Stingray's Declare War On Man!

Tired of the shuffling feet of beachgoers, Stingray's have declared war on human's! First it was The Croc Hunter now its a 81 year old Florida man!

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Florida man, 81, critical after stingray jumps on to boat and attacks

AN 81-YEAR-OLD man was in a critical condition in Florida yesterday after a stingray jumped on to his boat and stung him, leaving a foot-long barb in his chest.

"It was a freak accident," said David Donzella, the acting fire chief of Lighthouse Point. "It's very odd that the thing jumped out of the water and stung him. We still can't believe it."

Fatal stingray attacks like the one that killed TV celebrity Steve Irwin last month are rare, marine experts say. Rays reflexively deploy a sharp spine in their tails when frightened, but the venom coating the barb usually causes just a painful sting for humans.

James Bertakis, of Lighthouse Point, was on the water with his granddaughter and a friend on Wednesday when the stingray flopped on to the boat and stung him. The women steered the boat to shore and called emergency services.

Mr Bertakis was apparently trying to remove the spotted eagle ray from the boat when he was stung, police commander Mike Oh said. The ray, measuring about 3ft across, was dead in the boat, he said.

Surgeons were able to remove the barb from Mr Bertakis' chest. He suffered a collapsed lung and underwent surgery early yesterday.

This article: http://news.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=1552782006