The walker who found it lying on the ground described it as a ‘sad sight to see’. The creatures are normally associated with warmer waters
A stingray was discovered washed up on Barry Island beach last week in an unusual sighting for the area, as they are more commonly found in warmer waters like the Mediterranean.
The creature was found at around midday on Tuesday, April 30, by Cardiff resident Aimee Louise, who was visiting the island with her sister. They had both arrived at Barry Island at 10am and were exploring the area as the tide went out, but they didn’t spot the stingray until just after 12.
“We went to the main part where there was a little dry sand and sat there until the tide went out,” Aimee said. Never miss a Cardiff story by signing up to our daily newsletter here
“When we made our way over to the other side, where they used to dock the boats, we climbed down the rocks – and against them was the stingray.”
Aimee noticed that the animal appeared to have a fishing line still attached to it and seemed already dried up despite the tide having gone out only two hours earlier.
“It was a sad sight to see,” she said. “Where he lay had been under water just before, yet he looked so dry.”
She confirmed that no-one else was in the same spot at the time, and she and her sister seemed to be the first to have found the stingray out of its usual habitat.
Aimee, who lives in Cardiff, visits Barry Island regularly.
“I love being around the water – it helps me and my anxiety,” she noted. “It’s peaceful there when it’s quiet, and I don’t do well with the hustle of too many people.”
Although familiar with the local coastline, Aimee said she had never seen anything like this before.
She explained: “It was so strange to see a stingray. I’ve never been abroad and only seen them on TV – I watch endless documentaries as an animal lover.”
While stingrays are not commonly spotted around the Barry coast, this is not the first time one has cropped up. They can occasionally stray into UK waters.
A similar incident took place in 2021 when another local found a stingray washed up on the beach while she was enjoying a family walk.
She said: “I just thought it was strange, as I didn’t think we found them here, especially around Barry Island.
“I thought it was a bit weird. I only see them on holiday usually.” You can read more about this separate sighting here.
