Marine Life

Round Sting Ray
(Urolophus halleri)
Courtesy of Tom Haight

This is the culprit responsible for so many stings during the spring and summer months in Southern California. Growing to a length of 22 inches, stingrays often bury themselves in the soft mud or sandy bottoms. They feed by digging up the bottom with their "wings" looking for prey. Round stingrays can be found from Northern California to Panama. These fish are not aggressive and will swim away if given half a chance. One problem with being a stingray is that many surf fishermen kill the animal rather than taking a chance on being stung while removing the hook. This practice results in many unnecessary stingray deaths. Soaking a sting in hot water will help alleviate the pain of the victim.

Following is a short video clip of a round stingray in its native habitat, courtesy of Tom Haight Marine Wildlife Photography. If the video clip does not automatically display, you may be prompted to download a plug-in that will enable you to view the video file.

    (3.9MB .avi file)