Sunday, March 23, 2008

Death by stingray


Certainly one of the most bizarre stories made the headlines this weekend in the Florida Keys. 57-year-old Judy Kay Zagorski of Pigeon, Michigan was enjoying the sunshine as she sat in the front of a boat traveling 25mph, when out of nowhere a 75-lb stingray jumped out of the water and struck this unfortunately woman. Jorge Pino of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission was quoted as saying "They actually jump out of the water quite frequently, but I've never seen or heard of one jumping out of the water, colliding with a human being" as he spoke to CBS news The Early Show. Reports have also stated that the Spotted Eagle Ray which struck Zagorski can weigh up to 500-lbs, and have as much as a 10 foot wing span. When I think of stories involving injured or killed swimmers or boaters, usually it’s a story involving a shark attack or maybe a jellyfish, which stung someone really bad; not flying stingrays! As we enter springtime I can only hope that events of these sorts will remain very few and far in between during these coming months.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/03/21/national/main3956597.shtml

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Unfortunately, a shark made headlines in Florida last week...a great white in fact!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/apr/26/usa1

Anonymous said...

oops, I meant California.