Stingrays are flat-bodied sea fish and seem to be afraid of nothing. Mature stingrays measure four to five feet wide across their flat, fleshy “wings” with which they gracefully swim. Long, flexible tails have one or two sharp spines on them. The common species is darkish gray on top and white underneath. Others have different coloring, including one called blue-spotted which is chocolate colored with round blue spots over its entire body.
Stingrays often lie half buried in sand in warm, shallow water along North America’s Atlantic Coast and other places in the world’s oceans. This is a time when they can be vicious, although they are not as vicious as the electric rays to which they are related. If left alone, they do not attack anyone swimming among them, but if you should unintentionally step on one you would immediately regret it. The angry ray would strike your leg with its whiplike tail, and its sharp, barbed spine with poisonous glands would dig into your flesh. This is terribly painful, but it is even more painful as it pulls the spine back out and the barbs tear the flesh even more! This painful wound is nearly as dangerous as a poisonous snake bite.
Incidentally, off the shore of Cayman Island in the Caribbean, sports divers swimming among big schools of stingrays and feeding them by hand have developed a friendly relationship with them. They will even pet and hug them, which the stingrays seem to enjoy. These divers have discovered that the scaleless skin of these big creatures is as smooth as velvet, but the divers are careful not to irritate them in any way.
The mouth of a stingray is not in front as with most other fish, nor does it have visible jaws, but it has what looks like a large hole under its head. To secure its food, mostly made up of fish, crabs, oysters, sea worms, small squid and other water creatures, it cruises slowly over the ocean bottom. Since its eyes are on top of its head it cannot see what is down there, but when its mouth comes in contact with anything edible, it sucks it up and if unsuitable it spits it out. But good food is passed along to a grinding plate with strong teeth where shells and other unsuitable parts are removed and the edible food is crushed and swallowed.
We may not understand why stingrays were part of God’s creation, but we know they have a place in His purposes. And we know He looks with love on every person in the world and invites us to receive that love into our hearts by accepting His Son, the Lord Jesus, as our personal Saviour. Is your heart open to Him?
AUGUST 2, 1998
ML-08/02/1998