Stingray attacks unlikely locally

Following increased media attention after a popular animal conservationist was killed by a stingray Monday, officials say local waters are home to lots of stingrays, but the risk of a fatal attack here is extremely slim.

“If you step on them or come in direct contact with them, they will defend themselves, but they’re not an animal that attacks,” Newport Beach Lifeguard Officer John Moore said.

Following the death of Steve Irwin, the “Crocodile Hunter,” who was hit in the heart by a stingray barb while filming a documentary in Australia, Orange Coast College marine biology professor Dennis Kelly said he’s fielded plenty of questions about the stingrays.

“The chances of getting stung are pretty slim,” Kelly said. “They tend to avoid people because we’re not part of their normal ecosystem.”

Although local waters are not home to the large stingrays like the one that killed Irwin, Kelly said there are 14 types of rays that live here. In north Seal Beach there’s a stingray “hot zone” where there are so many rays per square inch that it makes it too dangerous for people to swim, Kelly said.

“They’re there — they’re there all the time,” Kelly said.

In Newport Beach, between two and three stingray injuries are reported a day, Moore said. The local rays average 18 to 20 inches wide. When the surf’s flat, the stingrays come in the shallow water closer to shore, Moore said.

In addition to the stingrays with barbs on their tails, there are also electric stingrays that can produce a painful shock, Kelly said. The California electric ray holds about 400 to 500 volts of electricity in its wings and sometimes goes after people. It’s not wise to provoke these stingrays, which are bluish gray and round, Kelly said.

Beachgoers can avoid being stung by doing the “stingray shuffle” — shuffling feet in the sand when coming in and out of the surf zone, Moore said.

Unlike the wound that killed Irwin, local stingray injuries are usually small puncture wounds in the foot or hand. If you do get stung, the best remedy is soaking the area in hot water, Moore said.