Taking the Sting Out

Gisborne-based Dive Tatapouri is defending the reputation of the short-tailed stingray, offering plucky tourists the opportunity to hand-feed the sea creatures. “They’re incredibly good-natured,” owner Dean Savage says. “It’s extremely rare for them to be aggressive and they’re absolutely fine around us.” “A line of 15 visitors kitted out with waders and bamboo staffs have signed up for today,” The Sydney Morning Herald’s David Whitley explains. “The waders are to stop us from getting wet in the shallows; the staffs help us walk. Mainly, though, they’re to stop the stingrays from sneaking behind us. “While leading one ray on a chase, Savage asks us to look at its tail. ‘The barb is about one-third of the way up,’ he says. ‘It’s razor sharp and full of toxins but unless it gets you through the heart, it won’t kill you.’”