Is a dead stingrays sting still lethal?
Is a dead stingray’s sting still lethal? Monday, Sept. 4, 2006, was a dark day for humans and Dasyatidae alike. On that day, along the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Queensland, Australia, Steve “The Crocodile Hunter” Irwin was killed while filming a documentary. While swimming over a large stingray (of the Dasyatidae family), the naturalist and television host died when the cartilaginous fish’s barbed tail flicked upward and stabbed Irwin in the chest. A barb from the tail broke off the fish and lodged in the man’s heart. Irwin actually pulled the barb out before succumbing to the injury. Before Irwin’s accident, only two other people were known to have died from a stingray sting off the coast of Australia [source:
