blackbearmagic:

bone-fiends:

weirdie-beardie:

useless-zoofacts:

Flap flap flap

SEA PANCAKE

1-800-ARE-YOU-SLAPPING

And this is exactly why you should shuffle or drag your feet in the sand whenever you go walking in the ocean. 

Stingrays (and their prickly, non-stinging cousins, the skates) will bury themselves in the sand like this to avoid predators or wait for prey to approach. It’s excellent camouflage, but when you’ve got humans in the water, it works a little too well. We can very easily step on these buried friends.

A stepped-on stingray will feel trapped and in danger, and will often retaliate by whipping its tail about–possibly sinking its venomous barb into some poor sap’s ankle. However, by scuffling through the sand as you walk, you’ll alert these animals to your presence and give them plenty of time to react and get out of your way. 

This works out best for both parties involved: In the event of a sting, a stingray barb should be removed at a hospital (inconvenient for you), and the now barbless ray has to wait several months for a new sting to grow in so that it can defend itself again (inconvenient for the ray).

So do that Stingray Shuffle!