Most of us know that Steve Irwin, “The Crocodile Hunter” and wildlife conservationist, tragically passed due to an injury from a stingray in 2006. I, like many others, was saddened by this event, as he was always so enthusiastic about his work. His television show on Animal Planet was very popular at the time because it was informational and entertaining. Plus, who doesn’t love an Aussie accent?
While many people choose to blame and hate stingrays for the cause of his death, I would just like to get one thing straight. Steve Irwin played a part in this event. Stingrays are naturally very calm animals and only “sting” you when they feel threatened. As Irwin was examining the stingray, he was intruding its personal space. This made the animal feel threatened. Additionally, if he had waited to remove the barb that pierced his heart he would have had a higher chance of surviving. Doctors say that since he removed it on the spot, the serrated barb shredded his heart tissue, which caused more bleeding and irreparable damage to the heart. (source)
Now that the story is straight, let’s look at a why you shouldn’t hate stingrays.
Stingrays are literally water dogs. They enjoy physical touch and can sense how you’re feeling. They get excited to see you and have tails they wag too. As long as you’re calm, then they’re calm. In fact, you can safely interact with giant, wild stingrays in places such as Stingray City in Grand Cayman. I visited Grand Cayman this past summer and it was one of the coolest experiences!
Just like any animal, stingrays can be dangerous if you don’t treat them like a wild animal. However, if you leave them alone or treat them with respect and remain calm while approaching them, then you have nothing to worry about.
While it is tragic that Steve Irwin died because of one of these majestic creatures, there’s no need to hate them. Sure, you can hate the one stingray that was involved in Steve Irwin’s death but please stop blaming all stingrays for the mistake of one. That would be like hating all dogs because one dog killed a famous person. Every dog is different. They each have a unique personality and so do stingrays!
Look at that award winning smile.