Giant poisonous stingray swims up to woman so she can stroke him

A woman in a harbour in South Africa was greeted by a enormous stingray that swam up to her and nudged her legs to ask for a rub on the head in this incredible clip.

The remarkable encounter, filmed on March 30 at Struis Bay near the southernmost tip of the country, sees the ray swim up to marine conservationist Esther Jacobs, before stopping and nudging her legs until she begins rubbing the top of its body.

Stingrays can be very dangerous if threatened, as they possess a poisonous tail spike that gives them their name, however Jacobs knew to keep calm as the huge fish approached her.

She later commented: "I recently jumped into a harbour to meet some of the resident stingrays. They came right up to me. This is the largest of the stingrays."

"He kept butting my legs, demanding that I rub between his eyes. He was actually very friendly and cute! I just kept a close eye on the dangerous barb on his tail!"