STINGRAY ATTACK

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume LXVII, Issue 12518, 30 November 1938, Page 8

STINGRAY ATTACK

DEATH OF GHIL BATHER That the young woman who was attacked on Sunday by a stingray when bathing in. shallow water not far from the shore in one of the bays of the Hauraki Gulf about 12 miles from Thames,-died from the effects of loss of blood, shock and the force of the blow rather than from any poisonous effect from the dish’s tail was the general opinion expressed by medical men in Auckland when commenting on the matter.

Though there was no doubt that serious sepsis and inflammation sometimes resulting in death, could be set up by wounds received from the fish, it was extremely unlikely that it would cause the girl’s death in -the short period reported. She died just after reaching the Thames Hospital only 12 miles away for treatment for wounds on the thigh and the chest.

It was pointed out that a blow from the creature’s tail had the force of a kick from”'a horse, and it was possible that the wounds inflicted by the spiny section had cut a blood vessel, resulting in the girl bleeding to death.

The stingray was known to the Maoris as the wairepo and was greatly . prized as a food. This class 'of fish is plentiful on many parts of the New Zealand coast, but accidents are rare, mainly because the stingray is just as anxious to avoid trouble as are bathers. They are not mud feeders but are most frequently seen on beaches and banks where cockles and shellfish abound to provide Ahem with food.

The ray family is a wide one, distributed all over the world'; and all members have the same family likeness. The long tail carries about half-way along it a long spine' (sometimes serrated, sometimes not), which represents the dorsal fin, and varies in length according to the size of the ray, up to six and, eight inches. The spine, "which inflicts a painful wound when the fish lashes it fiercely in panic, is covered by a slime that causes intense inflammation. Contrary to the common belief there is no poison gland.