Up to 10 stingrays have been found dead and mutilated on Australia's eastern coast since "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin was killed by one of the animals last week, an official said today, prompting concerns of revenge attacks on the normally docile fish.
The popular television star was killed last week when a stingray barb pierced his chest as he filmed a TV show off Australia's Great Barrier Reef.
The dead stingrays have been discovered on two beaches in Queensland state, including two that were found today with their tails lopped off, said state fisheries department official Wayne Sumpton.
Mr Sumpton said fishermen who inadvertently caught the diamond-shaped rays sometimes cut off their tails to avoid being stung, but the practice was uncommon.
Michael Hornby, executive director of Irwin's conservation group Wildlife Warriors, said he was concerned the rays were being hunted and killed in retaliation for the TV star's death.
"We just want to make it very clear that we will not accept and not stand for anyone who's taken a form of retribution. That's the last thing Steve would want," he said.
Irwin will be celebrated at a public memorial service next week at the Australian wildlife park his family owns, his wife announced today.
Fewer than 6,000 people will be able to attend in Beerwah, but negotiations were under way for a live television broadcast
Details of the service for the television personality have been highly anticipated since his death last Monday in a stingray attack on the Great Barrier Reef created an outpouring of grief in Australia, and among fans around the world.