Marine experts are scratching their heads. They're trying to figure out what caused a sting ray to jump out of the ocean, hitting and killing a woman in her boat off the Florida Keys.
News 4 talked to experts about the fish everyone's talking about.

Sting ray's are part of the shark family but once you learn about them, you'll realize just how freak Thursday's sting ray accident in off the Florida coast really was.

"Sting rays are magnificent creatures," said Sea World employee Joe Keyon.

Sea World has more than 40 sting rays. A full grown adult can get up to 500 pounds, with a wing span of 8 feet.

"You can see how majestic they are swimming along the water," said Keyon.

They don't normally jump out of the water. But On Thursday a 75 pound spotted eagle sting ray did just that. It jumped out of the water, hitting a boater. The impact caused her to fall down, hitting her head on the boat's deck and killing her. So why would one jump out of the water?

"It could be because a predator was after them or they got spooked by something," said Keyon. "They could have been spooked by the sound of the boat."

Sting ray attacks are rare. But in 2006 TV's Crocodile Hunter, Steve Irwin, was killed after he was stung by a sting ray's self defense barb.

"The rays get kind of a bad rap they're misunderstood," said Keyon. "They are just not aggressive creatures."

Sting rays can be found off the Texas coast and in Florida but again attacks are rare.