Cape Nature's reserve manager of Goukamma Nature Reserve Keith Spencer explains that whenever there is a sudden drop in temperature, some species, including stingrays, move to warmer water. "An East wind usually causes an upwelling of cold water. The sudden drop in temperature is a shock to all fish as they are cold-water regulators. This also means that they stop feeding and fishermen no longer get any bites. Stingrays and other fish species will then tend to gather in the warmer water trapped in the estuaries."
Among the species of stingrays found off the shores of the Garden Route are the common stingray, diamond backs, blue-spotted stingrays and the honeycomb stingray. Although some species may grow to span several meters in width, the blue-spotted stingray is usually only about 42cm in diameter and 70cm in length.
"It is regrettable that a small contingent of fishermen may kill a stingray when they catch one because they reckon that next time around the stingray won't be taking their bait, but most anglers wisely release them back into their habitat," says Spencer.
The common stingray
The common stingray usually measures 45cm across and has a diamond-shaped pectoral fin disc slightly wider than long, and a whip-like tail with upper and lower fin folds. It can be identified by its plain coloration and mostly smooth skin, except for a row of tubercles along the mid-line of the back in the largest individuals. According to Wikipedia their predominant prey are bottom-dwelling crustaceans, though they also take molluscs, polychaete worms and small bony fish. Females bear four to nine young twice per year in shallow water, after a gestation period of four months.
The common stingray can inflict a painful, though rarely life-threatening, wound with its venomous tail spine. During classical antiquity, its sting was ascribed many mythical properties. This species is not sought after by commercial fisheries, but is taken in large numbers as bycatch and utilised for food, fishmeal, and liver oil. Its population is apparently dwindling across its range, though there is not yet sufficient data for the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to assess it beyond calling it data deficient.
The oldest published depiction of a common stingray is from Pierre Belon's 1553 De Aquatilibus Libri Duo. Well-documented since classical antiquity, the common stingray was known as trygon to the ancient Greeks and as pastinaca to the ancient Romans. An old common name for this species, used in Great Britain since at least the 18th Century, is 'fire-flare' or 'fiery-flare', which may refer to the reddish color of its meat.
Sting in the tail
Spencer warns that although stingrays may appear quite curious about human visitors to their habitat and have been known to swim among humans, they should not be disturbed, touched or picked up. "The serrated tail spine of the common stingray is potentially dangerous. Though not aggressive, the common stingray can inflict an excruciating wound with its serrated, venomous tail spine."
Popular Australian wildlife presenter, Steve Irwin, died in 2006 when he was stabbed by a stingray while filming for his latest documentary. The cameraman who was with Irvin at the time, reportedly described the freak incident: "All of a sudden it propped on its front and started stabbing wildly with its tail - hundreds of strikes in a few seconds. I didn’t even know it had caused any damage. It wasn’t until I panned the camera back and Steve was standing in a huge pool of blood that I realised something was wrong. The stingray barb was a blade of about a foot extending out of the tail. Steve didn’t pull it out; it’s a jagged, sharp barb and it went through Steve’s chest like a hot knife through butter."
What a beautiful sight! Visitors to the Knysna Waterfront got a rare treat when a large group of stingrays huddled together in the warmer, shallow water. Photo: Lloyd Carter.
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