Strange Stingray City questions

[wannagonow123]

I would love to go on this excursion, but I heard that water shoes are not allowed? Is that true? I do not go barefoot in the ocean due to my diabetes. Very paranoid about stepping on something and cutting my foot on a shell or something.

 

Also, I read that sometimes they suck on your leg. Not strong enough to draw blood I hope.

 

Sorry to sound morbid, but these are real concerns for me.

[drew sailbum]

Water shoes are not permitted at the Stingray Sandbar site in accordance with the Wildlife Interaction Zone regulations. PDF here

 

(2)No person shall, within the zone -

(a) wear footwear, except while aboard a boat.

...

(3)Paragraph (2)(a) does not prohibit wearing of flippers while snorkelling in water deeper than four feet.

[bookbabe]

The short answers:

- no water shoes, but it's all sand, no rocks or shells to speak of, so nothing to step on

- stingrays won't suck on you unless you rub squid all over yourself, which I don't recommend. :grin:

 

For more info on stingrays, keep reading...

 

 

Dangerous Stingrays? (Bookbabe's standard answer to questions about stingray safety)

 

Stingrays are generally non-aggressive. When threatened, their first reaction is to swim away. This is easy for them to do at Stingray City, since it's just a section of open ocean and the stingrays aren't penned up in any way. They don't just attack you and sting you (although they can be fairly enthusiastic and/or boisterous in their quest for squid chunks). They may sting you by reflex/accident if you step on one. That's why you are not permitted to wear water shoes at Stingray City, and why you are told to shuffle your feet rather than lift them, so that you will not accidententally step on one.

 

There are many, many types of rays. Steve Irwin was stung by a bull ray, a totally different type than the southern rays at Stingray City. It is also suggested that what killed him wasn't the sting itself, but the fact that he was stung in the chest and then pulled out the barb. There is also the issue that the bull ray was a wild ray and unused to people, while the Stingray City southern rays have spent years and years learning that people are not the enemy, they're a ready source of squid snacks.

 

For most stings, which are extremely rare, Wikipedia says that the remedy is usually hot water to dilute the venom plus antibiotics. I don't personally know anyone who has ever been stung, so I just have to trust my research on that part of the issue.

 

From my experience at Stingray City, which is fairly extensive, the usual "injuries" from stingrays involve "hickeys" from the suction of their mouths during a search for squid (say when your DH has stuffed a chunk of squid down your bathing suit for fun) or accidental scrapes from their tails when they swim by you too fast looking for squid and the tail kind of whips against you. These injuries are very minor, though, and are far from life-threatening.

 

You'll notice the common element here is squid. Stingrays at Stingray City are only interested in one thing...the snacks that they know you've brought with you. No squid = no stingray attention at all. They're worse than cats that way. If you aren't giving them treats, they've got very little interest in you. They may swim by, just to double-check for squid, but as soon as they realize you haven't got any, they'll swim away again fairly quickly. If you are at all nervous about them, stay away from the squid and the stingrays will stay away from you.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stingrays

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Irwin#Death

 

I've been to Stingray City dozens of times, and never had a problem with the stingrays. (With my DH, sure, but never the rays.) It's very safe as long as you behave with respect and common sense.