Watery Demise

Every Single Stingray at This Zoo Just Died

The zoo says they have no idea how it happened.
The staff at ZooTampa are investigating the deaths of 12 stingrays after they were discovered dead in their Stingray Bay exhibit Thursday morning.
Image: ZooTampa at Lowry Park

A Dozen Mysterious Deaths

A zoo in Tampa Bay, Florida discovered that 12 of its stingrays had died under mysterious circumstances on Thursday morning. 

The staff at ZooTampa announced that they were investigating the deaths of the aquatic creatures after they were discovered dead in their Stingray Bay exhibit, according to Creative Loafing Tampa Bay

“It’s with heavy hearts we share that today ZooTampa lost 12 residents of Stingray Bay,” the zoo said in a Facebook post

Investigating the Case

As if the death of a dozen of their stingrays weren’t enough, the zoo still has no idea how they died. In fact, initial investigations found that the tank the creatures were held in seemed to be in working order. 

“The animal care and veterinary teams are examining all of the mechanical equipment involved and testing the water, all of which indicate optimal water quality and conditions,” the zoo’s statement said. 

The tank held seven cownose stingrays, four Southern stingrays, and an Atlantic stingray, according to Creative Loafing Tampa Bay. All of the creatures were held in a 16,000 gallon saltwater tank in which zoo visitors could walk up to and actually touch them. 

The zoo stated that it might take “several weeks” until they have all the test results they need to solve the mystery. For now, though, I think we’ve found the plot for Knives Out 2

READ MORE: Every single stingray at a ZooTampa touch tank mysteriously died yesterday [Creative Loafing Tampa Bay]

Tony Tran is a reporter for Futurism. His work has been seen in Playboy, HuffPost, Narratively, and wherever else fine writing is published. He lives in Chicago where he frequently plans tabletop gaming sessions for his friends. Follow him on Twitter.