Friendly Fins discovers the stingrays

Preparation for snorkeling and diving Friendly Fins:

Evaluate the sea you are diving into, it is important to know the water temperature to have the right thermal protection and equipment!

Mask, fins, snorkel, wetsuit, regulator, tank, BCD...

Both snorkelers and scuba divers are now ready to dive! Bring with you the desire to know, observe and dream!

How can we observe stingrays?

Thanks to their habits, they are easily spotted while diving both at night when they are very active, and during the day when they rest on the seabed. Keep your eyes peeled!

Where we look for stingrays

• Stingrays can often be found on sandy bottoms, so we can look for their large eyes poking out of the sand.

• They can also be found under some large corals such as staghorn or table corals. Whether we are diving or snorkeling we can take a look in these slightly shaded and sheltered places, we certainly have a good chance of finding them.

• In temperate seas they rest inside large ravines or at the entrances of small caves, let's leave no stone unturned and delicately go and peek! You never know what can await us in the shadows!

• When snorkeling or diving at night we won't need to look for them, they will find us easily and use the beam of our torch to hunt.
  

Stingray

Tips for observing them:

• The ray is not considered a dangerous animal for humans, all attacks have been accidents and fatal ones have been very rare.

• By approaching slowly, she will let us admire her, the more delicate we are, the less she will feel threatened by us.

• It is very important NOT to touch her because even if the sting or stings are only on the long tail, a sudden movement could scare her and sting you before you even understand what is happening! Do not be fooled by the fact that in some aquariums you can pet them, because in most cases, the sting has been removed.

• Never touch anything on the bottom. When snorkeling, always stay on the surface of the water and never stand on the coral reef or on the sand. When diving, never hold on to the bottom or lie on it. The stingray could be below us and scared, and sting us.
  

Tips for “Immortalizing” her

Being a static animal most of the day, it will be easy to photograph and film in all its beauty. Be careful though, do not get carried away by its calm and composure, do not get too close. No one wants to be photographed by a stranger a few centimeters away, so they, like us, could be disturbed and run away.

Behaviour in the event of accidents with stingrays

If we are stung by its sting, the first thing to do is to wet the affected area with plenty of hot water (fresh or salted) between 42°C and 45°C and, if it bleeds, keep pressure on the wound. In any case, you should go to a doctor and follow the first aid procedures. The sting itself, although painful, is not lethal. The venom injected and the infection caused create the real problem that must be treated immediately.

Some famous species of stingrays:

The most famous and well-known family of rays is called Dasyatidae which includes fresh and salt water species commonly called stingrays :

· The most famous ray of the tropical reef is the blue-spotted stingray:

Blue-spotted stingray

It is clearly called this because it has a yellowish back and is spotted with small electric blue dots, while two blue stripes run laterally towards the tail. It is a medium-small ray with a diameter of about 35 cm. Another distinctive feature is that it has large orange eyes that are very attentive to every minimal movement. We can find it in the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean but always in the coral reef, its preferred habitat par excellence. Hiding in the ravines or under some table coral, it can be admired while it rests in the shade, and then becomes active during the night.

· Another common tropical race is the black-spotted stingray:

It is a stingray that can reach considerable dimensions, up to two meters wide. It is easily recognizable by its color: the gray back is covered with black spots while the belly is white. Unlike other breeds, this stingray does not have a particularly long tail but it is equipped with a poisonous sting. It is a very curious animal that often approaches humans, it is not aggressive but you should not, for any reason, touch it. It is generally easily found at night while it hunts in the coral reef, while during the day it rests on the sandy bottom completely covered in sand to better camouflage itself.

· The stingray commonly present also in the Mediterranean Sea, as well as in tropical seas is the trigone pastinaca:

Trigone pastinaca

This stingray can reach considerable dimensions, up to one and a half meters wide by two and a half meters long. The coloration is dark on the back, varying from gray, brown to olive green; while the belly is light. The tail is equipped with a serrated and poisonous sting. They can be found during the day while they rest under some rocks even at shallow depths; or for the luckiest, hunting during night dives!

If you are interested in knowing more about their life and habits click here: why know the stingrays?

And now Friendly Fins all you have to do is put our advice to good use and go look for her on your next adventures!