Mutilated stingrays prompt fears of revenge attacks

UP TO 10 stingrays have been found dead and mutilated on Australia’s eastern coast since Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin was killed by one of the animals last week, an official said yesterday, prompting concerns of revenge attacks on the normally docile fish.

The popular television star was killed last week when a stingray barb pierced his chest as he filmed a TV show off Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.

The dead stingrays have been discovered on two beaches in Queensland state, including two that were found yesterday with their tails cut off, said state fisheries department official Wayne Sumpton.