I'm a bit scared of snorkeling with the stingrays

[4mygrls]

after the incident with Steve Irwin. Can anyone offer any encouragement to ease my fears of the stingrays?

Kathi:eek:

[Scuba Laura]

Kathi, Do not let the unfortunate accident with Steve scare you too much. Yes, you need to be aware and careful of stingrays, but they are not aggressive, nor do they want to hurt you. I see stingrays on almost every dive we do and they are beautiful animals. I respect them and if I can keep the other divers to stay back, I slowly swim to them, lay down next to them and pet them. Steve's accident happened, from what I understand, because the ray was surrounded by people and no where to go. The ray panicked and Steve was on top of it.

 

As with any kind of animal, you never want to corner it. It is natural for them to protect themselves.

 

The ray is usually buried under the sand with only it's eyes exposed. You can usually spot them by looking at the contour of the sand. You'll see it's shape underneath and it's eyes watching for it's next meal - which is not you! Leave them alone, and they will leave you alone.

 

If you've snorkeled in the past, you've probably swam over them and never knew it! It's not like they will jump up and get you. They're more scared of you then you are of them.

 

Go snorkeling! You'll love it!

[Amanda & Roger]

Think of it this way, everyday hundreds of snorklers swim with Stingrays in just Grand Cayman alone. Not one fatality reported yet. Thats almost 400,000 people a year and no problems! My wife and I are both divers and snorklers and have done the stingray snorkel once since diving in Grand Cayman is sooo hard to pass up. However, we will do it again someday. Now if you ask me about parrot fish or iguanas, been bitten by both, I might have a different opinion.

 

Go do it, it is an amazing experience!

 

Roger

[WaterDweller]

after the incident with Steve Irwin. Can anyone offer any encouragement to ease my fears of the stingrays?

Kathi:eek:

 

My wife and I have dove many times with stingrays and we have NEVER had the LEAST hint of a concern.

In fact in Grand Cayman we feed them literally right out of our hands. I've seen cats I've been more afraid of...go for it and enjoy yourself.

[Grits53]

On our first cruise, we already had the Stingray City excursion booked and were looking forward to it. We were on the Conquest, 2 days before our scheduled stingray excursion, when we heard the terrible news about Steve Irwin. Were we afraid to go in the water with the stingrays? NO WAY! These rays are totally tame, and they love people. After all, people bring them food. My DH and I were the first ones to step up to hold a stingray and give her a smooch. (See my avatar.) Everybody else was standing back with that "OH NOoooooo!!" look. After all, we were probably the oldest ones in that group. LOL! But after we had our encounter with the first ray, the other people came on up and took their turns. This is one experience you should NOT miss out on. We've done it twice now. Love those stingrays!! DO IT!!!!

[foneguy]

the rays at stingray city are familiar to people so the will tollerate us. they know that the divers and snorkles will bring food, very safe, infact they cannot bite u either, no teeth, they suck the food and mash it in their mouth.

[Scorpiorose]

Remember.....they are the puppy dogs of the sea! I know what you mean though, last year I did this in Belize and was surprised that beyond my control, I was a little "freaked out"! I had an involuntary "scare" reflex! However, I got over it right away when I realized they really just wanted my food and would run away! To touch one or get close too close to one would be difficult. Our tour "guy" actually tried to catch one so we could see it's mouth....he had a difficult time! It'd be like herding cats! Have fun, it's a must DO!:D

[Grits53]

To touch one or get close too close to one would be difficult. Our tour "guy" actually tried to catch one so we could see it's mouth....he had a difficult time! It'd be like herding cats!

 

That's weird. We have done the Stingray City excursion twice with different boats/guides. Each time, the guides caught and held several of the stingrays for us to kiss and handle. It was not difficult at all. They were "all over us", and I literally had 3 jumping on me like dogs at one point when I had a piece of squid in my hand. (No, I wasn't afraid of them.) I wonder if it depends on what time of day you arrive? If you were there in the afternoon, maybe they had gotten full and weren't interested in people, ie: food, anymore. (See my avatar of my DH and me holding a large female stingray.)