Another ray-related death. But no, it's not common.

The world was reminded of Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin's spooky death yesterday, when a sunbathing tourist was killed by a leaping spotted eagle ray. Judy Kay Zagorski, 55, died after the 6-foot ray jumped from the water and collided with her on a boat off the Florida Keys.

Of course there are some key differences between Zagorski's death and that of the Crocodile Hunter. Irwin was stabbed in the chest by a stingray's barbed tail, which punctured his heart. Zagorski, a vacationer from Pigeon, Michigan, died of blunt force trauma to the skull, either from the ray itself or from hitting her head on the boat deck. 

A month after Irwin's death, an 81-year-old Florida man, James Bertakis, lived through a similar stingray stab to the heart. The possible key to his survival: he didn't try to pull out the barb. 

Scared to go in the water? Don't worry. Being killed by a ray is like winning a sinister version of the Powerball Grand Prize — possible in theory but it ain't gonna happen to you. If it makes you feel any better, a study of animal-related fatalities shows you're much more likely to be eaten by a gator.

— Emily Matchar

Comments

[Imajicka1]

If the barb was still attached to the stingray, it would probably yank the barb out on its own. The stingray's instinct is self defense. Once its used its barb, its trying to flee the area. So the barb, more than likely, broke off into Steve's chest, if it was still impaled in him.

[Oregano]

I keep reading about how Steve Irwin shouldn't have tried to pull the barb out - but isn't the barb still attached to a very large, swimming, flailing, ray? Would you have to chop the tail of the ray off to keep the barb in?