MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Authorities on alert over poisonous stingrays on Argentine La Plata river shores

Stingrays do not attack man, but if people accidentally step on them “they react as a defense,” Feriol explained

Argentine authorities have issued a series of recommendations after the appearance of poisonous stingrays on the beaches of Punta Lara and Ensenada, south of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires (CABA) was reported.

Although this is a phenomenon occurring every summer in the area, the strong reaction generated in humans by the sting of these animals may cause allergic complications of various natures. Hence, the need for preventive measures.

Ensenada's Lifeguard Corps Sports Director Mariano Feriol told La Plata's Hoy newspaper that stingrays were “not an extraordinary issue,” and that “we have been observing specimens of this type in the Río de la Plata in general and in Ensenada in particular for decades.”

The specialist also pointed out that the presence of stingrays can also be checked without actually seeing the animals because they leave behind some sort of footprint. They usually appear when it is very hot and the river is low.

Stingrays “do not attack man,” Feriol also explained. “What happens is that if [people] accidentally step on them they react as a defense.”

“Since we saw marks and some specimens, we contacted the Center of Toxicological Attention of the Province,” so that “the beach safety operation works in a coordinated way to be able to react quickly to different circumstances that may arise,” Feriol explained.

Feriol, who manages a team of 56 lifeguards, claimed that the lesions caused by these animals were not deadly, but “they produce great burning and the direct action that the lifeguards can do is to apply hot water in the place of the sting.”

“No tourist has been attacked so far. But we always say that the lifeguard is the first reference of the State, that is why we bet on prevention on the subject, we want to train the staff and that they have information to know how to act,” he added.

(Source: Hoy)