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| 4/20 |
| 2006/10/19-23 [Health] UID:44875 Activity:nil |
10/19 Unprovoked attack of elderly man by a Sting Ray. Crikey! Steve
Irwin was just the first step in their plan to take over the
world:
http://tinyurl.com/y45mck (sun-sentinel.com)
\_ one inspired sting ray
\_ Unprovoked? That stingray was preemptively striking against a
threat to his species! He had a right to defend his species'
interests! That man had WMD!
\_ Totally provoked, people have been killing stringrays in
revenge:
http://tinyurl.com/f6ey3 (newsvine.com) |
| 4/20 |
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| tinyurl.com/y45mck -> www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-cstingray19oct19,0,3579615.story?coll=sfla-home-headlines com Posted October 19 2006, 12:30 PM EDT LIGHTHOUSE POINT -- An 81-year-old resident was in critical condition on Thursday, a day after a spotted eagle stingray jumped onto his boat in the Intracoastal Waterway and stabbed him in the chest, leaving a foot-long barb stuck in his heart, authorities said. James Bertakis underwent open-heart surgery late Wednesday and early Thursday and doctors were able to remove the barb, which appears to have lodged near or in his heart, by shoving it through the heart, said Dr. pid=339759&ps=905723& width=300&height=170 Costantini said the heart's contractions pulled the barb in. Doctors were able to pull the barb through his heart and close the wound. Though Costantini said it is rare to see a puncture wound made by a stingray barb, similar injuries are created by objects like knives. Those objects should not be taken out except in the operating room, he said, because they create holes that will bleed. We pulled it through just like a fish hook,'' Costantini said. Speaking at the news conference, Christ Bertakis said his father is extremely active and that his age is not a good indication of his health. After having knee surgery a month ago he was quickly back riding his bike for miles, his son said. The accident occurred while Bertakis, a retired developer, was with two of his adult granddaughters on a cruise around 1 pm on Wednesday to look at the waterfront mansions along the Intracoastal in Lighthouse Point. When the stringray landed in the boat, Bertakis tried to push it back in the water, and that's when he was stabbed, relatives said. The freak occurrence brought to mind the stingray attack that killed "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin last month. Bertakis's case was different from that of Irwin's because the barb stayed in Bertakis' heart and was not pulled out, Costantini said. "Every time his heart pumps, it's like a razor blade, it just keeps cutting," said Catherine Bertakis. The stinger also pierced James Bertakis' lung, said son John Bertakis, from his office at the family business in Roseville, Mich. "Initially it seemed all right, but he lost a lot of blood," he said. Some relatives were standing vigil at the hospital, relaying details back to relatives in Michigan, where the family owns Bertakis Development Inc. James Bertakis in 1972 founded the company, which specializes in manufactured homes and has property in Michigan and Texas "We're all in a state of shock right now," John Bertakis said. "We hope health and strength are on his side, he's a strong man." Catherine Bertakis described her grandfather as an athlete who rarely gets sick. James Bertakis was conscious after the attack and, with the help of his granddaughters, steered the boat back to his Lighthouse Point home in the 3800 block of Northeast 30th Avenue, where one of them called 911. Surgeons were able to remove some of the barb, but were not able to locate the rest and feared it may have migrated. Bertakis suffered a closed chest wound and a collapsed lung. Firefighters and police found Bertakis with a foot-long barb in the left side of his chest. |
| tinyurl.com/f6ey3 -> www.newsvine.com/_news/2006/09/12/359015-10-stingrays-killed-since-irwins-death SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA -- At least 10 stingrays have been killed since "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin was fatally injured by one of the fish, an official said Tuesday, prompting a spokesman for the late TV star's animal charity to urge people not take revenge on the animals. Irwin died last week after a stingray barb pierced his chest as he recorded a show off the Great Barrier Reef. Stingray bodies since have been discovered on two beaches in Queensland state on Australia's eastern coast. Two were discovered Tuesday with their tails lopped off, state fisheries department official Wayne Sumpton said. Sumpton said fishermen who inadvertently catch the diamond-shaped rays sometimes cut off their tails to avoid being stung, but the practice was uncommon. Stingrays often are caught in fishing nets by mistake and should be returned to the sea, Sumpton said. Michael Hornby, the executive director of Irwin's Wildlife Warriors conservation group, said he was concerned the rays were being hunted and killed in retaliation for Irwin's death. "It may be some sort of retribution, or it may be fear from certain individuals, or it just may be yet another callous act toward wildlife," he said. He said killing stingrays was "not what Steve was about." "We are disgusted and disappointed that people would take this sort of action to hurt wildlife," he said. Stingrays are usually shy, unobtrusive fish that rummage the sea bottom for food or burrow into the sand. They have a serrated spine up to 10 inches long on their tails, which they can lash when stepped on or otherwise frightened. The spines emit toxins that can kill many small creatures and cause excruciating pain in humans. Few people have died from the poison, but the spines can badly tear flesh and the wounds are prone to infections, including tetanus. Hornby said people should treat stingrays with caution, but "there is still no need to ... This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Brooks Travis If these really are retaliatory killings, what in the world are people retaliating about? It can't be the death of Steve Irwin, because that would be completely idiotic and 100% contrary to what he was about. He made it his life's mission to teach people about animals, to protect them and preserve them for future generations. Killing an animal, any animal, as "revenge" for his death is oxymoronic. Robbie Lawrence He died for nothing if people are going to do this. That was his life, and that's what he wanted the world to do -- respect it, love it. We accidentally caught one whilst fishing and after we let it go I went for a gentle swim with it just to make sure it was ok. enigma Roving anti-Stingray gangs can seen on the shores. A man, dressed in camouflage and heavily armed, looks out into the distance. "This one's for Steve," he says with steel in his voice, the solemn words of his blood-oath trailing out over the water. |