Pandodyssey™ Panda Blog

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Tuesday, September 12, 2006

revenge: a dish served best as sushi

Don't hurt rays after Irwin death, officials say

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian authorities have urged fans of Steve Irwin not to attack stingrays after several rays were found dead since the TV naturalist was killed in a rare fatal attack by one of the normally placid animals.

Irwin, whose "Crocodile Hunter" documentaries were watched by more than 200 million people, was killed eight days ago when the serrated barb from a stingray's tail pierced his heart. Queensland state officials said up to 10 of the animals have since been found dead in coastal waters.

Two were found dead with their tails hacked off Tuesday at Deception Bay, north of the Queensland capital Brisbane.

Up to six rays had also been found dead recently further north at Hervey Bay said Wayne Sumpton, a senior biologist in Queensland's Fisheries Department.

"We do not know if these incidents are motivated by Steve Irwin's death. At the moment that is just speculation," he said.

Fish kills spear-fishing diver

MIAMI (Reuters) - A Florida diver shot a large grouper with a spear gun then apparently drowned when the fish sped into a hole, entangling the man in the line attached to the spear, investigators said Monday.

The 42-year-old man, whose name was withheld, was free-diving in about 25 feet of water off the lower Florida Keys Saturday and speared a Goliath Grouper, Monroe County Sheriff's Detective Mark Coleman said.

"It looks like the fish wrapped the line attached to the spear around the victim's wrist. The fish then went into a hole in a coral rock, effectively pinning the man to the bottom of the ocean," Coleman said in a news release.

Police divers found the speared fish tightly wedged into the hole, with the man's body still tangled in the line, a sheriff's spokeswoman said. Goliath Grouper are the largest members of the sea bass family and can weigh hundreds of pounds.

These two stories just go to show you that whoevers in charge around this universe has got a ridiculous sense of humor. (and please don't anyone suggest euthanizing the fish ...)

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