A stingray has been caught off the north eastern Australian coastline that may have been responsible for the death of Steve Irwin. And, in a dark twist to this tragic tale, Australian federal police have been called in to investigate whether the ray was actually trained to kill by Al Qaida.
Fishermen reeled in the suspect on Tuesday morning in the vicinity of where Irwin tragically was killed. Police from Cairns, the nearest city, were called into investigate.
On Tuesday afternoon, marine scientists from the local James Cook University also arrived to study the ray. Federal police were subsequently contacted after the marine scientists completed their initial examination.
Eyewitnesses said something about the ray's behaviour had aroused the scientists' and police suspicions.
"I could tell something wasn't right," said Pete Willins, a dockworker who observed the scene. "Its barb was missing and the size and colour fit the description given by Irwin's crew mates."
Within a day, 'The Cairns Post', a newspaper which claims to have insider links within the local police, reported that Al Qaida was likely involved.
Under the heading "Killer Ray was Terrorist Operative," the paper claimed that there is hard evidence to link the stingray with marine training camps off the coast of Pakistan. The article added that "thousands of stingrays may have been trained to target and kill important people with links to Western governments."
A Larger Scheme
Irwin's close association to the Australian government, a close supporter of Bush's War on Terror and his position as an international icon in the western world seems to have marked him as a target.
In response to the newspaper's sensational claims, the Australian Federal Police released a written statement to media only a few hours ago. "We do not wish to confirm nor deny that any link between the stingray that killed Steve Irwin and Al Qaida. We are pursuing a number of avenues of investigation currently and will not divulge details yet, due to the necessity of operative secrecy."
If the stingray does prove to be linked with Al Qaida, it will not be the first instance of animals being trained to attack western targets by the terrorist organisation. Last year, Brainsnap reported on a nefarious plot to attack turkey farms [1] across the United States before Thanksgiving that was foiled by the FBI. In the same year, accusations were made by an ex-CIA operative that Al Qaida may have been training killer catfish to attack shipping [2].
A Community Announcement
Brainsnap advises our readers that, while it is not yet a time to panic, you should avoid the water as much as possible, particularly anywhere where stingrays are known to frequent. Don't take your children to the beach, and avoid aquariums and marine oriented theme parks, because you never know when trained marine animals may strike. We suggest that you lock your doors, check your fire arms, and vote Republican (or the corresponding conservative party in your nation), if you wish to remain safe.