Stingrays collide with woman after almost being stepped on

Stingray City is a series of shallow sandbars found in the North Sound of Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands. It is a tourist attraction, where southern stingrays are found in abundance and visitors can pet and interact with the animals. Trying to be careful not to step on the many stingrays swimming all around was a concern, but they are faster than a moving foot it seems. The tour operators bring along with them pails of chunked-up squid meat, which they allow the tourists to dispense by hand to the animals, thus attracting dozens of the creatures to the feeding spot. Another concern was the dreaded barb that everyone worries about being stabbed by, which caused the death of Steve Irwin of the show Crocodile Hunter, but in reality these southern stingrays are very safe to be among.There are 2 sandbars, one which is in the shallows and the other one which is deeper and where it is possible to scuba dive with stingrays. The sandbar is just inside a natural channel that passes through the barrier reef and consists of a string of sandbars crossing the North Sound from Morgan Harbour to Rum Point. The southern stingray has a flat, diamond-shaped disc, with a mud brown, olive, and grey dorsal surface and white underbelly (ventral surface). The barb on its tail is serrated and covered in a venomous mucous, used for self-defense. The wing-like pectoral fins of the stingrays,are used to propel the stingray across the ocean bottom. The spines on the tail are not fatal to humans, but are incredibly painful if stepped on. The animals eyes are situated on top of the head along with small openings called spiracles. The location of the spiracles enables the stingray to take in water whilst lying on the seabed, or when partially buried in sediment. Water enters the spiracles and leaves through the gill openings, bypassing the mouth which is on the underside. Female stingrays can grow to a disc width of 150 cm( 5 feet), while the much smaller male stingrays generally reach a maximum size at 67 cm (26 inches). While walking around and swimming on these sandbars, Elsa ,the woman in the blue shorts, said “it was kind of creepy touching them and having them suck up onto your hand and body, but it was amazing”. All the visitors in the group had a great day and an incredible experience meeting these little creatures. when feeding the stingrays, it was explained to keep your hand flat and they would suck the squid chunks right off your hand.” if you have a thumb up, they may suck it into their mouth and chomp you”. Of course, when Brent was feeding one, his thumb did end up getting “ kind of squashed” as he explained it as the animals have what seems to be a toothless gummy mouth. If on Grand Cayman and love the water and wildlife make sure you take in this tour, it is incredible