Killer Rays Now in Keys

> 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

dechucka wrote:
> "Al Wells" <al.wells@gmail.com> wrote in message
> news:MPG.224c8358a5d7f40f989a17@news.verizon.net.. .
>
>>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.
>
>
> If only she was carrying a concealed weapon
>
>
>
Actually, a shotgun set up for skeet would be more appropriate.

"El Stroko Guapo" <omgray@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:13u7pc4rppsuv06@corp.supernews.com...

> Actually, a shotgun set up for skeet would be more appropriate.

Who would trust an Australian with a shotgun?

"chilly" <slarson@shaw.canada> wrote in message
news:gaEEj.99857$w94.73884@pd7urf2no...
>
> 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."


>
>

"chilly" <slar...@shaw.canada> wrote:
> "chilly" <slar...@shaw.canada> wrote:
>
>
> > 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:
>
> "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...
> ...
> 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

"-hh" <recscuba_google@huntzinger.com> wrote in message
news:320cbcc5-dfa2-418a-bd1e-8ce5c8b2fbb5@x41g2000hsb.googlegroups.com...
> ...
> >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.

"chilly" <slarson@shaw.canada> wrote in message
news:hQcFj.108207$pM4.20493@pd7urf1no...
>
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.

"chilly" <slarson@shaw.canada> wrote in message
news:4nZEj.105299$pM4.49117@pd7urf1no...

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.

On Mar 22, 12:23*pm, "chilly" <slar...@shaw.canada> wrote:

> 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

"Scott" <pugetsounddiver@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:eL-dnUCvRP3knnnanZ2dnUVZ_v-hnZ2d@whidbeytel.com...
> "El Stroko Guapo" <omgray@earthlink.net> wrote in message
> news:13u7pc4rppsuv06@corp.supernews.com...
>
>> Actually, a shotgun set up for skeet would be more appropriate.
>
> Who would trust an Australian with a shotg

Yes, say Michael Diamond