Irwin’s mistake

September 5, 2006

SYDNEY, Australia (Reuters) – Fatally injured “Crocodile Hunter” Steve Irwin pulled a stingray’s serrated barb from his chest before he lost consciousness and died, his manager said Tuesday as fans worldwide mourned the exuberant naturalist.
[...]
Marine experts say stingrays can deliver horrific, agonizing injuries from the toxin-laden barbs, which can measure up to 8 inches in length and cause injuries like a knife or bayonet.

“It’s not the going in that causes the damage, it’s the coming out where those deep serrations kind of pull on the flesh, and you end up with a very jagged tear which is quite a pronounced injury,” said Dr. Bryan Fry, deputy director of the Australian Venom Research Unit.

Posted in Brainhell