See a stingray off SLO County coast? Here’s what you should do

A few years ago, I went body surfing at Avila Beach. While walking in the water, I stepped on a smooth, rubbery, and spongy body that instantly became rigid as it squirmed away.

It was a stingray, but for some reason, I didn’t get stung by its barb, or, stinger on its whip-like tail.

Perhaps its barb had broken away earlier, or its defensive thrashing tail maneuver missed my foot. Either way, I felt fortunate.

According to CSU Long Beach’s stingray behavior and biology website, “The stingrays are a unique group of fishes often referred to as ‘flattened sharks’ as they are close cousins to sharks. They belong to a group known as the ‘batoids’ and share similarities to the guitarfish, sawfishes, electric rays and skates.

“Stingrays are viviparous, meaning they give birth to live young.

“A stingray’s barb is covered by a thin external layer of skin and mucus. There are specialized cells in this outer layer of skin that allow for venom transfer into a potential predator upon striking. Stingrays strictly sting out of defense.”

The number of stingray injuries has increased each year, with the greatest stings happening during the summer months as the number of beach visitors is at the highest.

Last week, Michelle Kaul of Atascadero took her son Ulysses Kaul, a freshman at Atascadero High School, and his fellow water polo teammate to Morro Strand State Beach in Morro Bay to go surfing. It was near low tide as they headed out to the waves.

“They got up to knee-deep water and quickly came back out to show me the wound on my son’s friend’s foot, just below the ankle,” Michelle Kaul recalled. “We were all perplexed by what caused it, and my son mentioned seeing a type of ray earlier, which prompted him to paddle (in knee-deep water) to avoid touching the ground and confrontation with another stingray.”

They later identified the animal as a round stingray using photos from the CSULB website.

According to Kaul, “Ulysses’ friend, unfortunately, got stung by a stingray and described it as ‘feeling like he hit his foot up against a rock.’ ”

They quickly made their way to the ranger station at the Morro Strand Campground to get help in cleaning the wound.

Kaul said her son’s friend eventually rated his pain from the sting as an 8 out of 10, with 10 being the highest.

She said there was “no allergic reaction, but the pain was intense. The rangers were extremely helpful, and so was the boy’s dad on the phone in researching and finding the best protocol to follow.”

“Since there was no hot water on hand to break down the venom, we quickly got him in the car to take him home, where his parents had hot water ready to treat (him),” Kaul explained. “When (the foot was) soaked in hot water, the intense pain vanished. A few days later, he is pretty much all healed up.”

It’s highly recommended that you seek professional medical care after being stung to make sure that the barb or its debris is not present in the wound and there’s no infection.

Not everyone is as lucky as Ulysses Kaul’s friend.

According to Michelle Kaul, Andrew Lanes, a surfer friend who works for the Cheadle Center for Biodiversity & Ecological Restoration, got stung by a stingray at East Beach in Santa Barbara four years ago.

“He got stung in the ankle when he touched the bottom after treading water, and it severed a nerve,” Kaul said. “He says his ankle is still numb.”

Kaul told me of another friend’s incident.

In February, Cal Poly mathematics professor Mathew White was surfing and got stung by a stingray near Morro Rock while wearing booties. The barb tore right through the neoprene, she said.

“I have been lucky; I have never been stung,” Kaul said. “So have the other moms that I surf with.

“This is a good reminder to shuffle our feet in the sand when walking in the water. This alerts the rays that you are approaching, so they can swim away. Also, be prepared with hot water. This can affect not just surfers, but boogie boarders, regular ocean foragers and anyone going into knee-deep water.”

PG&E message

Customers are now able to receive public safety power shutoff alerts in 16 languages by selecting their preferred language at pge.com/mywildfirealerts.