Stingray bites Phoenix-area boy on hand at Arizona zoo
Oct 6, 2016, 12:52 PM | Updated: Oct 7, 2016, 7:54 am
(Yelp Photos)
(Yelp Photos)
PHOENIX — A Phoenix-area woman said her young son was bitten by a stingray at a West Valley wildlife attraction this week but the worst of the damage was a gash on his finger.
Candace Belvedere, of Goodyear, told Phoenix’s KPNX-TV news that her 4-year-old, Lukah Hernandez, was at the Stingray Touch Tank at the Wildlife World Zoo and Aquarium in Litchfield Park on Tuesday when the sea animal got hold of his hand and took a bite.
Park officials said the barbed-tail stingray was not poisonous, although some are.
The boy’s hand was in the water, which is encouraged at the complex near Northern Avenue and Loop 303. Visitors are allowed to pet and feed the animals in the tanks.
The family took the boy to a hospital, where he was treated and released.
Belvedere told the station that zoo director Mickey Ollson contacted her to apologize and assure her the zoo would pick up the tab on medical expenses.
Staffers said it was unusual for the stingrays to bite.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
