How common are stingray stings on the California coast?
SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — The ocean is a vast body of water where all sorts of mysterious creatures lurk. But one that’s common to beachgoers along the California coast are stingrays.
Every visit to the beach, it seems like someone is being tended to a sting from a stingray.
Urobatis halleri, also known as the Round Stingray, can be found from Humboldt Bay in Northern California to Peru, including the Gulf of California, Mexico, per the California Fish & Wildlife. However, most are seen off Southern California and northern Baja California due to the warmer water there.
Stingrays are most prevalent during the summertime when there are a lot of feet in the water near the edge of the shore, according to FOX 5 reporter and Del Mar lifeguard Jaime Chambers. He says they can also be found swimming at the top of the surface.
“The most I’ve seen in a day is 50 in a two-square mile beach,” Chambers said.
When it comes to stings, Chambers says stingrays are defensive and not trying to attack people.
Are California shoppers legally required to stop for receipt checkers at store exits?
“Whenever the stingrays show up, we get a huge bloom of hits, as many as 29 in day and as few as none in a day, so it really is these booms and busts,” he said. “On any given day, we probably get two. Then there are few days that just blow the number out of the water.”
The pain of the stings can start out as small and escalate to extreme in a short amount of time, according to Chambers.
“It feels like someone lighting your ankle on fire…I guess if you’re allergic to bee stings, that’s something we always ask: are you allergic to this if you have an anaphylactic shock to stingray? That would be really scary,” Chambers said.
Dr. Richard Clark, director of the division of toxicology at UC San Diego Medical Center, advises those who’ve gotten stung to soak the injured area for about 15 minutes in water warmer than a hot tub (104 degrees), but less than 114 degrees. If the paint continues after 15 minutes, Clark recommends to see a doctor or go to an emergency room.
“You want to get that foot in hot water as fast as you can, and you can see the relief from the person the moment you drop that foot in the water,” Chambers said. “You’ll see their pain threshold drop exponentially and then you want to make sure you stop the bleeding, but I would put the foot in before you stop the bleeding.”
In order to protect yourself from being stung by a stingray, some, like Chambers, will take a handful of sand and chuck it in front of them as stingrays react to anything that lands on top of them. Others recommend to shuffle or drag your feet, also known as the “Stingray Shuffle,” along the bottom of the ocean floor to scare away the stingrays.
Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 5 San Diego & KUSI News.
