Stingrays, stingarees and eagle rays have one thing in common: they all have venomous barbs on their tails and are not to be trodden on.

The species in our area have various colours which maximise camouflage effect as they lie on the ocean floor, often in relatively shallow water. From huge black stingrays reaching about 4m long, through to smaller stingarees of the palest sandy colour, they can be seen in our lagoons, inlets, and river estuaries, and beyond the first line of breakers on our sandy beaches. So watch your step!

Although not aggressive, the various rays do use their poisonous barbs in self-defence. Stingrays, which have no dorsal or tail fins, may bring their long thin tail up and tilt it forward as a warning not to come closer. The smaller stingarees have a vertically flattened fin at the end of the tail and can swim backwards to spear an enemy if they feel threatened. Eagle rays have a bulbous head and pointed wing flaps which allow them to fly through the water. They can leap out of the sea and on rare occasions have accidentally landed in boats with drastic results for some of the humans aboard.

The poison from all three types can be potent even after the animal’s death. If you are unfortunate enough to be wounded by one of these rays, their stinger pierces your flesh causing pain, muscle cramps and later infection if the wound is not attended to.

 

Stingrays and their kin are not aggressive and pose no threat to us as long as we give them consideration and don't trample on or provoke them. They're even curious enough to come up and check us out, then glide silently away. It’s not that rays hunt humans but you are likely to strike trouble if you corner one, or the creature feels that it is trapped. This is believed to be the real cause of fatalities (such as Steve Irwin’s). Stingarees have a habit of resting buried in the sand so it's best to shuffle in the surf instead of bouncing up and down with the waves. They usually swim away when you shuffle.

In encounters with humans rays can sometimes come off second best. At least two of the huge stingrays that clean up fish scraps at local boat ramps are missing their tails. They were probably caught when small and had their tails cut off, but were released and lived to grow to adult size.