Côte d’Azur authorities have issued a warning to beware of potentially deadly stingrays spotted by the dozen off France's southern coast this summer due to unusually warm waters, reports The Telegraph.
The rays spend most of their life in the open water and it is very unusual to see them so close to the shore.
In a warning issued this week, the southern Var region’s state prefect advised bathers off the Mediterranean coast not to approach or touch the purple rays and to inform local authorities if they spot any specimens, which can grow to up to 1.3m (4.3ft) long and 60cm (23in) in width.
Rarely encountered except by fishery workers, the pelagic stingray can inflict a severe, even fatal wound via up to three venomous spines on its tail.
The usually dark purple ray can “charge and sting if it feels in danger,” warned the prefect’s office.
The sting “can provoke serious neurological problems among vulnerable individuals, namely children, pregnant women and the elderly with health (heart) problems,” it warned.