Queensland hunter hit by stingray in Mackay as he shows barbs, needles and is rushed to hospital

A hunter ‘with more near death experiences than you’d care to imagine’ has added another to the list while trudging through a swamp looking for dinner. 

Pete Griffiths went out with a friend to hunt for a stingray to cook in Mackay, Queensland on March 5 when a barb went through the palm of his hand. 

Griffiths was rushed to hospital by his nurse girlfriend and detailed what it was like to be stabbed by a stingray’s brutal barb.

Legendary Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin, one of Australia’s best loved personalities, was killed after a stingray barb pierced him in the chest in 2006. 

Griffiths told Daily Mail Australia he was rushed to hospital and pumped with morphine. 

‘I was lucky enough to use my hand to block the barbs on its final attempt otherwise it would’ve been a different story,’ he said. 

After doctors pumped him with some morphine and antibiotics he was left to let the pain wear off before heading home to cook up what he’d caught.

Although stingrays are typically known to be docile, once threatened they have bacteria-infested, razor sharp barbs on their tail to protect themselves when needed. 

The barb is sharp like a needle with jagged edges down each side while the rays are visibly black due to the toxic bacteria. 

If not treated immediately, the infection stemming from the bacteria can be worse than the sting itself. 

Mr Griffiths said the pain was instant once it pierced the skin, coming in waves and intensifying as time went on.

Pete Griffiths went out with a friend on the hunt for stingray in Queensland before a flailing barb went through the palm of his hand (wound pictured) 

After rushing out of the water, his girlfriend dismissed his bravado that he didn’t need to go to the hospital when they’d returned to the car.

‘The pain was only about a 5/10 and I thought if it gets that bad that quick I’m in trouble,’ Mr Griffiths wrote in a Facebook post after getting out of hospital.

‘By time we got to the car I’d say we where at a level 6-7/10 and the pain was coming in waves.

‘It’s no wonder Steve Irwin was taken out by one of these, the pain is insane and there’s no way I’d want to go through this again.’ 

Once he got to the ER, doctors administered 15mg morphine, Oxycodone and local anesthetic before holding the wound under hot water, which at first gave instant relief.

Once the water had cooled, the waves of pain got ten-fold worse according to Mr Griffiths (pictured)

Once it had cooled however, the pain ‘got ten-fold worse’.

‘The pain is full on for three days, I’m at day 10 now and my hands swollen up again,’ he said.

‘In the video I was holding my hand against my leg to stop the bleeding, it also hit a nerve. 

‘I was out of hospital after six or seven hours, before being sent to another hospital and they gave me meds which I’m still on now.’

After getting over the excruciating pain, Mr Griffith went straight home and to the kitchen where he finished the job they’d started that morning. 

The rays he and his friend had caught were crumbed and fried by the day’s end, transforming into salt & pepper stingray boasting the same texture as scallops.

‘Look it’s good real good, not good enough to get barbed for though,’ Mr Griffiths admitted. 

The rays he and his friend had caught were crumbed and fried by the day’s end, transforming into salt & pepper stingray

‘It’s no wonder Steve Irwin was taken out by one of these’ Mr Griffiths said after being stung himself