Richard Branson, the billionaire founder of Virgin Group, suffered a stingray attack and a head injury that required stitches during his recent vacation in the Cayman Islands.
"I’ve been in the wars this week over in the Cayman Islands. I was very excited to make the trip to Grand Cayman for a special swim with dozens of beautiful rays. But it didn’t quite go to plan,"
Branson wrote Wednesday on his Virgin.com blog.
"We joined renowned ocean conservationist Guy Harvey to see the rays up close at Stingray City Sandbar. We were surrounded by stingray, as well as stunning coral reefs and tropical fish. But the rays were feeding all around, and they mistook yours truly for their food. Suddenly I felt a painful sensation on my wrist — they have one heck of a painful kiss!
While some might have been perplexed by Branson saying he was targeted by a shark, he explained that, "Rays are actually part of the shark family, so I've now been kissed by a shark."
Included in the blog post was a picture of Branson's forearm, which appeared to have a small skin injury.
For some, the stingray attack raised the memory of the late Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin, who was stung in the chest and killed by a stingray in 2006.
Australian news site News.com.au explained however, that deadly stingray attacks are actually quite rare.
"[Irwin's] death made headlines around the world. But there have only been 17 cases ever reported of human stingray deaths worldwide, experts said," the website reported.
Later in the trip, after a meetup with actress Jamie Lee Curtis and photographer Shawna Ankenbrandt, Branson headed to a local jewelry store to do a little shopping for his upcoming anniversary.
"I strolled purposefully into the shop, not noticing there was a glass door in my way. Crash!" Branson wrote. "I hit the glass head first and I got this painful cut above my left eye. It was bullet-proof glass! We quickly set up a makeshift operating theatre, where I was given three stitches."
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