Last week, of course, Steve Irwin died after a stingray barb punctured his heart. Sadly -- and just as we had feared -- lifeless stingray bodies are starting to appear on some Australian beaches. In fact, local officials have discovered as many as 10 dead rays on local beaches. Fearing "it may be some sort of retribution, or it may be fear from certain individuals, or it just may be yet another callous act toward wildlife," Michael Hornby, the executive director of Irwin's Wildlife Warriors conservation group, wants to remind people that killing stingrays was "not what Steve was about." In other words, please don't seek revenge on an otherwise innocent stingray. News of revenge killings will not ripple through the secret underground community of stingrays, discouraging them from protecting themselves in the future.

Not only is it silly to participate in "revenge killings," it's also illegal. Rick Symons, government fisheries manager of animal welfare, said that offenders could be prosecuted if "evidence of cruelty" was discovered.

If YOU are ever unfortunate enough to be stung by a stingray, do you know what you're supposed to do? I didn't. Happily, Gadling points us to the answer: relax and soak the wound in the hottest water you can tolerate. If you want to know what a stingray sting feels like, check out Underwater Insider, in which Stephen Frink describes his encounter with a stingray. Obviously, he survived, but it sounds like the experience was decidedly un-fun. Ouch.