What To Do If You're Injured By A Stingray

They can be found in temperate oceans, in freshwater rivers, or in a shallow petting tank at your nearby aquarium. Stingrays are some of the coolest, most interesting marine animals out there, fascinating to both kids and adults alike. And there's evidence that stingrays find people pretty cool, too: A research study done at Shedd Aquarium in Chicago indicated that the stingrays in their petting exhibit appear to seek out "backrubs" from visitors, according to WTTW.

But as cute as they are, stingrays can also be dangerous. Stingrays have barbs, like long tails, that are both sharp and loaded with venom, according to National Geographic. As a result, it's important to always be careful around stingrays, especially when you encounter them in the wild. Still, even if you avoid stingrays as strenuously as possible, you might find yourself stung or otherwise injured by a stingray. In these situations, it's important to remain calm and follow a few basic steps of medical care.

Whenever possible, it's good to try to avoid a potentially violent clash with a stingray. Though you might think stingrays, with their big barbed tails, are violent, in fact these creatures like to avoid confrontation with humans, according to Healthline. When they find a large animal, like a human, in their habitat, they're far more likely to swim away than to try to counterattack, according to AZ Animals.

Still, though many people try to avoid conflicts with stingrays, injuries sometimes happen. Oftentimes, these wounds can result from people inadvertently stepping on a stingray that was buried in the sand, causing it to react violently, according to the National Capital Poison Center. In the United States, around 2,000 injuries are reported each year from stingray encounters, though deaths are rare. Sometimes, people are injured because they are cut by the stingray's tail, but other times, they also get a dose of the stingray's venom. In either case, getting quick and competent medical care is very important.

Though the vast majority of stingray injuries are nonfatal, there are some exceptions to this rule, including the widely publicized case of Steve Irwin, according to Biography. Irwin was a famous wildlife advocate who worked for the Australian Zoo and who had his own TV show, "The Crocodile Hunter," on which he shared his love for reptiles and other wildlife. However, tragedy struck in 2006, when, while filming a documentary in Queensland, Australia, Irwin had a deadly encounter with a wild stingray. Irwin got into the water to swim with the stingray when it mistook him for a threat. The stingray plunged its barb into Irwin's chest, injuring Irwin's heart, according to All That's Interesting. His crew attempted to rush him back to a hospital in time to save his life, but Irwin died on the boat.

Other freak accidents with stingrays have also been reported to have led to the death of the victim, including one incident in which a diver at an aquarium in Singapore was killed by the animal in its tank, according to the Chicago Tribune. Like Irwin, the diver, Phillip Chan, was killed from a puncture wound to the chest, not by the animal's venom.