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 Post subject: The shock of my life!
PostPosted: Mon Mar 25, 2013 1:11 am 
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Joined: Sat Nov 05, 2011 1:58 am
Posts: 2893
Location: Forster, NSW, Australia
No doubt there will be a chorus of people telling me this is a common event, but it scared the bejeezus outta me!

There I was, fighting against the current in my TI, when, no more than 20 feet from me, a three foot wide stingray launched itself like a Polaris missile, reaching an amazing altitude of more than six feet, gliding with its "wing-tips" curled up like tail fins (!) and then gliding smoothly back into the water.

I an only assume it was being chased by something bigger with teeth....

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PostPosted: Mon Mar 25, 2013 2:21 am 
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Joined: Thu Aug 16, 2007 2:25 pm
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Location: Central Coast NSW Australia
:shock:
Amazing!


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PostPosted: Mon Mar 25, 2013 4:30 am 
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Joined: Tue Jun 19, 2007 6:14 pm
Posts: 3323
Location: South Florida
Jumping stingrays are quite common here in SFL. It happens more certain times of the year which leads me to think it might be related to a courtship ritual. I also had a kayaking friend who was struck in the head by a jumping ray--knocked her out of her boat.

I believe, if memory serves me, that a woman in a powerboat was killed by a stingray which jumped into the boat.

Keith

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PostPosted: Mon Mar 25, 2013 4:12 pm 
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Joined: Sat Jul 28, 2012 4:21 am
Posts: 100
Location: Victor Harbor, South Australia
VERY scary Tony, but are you sure it wasn't a juvenile Manta Ray? We get a lot of them up Darwin way but in the open ocean not the estuaries... (From the air) it's great to watch them launching out of the water. The Sting Rays are bottom feeders and dwellers and usually escape predators by settling themselves into the sand, and tread on one in the shallows and the Faeces hits the overhead rotating blades...to say it nicely. Thats what did for Steve Irwin.
Cheers Vintagereplica

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PostPosted: Tue Mar 26, 2013 4:20 am 
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Joined: Sun May 08, 2011 6:36 am
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Location: CT
As for walking in water w stingrays- i understand you are supposed to Shuffle your feet on sandy bottoms to move/scare stingrays. Big vertical steps can place your foot on-top of barb near the base of their Stinger.


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PostPosted: Tue Mar 26, 2013 4:43 am 
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Joined: Tue Jun 19, 2007 6:14 pm
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Location: South Florida
Vertical steps can get you hit, period.

Keith

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"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex ... It takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction." A. Einstein

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PostPosted: Tue Mar 26, 2013 9:28 pm 
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Joined: Fri May 08, 2009 5:06 am
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Location: Lake Macquarie NSW AUSTRALIA
First time I've heard of one jumping out of the water Tony. What an experience. Down in Tassy the other week they were mulling around under the jetty waiting for fish scraps from the fishermen. Bloody huge in crystal clear water. Awesome sight.

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PostPosted: Wed Mar 27, 2013 1:41 am 
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Joined: Sun Oct 11, 2009 5:57 am
Posts: 270
Location: Perth, Australia
When I was a kid walking with my mum and sisters at dusk down in Rockingham WA, we had one jump out of the water onto the beach in front of us. SCared the crap out of us all.

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