Are the Stingrays at Stingray City (grand Cayman) safe?

[OCruisers]

The stingrays are very gentle and friendly.

 

Sometimes way too friendly. I got a stingray "hickie". :D

LuLu

[bookbabe]

Dumb question but how are these stingrays not dangerous? I'm up for it but one in our group is already panicking :)

 

As I posted earlier in this thread...

 

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

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. :D ) It's very safe as long as you behave with respect and common sense.

[drew sailbum]

Yes, the stingrays are wild. Yes, they (mostly) still have their barbs.

 

Stings are rare, perhaps 3 or 4 per year. Out of about 2 million visitors to Stingray City each year. A sting will require medical attention at a hospital to debride the wound. Stingray barbs are fragile and break into many pieces making it hard to get all the bits out. Antibiotic treatment is also needed.

 

More common are so called "hickeys". A ray's mouth can form a tight seal against your skin. If the ray smells squid on your skin and then sucks in, the suction can raise a bruise on your skin. Such hickeys are quite common. Several people leave Stingray City everyday with their own peculiar Cayman souvenir.

 

But stingray hickeys can, on rare occasion, be more serious. In extreme cases (elderly and/or person with certain collagen disorders) the person's skin can tear. That could leave a sizable wound. Perhaps 1 or 2 such injuries every year require medical attention at the hospital.

 

Of course you could get hit by a car (Look both ways! We drive on the left!) on the way to your excursion. Our cruise ship visitors are sometime prone to stepping out into the roadway without realizing that traffic is coming from the direction they have not checked. That happens more often than any injury from the rays that would require hospital intervention.

[Tommy.Lee_1]

safe is relative.

if you follow the tour guides instructions, then yes very safe.

 

now, if you do dumb things like:

feed the stingrays the squid and put your finger along side of the squid , you will get a nice sharp bite.

 

no teeth, so your not going to lose your finger… but it hurts pretty good.

 

other dumb things to do:

jump off the boat, its actually against the law.

you might land on a ray and then you will be surely stung, if the ray is lucky.

you take the stairs off the boat, you then do the stingray shuffle.

thats when you slide you feet in the sand rather than picking up and putting down.

 

so yes, stingray city is super safe, maybe 600,000 people visit per year for the last 20 years. no deaths or serious injuries…

 

 

enjoy it, i think its gods gift to our little island…

[Jen1000]

Our guides said that most of the sting rays have had their barbs removed. I don't know if this is true or to make us feel better but that is what they said.

 

 

Crocodile Hunter (Steve Irwin) comes to mind....I mean they are wild and still have their defense mechanisms...right? I'm concerned.

[bookbabe]

Our guides said that most of the sting rays have had their barbs removed. I don't know if this is true or to make us feel better but that is what they said.

 

I think they were just saying that to make you feel better.

[drew sailbum]

None of the rays have had their barbs artificially removed by humans.

 

Any rays without a barb lost it in a fight that the ray won. :)

[Sean Paul Romera]

The Stingrays are very friendly and not aggressive at all. They will gently swim between your legs and come up to you if you have a piece of squid to feed them with. Their "sting" is a last minute defense mechanism that is used under extreme stress or pain. They will most likely swim away from you before resorting to that.

 

Our tour was with Stingray City United and the crew members gave us safety instructions such as the stingray shuffle and not to panic and jump around. Do not be afraid and miss out on this wonderful experience, we enjoyed this great adventure.

 

 

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[RitzBitz]

I did not find them to be dangerous at all. You just have to follow the very simple instructions so that you do not harm they Stingrays and they in turn do not accidentally harm you. I was in the water with a lot of them around me and when you look down you only see shadows moving on the sand but the crew members showed me how to walk, well shuffle as they call it and it was fine. The crew members were always nearby keeping an eye on us. Had a great time, booked through Stingray City United which was smooth and affordable.

 

 

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[Trev An]

You are totally safe out there. Just listen to the instructions provided to you by your crew members. The greatest risk, in my opinion, is stepping on one of them. So shuffle your feet along the bottom and have a great time :)

 

 

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[mconthehighseas]

For those of you who have done this, how young a child would you feel comfortable taking to Stingray City?

[selliott1]

Do Hell, Turtle Farm, and Stingray. Best time I have ever had. Fun for ALL ages!

 

 

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