

But other than that, it was, like you said, a freak accident.

 

[Bonniec]

I've visited the petting ones at Sea World many times. They are the most interesting creatures! They are really neat.

 

[neg58]

The 50+ rays on Castaway Cay are de-barbed.

Nancy

 

[jjharts]

We went to Stingray City on Grand Cayman and my oldest daughter's back got sliced by a ray's tail that was swimming by her (she was shuffling back to the boat) -it was only a couple of inches long but she was in a lot of pain because of the salt walter getting into the cut. Not anyone's fault - just a freak accident.

 

[lodge]

Do a search on Steve Irwin and you will get your answer.

who would've thought it'd be a stingray swipe to the heart that'd be his demise?!?! if it'd hit nearly anywhere else, he'd still be with us (yeah, in some pain for a while, but alive).

 

[yvonneh]

We loved our day on Grand Cayman at Stingray City, it was amazing. We also chose Moby Dick Tours. Although the ray's are not aggressive, they do have barbs. A man on our excursion kicked a barb by accident, and it was very hard to watch. The crew had never experienced a "sting" before and did not know what to do! My husband (we are from Florida) knows that the only relief is hot fluid to relieve the pain, so he dumped hot water from the engine on his injury all the way back to the port. This man was in severe pain.
At the time, our daughter was 4 years old and we all had a fantasitic day. I would totally go again, but I would hold her so there was no chance she could come in contact with a barb. It was a fantastic experience and I say go for it, but just be careful of the little ones.

 

[chemnerd09]

Stingrays are defensive creature, like most animals(contrary to popular human belief) stingrays will only sting you I you literally force a body part into the barb. They will tell you to shuffle in the sand and avoid the bard area. Steve Irwin died because he snuck up behind a ray and his chest was in the barb area when the ray found out about his presence.

Stingrays are very gentle creatures and are harmless as long ad you are harmless to them.
Have a great cruise!

I totally agree. When I was little, I was taught to do the stingray shuffle whenever you were on a beach. You basically just shuffle your feet through the sand which lets the stingrays know that you are there. Stingrays can not actively sting you. Its an involuntary reflex that occurs when pressure is applied to certain areas of the body such as stepping on them. I think they are beautiful creatures and I love diving with them. If you get the chance to go swimming with them, I'd highly recommend it. Be aware of the dangers, but don't let it stop you from trying it. Have a great cruise.

 

[chemnerd09]

The 50+ rays on Castaway Cay are de-barbed.

Nancy

That must take a while since sometimes there can be multiple barbs and they are capable of regrowing them. I'd think I'd like to have that job.

 

[ZoeBell]

Greatttttttt now I'm scared and googling the proper way to do the "stingray shuffle".

 

[mom4fun]

Greatttttttt now I'm scared and googling the proper way to do the "stingray shuffle".

Yah, me too. Now I think I need to look at something else to do in Grand Cayman. I am just a big baby.

 

[Bonniec]

That must take a while since sometimes there can be multiple barbs and they are capable of regrowing them. I'd think I'd like to have that job.

The ones at Castaway Cay are debarbed (as are the ones at Sea World). The ones at Grand Caymen are not debarbed. You can Google it to see. There's also a video somewhere I saw with a Castaway Cay handler talking about it.

Personally I wouldn't hesitate to do either one.

 

[KingRichard]

What happened to Steve Irwin is the definition of "freak accident". He swam right over a stingray that was buried in the sand and startled it, causing the barb to go in the one square inch it had to go to kill him. The only reason it got any press was because he was famous.

Any wild animal has the potential to do you harm. Stingrays are pretty low on the list. A quick search of "deaths caused by stingrays" show that only 17 have occurred...ever. More deaths happen from dogs each year.

We have visited Stingray City twice and it was amazing. The stingrays are really friendly and were only assertive when they were all clamorring for the food we had. Swimming with them was a fantastic experience. We have also done the stingray excursion on Castaway Cay but much preferred the one on Grand Cayman.

Don't get me wrong we have our 5yr DD and us booked for a swim with the stingrays.

When someone voices a concern then give them answers, not don't worry it won't happen to you.

 

[Hrhpd]

Don't get me wrong we have our 5yr DD and us booked for a swim with the stingrays.

When someone voices a concern then give them answers, not don't worry it won't happen to you.

Nothing, especially when dealing with wild animals, is 100% safe. Even professionals like Steve Irwin can get caught in a compromising and deadly freak accident.

It is much better to know the facts and how to minimize even small risks rather than being told to just not to worry about it.

Knowing the risks and even better, how to minimize the risks, I can't wait to book one of these adventures!