Cuddling Stingrays

Sep 29, 2021

Did you know that stingrays are sweet and gentle creatures in spite of all the hoopla we heard about Crocodile Dundee getting stung and killed years ago? String rays will not typically sting you unless they feel threatened. This occurs when you are directly in front of them and blocking their escape route or you accidentally stand on them on the ocean floor since they often bury themselves in the sand.

The sting from their long tails is not life-threatening unless you're stabbed directly in the chest or abdomen which was the case with Crocodile Dundee. Divers know to shuffle their feet in the sand to avoid accidentally standing on these gentle creatures of the ocean.

How does plastic pollution affect Stingrays?

Stingrays live long lives and reproduce relatively slowly so it is important they have a clean habitat to grow in. Sadly, like turtles, they mistake plastic debris for food. Their natural food is crustaceans and mollusks. Plastic debris often looks like small crabs, shrimp, or squid and when they ingest these plastics, it blocks up their digestive tract causing eventual death.

How can you help?

  • SHARE our blog on Covid PPE and Marine Life. We need to get this message out to the masses.

  • SUPPORT us here on Buy Me A Coffee. For every $50 we raise, we organize a beach clean-up to reduce the plastic entering our rivers, lakes, and oceans. We recycle what we can and dispose of the rest safely so birds can't carry it off. We do this by using biodegradable sacking instead of plastic bags to store plastic waste so it is safe from birds in landfills.

  • Become a MEMBER on "Buy Me A Coffee". We post evidence of our clear-ups and have a forum where you can get involved if you wish. 10% of your membership fees go to Oceana Cannada to help preserve our oceans and protect our marine life.

  • Use Alternative Products to Plastics. Plastics are a way of life, but we can change that little by little. it may seem like a drop in the ocean, but every drop counts. Think about it: The very first plastic toothbrush ever used is probably sitting in the ocean garbage patch right now along with all the other toothbrushes after that. How hard is it to use a bamboo toothbrush instead? Change starts right here - right now - with you. You can shop alternatives to plastic products at my Amazon Store. (disclaimer: I do earn a small commission on the sale of anything you purchase through Amazon when you purchase this site, but your purchase helps us to keep this mission alive, so we thank you in advance for shopping with us.

As you can see there are many ways to show support from the comfort of your living room. If you would like to help, please share this and the blog article on Covid PPE. The more people we can get to support the cause, the more of an impact we will have.

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