In light of the Steve Irwin tragedy do you think...

[WinkeyWoneye]

I dont know much nor have I ever gone SCUBA diving or snorkleing. Something I would love to do some day, but not anytime soon now....
Anyways, in light of the Steve Irwin tragedy do you think SCUBA gear companies will put metal or maybe kevlar chest plates into there newer gear to prevent another tragedy like this?? I know they say it is extremely rare but lets face it, Steve Irwin was a highly trained ( and at times a bit insane) professional whom did things the average Joe wouldnt ever consider ( wrestling crocs to save them). He died doing something that many people all over the world love to do. As rare as a occurance it may seem I think something of this sort would probably be a good thing just for the added protection. If it can happen to The Crocodile Hunter it could happen to anyone. God bless the Irwin family. Rest in Peace Steve,you will be greatly missed.

 

[fppf]

He was not using SCUBA, he was just snorkeling. If you read a lot of articals some say the ray was cornered between him and the camara man. If you back a dog in a corner its going to bite. Also some are saying that he really was no that experienced in the water, its a new world down there.

There are many other ways to die using scuba that are far more likely and don't even involve animals.

In the end its a really bad case of wrong place wrong time. If feel really bad for the family, I think he really did a great work. Even if he was a bit on the crazy side.

 

[WinkeyWoneye]

Ahhhhh didnt know he was just snorkeling nor had I read that they pratically had it cornered. Either way I've read that a rays tail has the power to whip the barb thru a piece of 1/4 plywood, which in thinking about it, a human cannot easily drive a nail with a hammer thru 1/4 plywood in one shot. That is a extreme amount of force for such a small creature. One thing I did read was a quote from his publicist saying "him and Steve had talked about it and they both agreed that if he were to ever go it would be in the ocean. On land he was very agile, but being in water adds that extra element." Which in the end proved to be 100% true. What gets me is this man does things noone in there right mind would consider doing, yet he died doing something that many people all over the world do. Very very sad. Either way a lil something for chest protection probably isnt such a bad idea for snorkelers and SCUBA divers alike.

 

[thor32766]

interesting for sure, steve will be missed for sure

 

[cabrerad]

I heard the same comment about a ray barb going through plywood in passing from someone at work who could not remember where they heard it. I used to work with stingrays (Dasyatis sabina the Atlantic Stingray..looks like a southern but does not get as big). The barbs are pretty easy to break actually and I am not sure I believe they can go through a 1/4 inch of plywood. Anyways, what happend to Steve Irwin was really a freak accident (the barb was in line with his heart, and missed hitting a rib). Also, it was a honker of a stingray (they said 200 lbs plus). As an aside, I am not sure I would swim that close and crowd a ray that size. Anyways, almost all stingray injuries come from people stepping on a ray's tail (thus the force is from the person stepping on the barb) or along the body and getting the barb from a tail whip along the ankle (in which case the ray whipping it's tail gets the person).

David

 

[thor32766]

yeah it was defitnetly a freak accident. the odds of it hitting him where it did is crazy. RIP

 

[rnelson]

My wife and I just got back tonight from a Caribbean cruise.....one of our excursions was Stingray City in the Cayman Islands....we went the day after Irwin was killed. I asked our dive instructor whether anyone had canceled their excursion and she said a few but not many....there were lots of people there from lots of ships, so it didn't look like too many people were spooked off of it.....it was an incredible experience... the water was 3-4 feet deep, really clear....... we had a smaller ray, about 3 feet across....we got to hold it, kiss it, feed it. The rays were everyone, going from one person to another, looking for a handout. I had a huge ray, about 4-5 ft across, swim right up to me, glide up my legs and stomach, and patiently wait there for me to feed it....I gave it some squid and it gently pushed off and left....it was a really great experience....

Sounds like Steve's death was just a freak accident....the ray probably felt cornered what with the camerman in front and Steve in back....it just defended itself like Nature has taught it to....sad though.

Here are a few pics of me, the wife, and the ray:

 

[thor32766]

hey those are some sweet pics!!!! thanks for sharing them. Looks like a great time!

 

[rnelson]

yeah, it was great....now I'm back at WORK which is really a 4-letter-word today!

 

[Von_Rahvin]

sting rays are interesting. some of the bigger ones in the bahamas can get agressive, but i'm talk about a ray 14" thick in the middle.
simple way to avoid getting killed by one?? don't swim over one in very shallow water. and if you don't see a ray big enough to kill you then chances are you shouldn't be in the water anyway.

I've fed little wild ones while diving and they are very cautious animals, they are more scared of you then you are of them.

 

[organism]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8111337#post8111337 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by cabrerad
The barbs are pretty easy to break actually and I am not sure I believe they can go through a 1/4 inch of plywood.

I can guarantee you that some rays could go through a 1/4" piece of plywood, I took a sting to the hand about a week and a half before the unfortunate incident in australia, this one was from a 20lb ray, and it pushed the stinger easily 1.5" into my hand like it was butter... while most people step on rays, they can whip you if you, say, catch them while fishing

that said though, a chest protector, or even worrying about rays if you're not walking on the beach all the time, is kind of an overblown response, rays aren't aiming for people's hearts, or any part of people for that matter, it's the people that inadvertently aim for rays, if you just take some precautions and steer clear of them, they'll leave you alone, most of the ones that I see while diving keep their distance

 

[davocean]

A stingray can slash you pretty good, and there's a guy around here that got hit in the knee so bad they ended up amputating his leg, mainly from infection and complications.
However, I'd be really surprised to ever hear of someone dying from a stingray again in my lifetime(allergic reaction excluded).
You can't always be safe/protected in life.

 

[CGNano]

Steve Irwin wasn't the 'hero' many played him out to be.

I much admire Jeff Corwin over Steve.

Steve antagonized animals to boost his ratings, not the great hero many play him out to be.

 

[WDLV]

Having just been to the GBR in Australia (see thread in this section) I can say that the rays were the absolute least of my worries. Irricangie Jellyfish (spelling?) box jellies, coneshell snails, blue ringed octopus, scorpion fish, sea snakes, bull sharks, hammerheads, tiger sharks, great white sharks and the stupid human that kicked my mask and regulator scare me way more than the 4' stingray I saw.

 

[speckled trout]

CGNano,

Was he really hurting any of them? Some people say we are antagonizing fish and corals by keeping them in aquariums. Obviously, you don't feel that is true, but some people would think that you were in the wrong for doing so.

 

[Cshradr7]

the only way possible for a ray to use its tail is if it has been hit on the exact right place on its back that causes an uncontrollable reaction. rays dont have the ability to use the tail otherwise. i think i read that in all of the documented history of scuba diving on the great barrier reef, only 5 people have been killed by rays...wow too bad about this one though...really disappointed

 

[skylsdale]

If we're going to talk about antagonizing animals...scroll on up to the pics in this thread.

 

[rnelson]

Since I have the only pics in this thread, I assume you are talking about me....

By the way, what do you keep in your 1.5 gallon nano? Any problems keeping a constant temp? Problems keeping water quality in such a small water volume?

Seems like keeping any fish in a 1.5 gallon tank would be, oh, maybe "antagonistic"?

But that's probably just me

 

[WDLV]

Now your even. If you really need to insult each other maybe a nice PM would be in order. Forum fights are such a cliche'

 

[rnelson]

Just pointing out the hypocrisy of making judgement calls on "antagonizing" behavior when you have a tank that would not really sustain much of anything.

But you're right....it's easy to argue behind a computer screen.