Somedays You Get the Bear…

…and somedays the bear gets you. Or, in this case, the sting ray.
Boston Herald.com | International News | “Crocodile Hunter” Steve Irwin killed by stingray off Great Barrier Reef

Stingrays have a serrated, toxin-loaded barb, or spine, on the top of their tail. The barb, which can be up to 10 inches long, flexes if a ray is frightened. Stings usually occur to people when they step on or swim too close to a ray and can be excruciatingly painful but are rarely fatal, said University of Queensland marine neuroscientist Shaun Collin.

Collin said he suspected Irwin died because the barb pierced under his ribcage and directly into his heart.

“It was extraordinarily bad luck. It’s not easy to get spined by a stingray and to be killed by one is very rare,” Collin said.

Crikey, indeed.
William Smith
ConservativeBlogger.com