Look Before You Leap

I got an email this morning from Kevin over on The Other 95% to clue me in on a freakish accident that occurred today in Miami when a Spotted Eagle ray leaped from the water onto a boat, striking a 55-year-old woman and killing her. What are the chances? Turns out the ray knocked the woman down, causing her to hit her head which led to her death.

This isn't the first ray-related collision on record. In 2006 (just a month after Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin was killed after grabbing a giant stingray while snorkeling along the Great Barrier Reef) a Florida man was similarly stabbed through the heart by a Spotted Eagle ray that leaped onto his boat. However unlike Irwin who pulled out the ray's barb after being stabbed and possibly exacerbating the damage, the Florida man left the barb in place. Doctors were later able to carefully remove the barb in surgery, minimizing further heart damage. The man eventually recovered.

All of this got me to wondering what other leaping aquatic life might have my name written all over it. There have been a number of incidents on Florida's Suwannee River involving sturgeon and various human body parts. One particularly impressive collision between fish and human last year resulted in a broken leg on a six-year-old girl. In 2006, a woman was struck in the face by yet another (or the same disgruntled) sturgeon while boating on the Suwannee. She sustained facial injuries and fractures that required plastic surgery. In 2003 in St. Augustine, Florida, a fisherman was hospitalized after being bitten by a barracuda that jumped into his boat. What's with Florida fish?

A little surfing around YouTube found a few video gems as well. There's the amazing, jumping Asian carp near the Great Lakes:


An absolutely astounding video of a Great White shark high-and-dry atop a boat it landed on in South Africa:


A Tarpon that just can't wait to get to the taxidermist:


And a dubious video of an Orca getting up close and personal with a kayaker:


Not to be outdone by vertebrates, I've heard several anecdotal reports of Humboldt squid leaping onto the decks of sailboats in the Gulf of California, apparently attracted by deck lights on the boats at night. I couldn't find any images or reports anywhere on the net to confirm this. If any readers have info on jumping squid (or other aquatic life that's aiming for us) feel free to leave a comment.

And just to prove it's not just aquatic life that's going all Sopranos on us humans, here's a video of über-hunk Fabio getting whacked (in the face by a goose) while enjoying a rollercoaster ride: