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Scuba Forum / General / March 2008Killer Rays Now in Keys
Jumping eagle ray kills boater off Florida Keys Thu Mar 20, 2008 2:00pm EDT By Jane Sutton MIAMI (Reuters) - An eagle ray leaped onto a boat off the Florida Keys on Thursday and stabbed a woman with its barb, knocking her to the deck and killing her, a Florida wildlife investigator said. "It's a bizarre accident," said Jorge Pino, an agent with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. The woman and her family were aboard a boat in the Atlantic Ocean, off the city of Marathon in the Florida Keys, he said. "A large ray jumped out of the water and collided with the victim and somehow the barb penetrated some part of her body, which caused her to fall back and hit her head on some portion of the vessel," Pino said. "We don't know exactly which one of those things caused her death." Local media said the animal's barb had impaled the woman through the neck. Eagle rays are common in warm or tropical waters and are often seen near coral reefs. The spotted creatures can grow to more than 8 feet across and have two to six short, venomous barbs near the base of their whip- like tails, according to the Florida Museum of Natural History's Web site. The rays often swim near the water's surface and can leap out, especially when pursued, but are generally shy of humans. "All rays leap out of the water from time to time but certainly to see one collide with a vessel is extremely unusual," Pino said. Steve Irwin, the host of the "Crocodile Hunter" television show was killed by another type of ray while filming underwater on Australia's Great Barrier Reef in 2006. He died when a stingray's barb pierced his heart. (Editing by Jim Loney and Bill Trott) > "It's a bizarre accident," said Jorge Pino, an agent with the Florida > Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. "The death of one man is a tragedy. The death of millions is a statistic." ~ Joe Stalin, comment to Churchill at Potsdam, 1945 > Jumping eagle ray kills boater off Florida Keys > Thu Mar 20, 2008 2:00pm EDT [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > on Thursday and stabbed a woman with its barb, knocking her to the deck > and killing her, a Florida wildlife investigator said. Yikes! At first I had to check the date to make sure it wasn't April 1 yet. Actually I'm surprised someone hasn't been done in yet on one of the manta night dives off Kona. They come in so close that you can feel your hair being dragged and one of them almost took my camera by the strobes. If one smacked a diver in the head hard enough, that could easily lead to a bad scene. They are the epitome of evil. In honor of all those killed by rays these past couple years, I propose April 1 be made Ban Ray Day and all those with me should pledge their support by wearing Ray-Bans sunglasses and a black neoprene armband. > In honor of all those killed by rays these past couple years, I > propose April 1 be made Ban Ray Day and all those with me should > pledge their support by wearing Ray-Bans sunglasses and a black > neoprene armband. I am with you Greg. In honor of Ban Ray day, for 24 hours I will cease all transmissions via "RAYdio". Also, for 24 hours I will disown my brother in law who is named "Ray". I will wear my drysuit and carry and umbrella if I venture out of the house so I don't come into contact with any "Rayne" (this will also protect me from contact with any sun-rays). I will avoid any court appearances where there might be an "arraynment". Also, I am not going to make any "arrayngments" about anything either. Should be an international holiday reserved only for certified divers so we can take the day off and remember all those who have been killed by rays. > Jumping eagle ray kills boater off Florida Keys > Thu Mar 20, 2008 2:00pm EDT [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > on Thursday and stabbed a woman with its barb, knocking her to the deck > and killing her, a Florida wildlife investigator said. Obviously the result of a ban on feeding rays.  SignatureA skilled, armed man lives on a plane of security and contentment different from that of others. The man who cannot cut it, envies, fears and sometimes hates the man who can. -Cooper Popeye/ www.finalprotectivefire.com >> Jumping eagle ray kills boater off Florida Keys >> Thu Mar 20, 2008 2:00pm EDT [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > > Obviously the result of a ban on feeding rays. According to the nightly news, she was not barbed but killed when she fell. No puncture wounds. And it was a very healthy, fat ray. Unfortunately, it was also killed. esg > And it was a very healthy, fat ray. Unfortunately, it was also killed. Not surprising... Gotta teach those rays that we're not pin cushions... SignatureSee NNTP header field "X-Real-Email-Address" to reply by email. Grumman-581 <grumman581-usenet-2008@spambob.net> pounded away at his keyboard resulting in: :> And it was a very healthy, fat ray. Unfortunately, it was also killed. : :Not surprising... Gotta teach those rays that we're not pin cushions... According to the story I read in my local rag this morning, the ray did not survive the collision. Wonder if other people on the boat kept it for fillet of ray sandwich. Or will they lose it due to lack of eagle ray liscence? Dan Bracuk Never use a big word when a diminutive one will do. ----== Posted via Pronews.Com - Unlimited-Unrestricted-Secure Usenet News==---- http://www.pronews.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! >100,000 Newsgroups ---= - Total Privacy via Encryption =--- >>> Jumping eagle ray kills boater off Florida Keys >>> Thu Mar 20, 2008 2:00pm EDT [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > > And it was a very healthy, fat ray. Unfortunately, it was also killed. So this was more like a ray mugging gone awry? Signature-- A skilled, armed man lives on a plane of security and contentment different from that of others. The man who cannot cut it, envies, fears and sometimes hates the man who can. -Cooper Popeye/ www.finalprotectivefire.com > MIAMI (Reuters) - An eagle ray leaped onto a boat off the Florida Keys > on Thursday and stabbed a woman with its barb, knocking her to the deck > and killing her, a Florida wildlife investigator said. Every other report indicates there were no puncture marks on the woman's body. > Obviously the result of a ban on feeding rays. I don't recall ray feeding to have been much of an issue in Florida. Perhaps it's one of Greg's illegal aliens, one that snuck in from Grand Cayman. Lee > Jumping eagle ray kills boater off Florida Keys > Thu Mar 20, 2008 2:00pm EDT [quoted text clipped - 37 lines] > > (Editing by Jim Loney and Bill Trott) Didn't a very similar incident occur last year and by that I mean, a ray jumping into the boat and injuring someone? The incident I'm recalling was not that long after Steve Irwin died. >> Jumping eagle ray kills boater off Florida Keys >> Thu Mar 20, 2008 2:00pm EDT [quoted text clipped - 42 lines] > was > not that long after Steve Irwin died. A dolphin killed or severely injured a lady in NZ by jumping into a boat iirc. Think this happened shortly after the Irwin incident > Didn't a very similar incident occur last year and by that I mean, a ray > jumping into the boat and injuring someone? The incident I'm recalling was > not that long after Steve Irwin died. Found something about the incident I was recalling: "Florida boater James Bertakis of Lighthouse Point (near Ft Lauderdale, see map below) was seriously injured by a spotted eagle ray which jumped into his boat on Wednesday. Unlike the case with Steve Irwin, Bertakis did not attempt to remove the barb and this may have saved his life. The unusual ‘attack’ occured while Bertakis was at the helm of a small jet boat in a canal on the Atlantic Inter-Coastal waterway. CNN has produced two informative videos. According to the initial story at CNN: James Bertakis of Lighthouse Point was on the water with his granddaughter and a friend Wednesday when a stingray flopped onto the boat and stung Bertakis. The women steered the boat to shore and called 911. (Watch to see the speckled creature’s face, stringy tail and what’s happened to the victim– 1:25) Doctors were able to remove the barb during surgeries Wednesday and Thursday by eventually pulling it through his heart and closing the wound, said Dr. Eugene Costantini at Broward General Medical Center. He said Bertakis’ case was different from Irwin’s because the barb stayed in Bertakis’ heart and was not pulled out. Videotape of Irwin’s last moments shows him pulling the barb from his chest. (Watch the surgeon’s demo of what happened to Bertakis’ heart and why the barb went deeper — 12:03) Bertakis was apparently trying to remove the three-foot-wide spotted eagle ray from the boat when he was stung, police Cmdr. Mike Oh said. Subsequent interviews seem to indicate that Bertakis was actually stung as the sting ray jumped aboard, not as part of an attempt to remove it. The first CNN Video provides a few shots of the canal and Bertakis’ jet boat (or so I assume). It also features interviews with the 1st trauma team to treat him. The second video shows a press conference with two of Bertakis’ sons and the Broward General Hospital surgeon who removed the barb. The doctor provides a detailed explanation of the injury and fix. The barb pierced entirely through the heart, but also acted as a plug to limit bleeding long enough to allow surgery." > > Didn't a very similar incident occur last year and by that I mean, a ray > > jumping into the boat and injuring someone? The incident I'm recalling > > was not that long after Steve Irwin died. It was funny in that when you mentioned this, as I thought that you were referring to a FL incident where a barracuda had been the culprit. > Found something about the incident I was recalling: > [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > Bertakis was apparently trying to remove the three-foot-wide spotted eagle > ray from the boat when he was stung... Ah ha! Man assaults fish, so it was Self Defense :-) Its been a long time since I've gone fishing, but I seem to recall that the rule of thumb in the old days was to keep yourself clear of anything that's violently flopping around, especially if it had teeth or spines. -hh > ... > >Bertakis was apparently trying to remove the three-foot-wide spotted eagle >> ray from the boat when he was stung... >Ah ha! Man assaults fish, so it was Self Defense :-) I>ts been a long time since I've gone fishing, but I seem to recall >that the rule of thumb in the old days was to keep yourself clear of >anything that's violently flopping around, especially if it had teeth >or spines. It doesn't say in the above article, but for some reason, my memory also suggests that he was over 70 years old and everyone was quite impressed with his physical strength. . . well, up until the barb through the heart bit. I always thought this was quite remarkable too: Fish spears man in eye and pierces brain November 24, 2005 FISHERMAN Adnan Walid, 39, died after a swordfish leapt out of the water and stabbed him in the eye. --HARIAN METRO Mr Adnan (above left), a father of two, had been fishing with a friend in the sea off Pulau Langkawi on Saturday. His wife, Madam Mariah Abdullah, 34, said that the two men went out in her husband's boat at about 8pm. PIERCED BRAIN She told the Malaysian papers: 'It all happened when Adnan was flashing his torchlight in the water.' Suddenly, the friend heard Adnan screaming for help. A swordfish had jumped out of the water and stabbed him in his right eye. The sharp part of the fish's mouth was about 30cm long and was as thick as an adult's big toe. It entered Mr Adnan's right eye, just missed the eyeball and then pierced part of his brain. By the time the friend rushed over, Mr Adnan had already pulled the fish out, but part of the mouth broke off, and a piece remained lodged in his head. Mr Adnan collapsed soon after and was rushed to Langkawi Hospital. He was later transferred to the Alor Star Hospital where he died on Monday at about 4pm without regaining consciousness. Mr Adnan's friend, who declined to be named told reporters: 'It was a freak accident. 'We've heard of people being injured by the fish, but I think this is the first time I've heard of someone being killed. It is unusual.' TRIED TO STOP DAD Madam Mariah said that their two children, Mohd Salleh, 14, and Bukhari, 12, had tried to stop their father from going fishing on Saturday. She said: 'He was preparing to go out at 8pm when they clung to him and begged him to stay at home as the wind was too strong. > I always thought this was quite remarkable too: > > Fish spears man in eye and pierces brain > November 24, 2005 Ok, but that's in some far-off place where weird stuff happens all the time. No one sees a swordfish while diving, or at least no one I know. On the other hand, as close as Hawaii, common needlefish attacks on humans are apparently not unusual. Evil is everywhere: "Greg Berry and his wife, Debbie, were treading water at "Beach 69" in West Hawaii on Thanksgiving Day when a foot-long needlefish speared Debbie in the neck. . . . It happened in a single second, Greg Berry told the Star-Bulletin. He saw the fish "skipping" across the water for about 10 feet, hit Debbie in the neck, pull back and swim away leaving a gush of blood." http://starbulletin.com/2007/11/24/news/story03.html "Fisherman finds out he was speared by crocodile needlefish. Tonga "Papio" Loumoli got his nickname from the first fish he ever speared, and now another fish known as the "living javelin" has left its mark as well -- a foot-long scar slicing from his breastbone to his groin. The Mililani resident and his friend Braven Rivera were night-diving off Kahana Bay at about 11 p.m. on July 21 when a dark blue fish, about 4 feet long, sped by. They thought it was a barracuda, but the souvenir it left in Loumoli's stomach -- a tiny blue tooth -- identified it as a crocodile needlefish." http://starbulletin.com/2005/07/30/news/story4.html I always thought this was quite remarkable too: Fish spears man in eye and pierces brain November 24, 2005 FISHERMAN Adnan Walid, 39, died after a swordfish leapt out of the water and stabbed him in the eye. --HARIAN METRO Mr Adnan (above left), a father of two, had been fishing with a friend in the sea off Pulau Langkawi on Saturday. His wife, Madam Mariah Abdullah, 34, said that the two men went out in her husband's boat at about 8pm. PIERCED BRAIN She told the Malaysian papers: 'It all happened when Adnan was flashing his torchlight in the water.' Suddenly, the friend heard Adnan screaming for help. A swordfish had jumped out of the water and stabbed him in his right eye. The sharp part of the fish's mouth was about 30cm long and was as thick as an adult's big toe. It entered Mr Adnan's right eye, just missed the eyeball and then pierced part of his brain. By the time the friend rushed over, Mr Adnan had already pulled the fish out, but part of the mouth broke off, and a piece remained lodged in his head. Mr Adnan collapsed soon after and was rushed to Langkawi Hospital. He was later transferred to the Alor Star Hospital where he died on Monday at about 4pm without regaining consciousness. Mr Adnan's friend, who declined to be named told reporters: 'It was a freak accident. 'We've heard of people being injured by the fish, but I think this is the first time I've heard of someone being killed. It is unusual.' TRIED TO STOP DAD Madam Mariah said that their two children, Mohd Salleh, 14, and Bukhari, 12, had tried to stop their father from going fishing on Saturday. She said: 'He was preparing to go out at 8pm when they clung to him and begged him to stay at home as the wind was too strong. > Jumping eagle ray kills boater off Florida Keys > Thu Mar 20, 2008 2:00pm EDT [quoted text clipped - 37 lines] > > (Editing by Jim Loney and Bill Trott) > Jumping eagle ray kills boater off Florida Keys > Thu Mar 20, 2008 2:00pm EDT [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > on Thursday and stabbed a woman with its barb, knocking her to the deck > and killing her, a Florida wildlife investigator said. If only she was carrying a concealed weapon >>Jumping eagle ray kills boater off Florida Keys >>Thu Mar 20, 2008 2:00pm EDT [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > > If only she was carrying a concealed weapon probably wouldn't have helped since it appears she fell and hit her head, but nice try >>Jumping eagle ray kills boater off Florida Keys >>Thu Mar 20, 2008 2:00pm EDT [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > > If only she was carrying a concealed weapon Actually, a shotgun set up for skeet would be more appropriate. > Actually, a shotgun set up for skeet would be more appropriate. Who would trust an Australian with a shotgun? >> Actually, a shotgun set up for skeet would be more appropriate. > > Who would trust an Australian with a shotg Yes, say Michael Diamond
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