A woman had a terrifying encounter with a stingray. Pam Bennett, 68, was snorkeling in Australia when she was attacked by a stingray.
In a conversation with Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Bennett, a volunteer marine researcher, revealed that she was snorkeling when she realized she was directly above a stingray.
Though Bennett said that she “quickly swam out of the way” of the animal, “it wasn’t long after that that I felt the barb go into my arm.”
“I actually didn’t see that stingray—he had come from behind, I think. He had actually attacked,” she said. “That’s not their normal behavior.”
Bennett proceeded to float on her back to shore, all while “blood was spurting out quite a bit” from the wound above her right elbow.
Mike Bossley, one of the people with whom Bennett was snorkeling, recalled what happened in the moments after her injury.
“We had to get Pam out of the water, she was bleeding quite heavily,” he told the outlet. “But she’s a very brave woman and didn’t panic or anything.”
Woman Treated After Stingray Attacks Her Arm
Once taken to the hospital, doctors found that Bennett’s wound was in a dangerous location, alongside the brachial artery, which the six-inch barb managed not to penetrate.
“I could have been a Steve Irwin,” Bennett said of the beloved wildlife expert who died after a stingray encounter in 2006. “In hindsight, I feel like I’ve won the lottery because I’m amazed it was me and not a young child.”
Bennett had to undergo surgery to untangle the barb from the muscle in her arm. Afterwards, she was left with “bit of bruising and a sore arm,” but was otherwise in good health.
Bennett’s love of stingrays remains strong, even after the scary encounter. She noted, “Normally they’re just shy, placid, beautiful creatures.”
The South Australian Department for Environment and Water agrees with Bennett’s take on stingrays, calling the animal “misunderstood.”
“Stingrays are not aggressive. They are curious and playful animals when there are divers and snorkelers around, and if they feel threatened their first instinct is to swim away,” the department said. “But as with all marine life, people must respect stingrays’ personal space… Never threaten or corner a ray, and always keep an eye out for their tail – and never touch the barb on the end of it.”
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