Crocodile Hunter, Steve Irwin, Reportedly Killed in Action

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I found this odd, I'm still not sure it's true. Some reports call it a freak accident but it seems he was filming stingrays in their environment and got too close.

http://www.news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060904/ap_en_tv/obit_irwin

BRISBANE, Australia - Steve Irwin, the hugely popular Australian television personality and environmentalist known as the "Crocodile Hunter," was killed Monday by a stingray during a diving expedition, Australian media said. He was 44.

Irwin was filming an underwater documentary on the Great Barrier Reef in northeastern Queensland state when the accident occurred, Sydney's The Daily Telegraph newspaper reported on its Web site.

The Australian Broadcasting Corp. said Irwin was diving near Low Isles Reef near the resort town of Port Douglas, about 1,260 miles north of the state capital of Brisbane.

Queensland ambulance service spokesman Bob Hamil confirmed that a diver had been killed by a stingray off Lowe Isles Reef but refused to say who the victim was until relatives had been notified.

A rescue helicopter was sent from the nearby city of Cairns, and paramedics from it confirmed the diver's death.

"The probable cause of death is stingray strike to the chest," Hamil said.

Staff at Australia Zoo, Irwin's zoo in southern Queensland, said they had heard the reports but could not comment.

Irwin is famous for his enthusiasm for wildlife and his catchcry "Crikey!" in his television program "Crocodile Hunter," which was first broadcast in Australia in 1992 and has aired around the world on the Discovery channel.

He rode his image into a feature film, and developed the Australia Zoo as a tourist attraction.

Irwin had received some negative publicity in recent years. In January 2004, he stunned onlookers at the Australia Zoo reptile park by carrying his 1-year-old son into a crocodile pen during a wildlife show. He tucked the infant under one arm while tossing the 13-foot reptile a piece of meat with the other.

Authorities declined to charge Irwin for violating safety regulations.

Later that year, he was accused of getting too close to penguins, a seal and humpback whales in Antarctica while making a documentary. Irwin denied any wrongdoing, and an Australian Environment Department investigation recommended no action be taken.

Irwin was also seen as a vocal critic of wildlife hunts in Australia. The federal government recently dropped plans to allow crocodile safaris for wealthy tourists in the Northern Territory following his vehement objections.

Irwin told the Australian television program "A Current Affair" that "killing one of our beautiful animals in the name of trophy hunting will have a very negative impact on tourism, which scares the living daylights out of me."

He is survived by his American wife Terri, from Oregon, and their daughter Bindi Sue, 8, and son Bob, who will turn 3 in December.

When I first saw that story, it sounded like a hoax. Unfortunately, it looks like it's true.

It is a tragedy for conservationism. Steve Irwin maybe did'nt show the animals as much respect as a serious photographer, and he was rather daring, but he also increased interest for wildlife and therefore for the preservation of wildlife. And you could just see his childish fascination with animals as something pure, guiltless and rather unusual in such a materialistic civilisation as the current one.

Condoleances to Terri and the children.

With the danger he put himself into almost daily,it was only a matter of time

Im still really upset through...I vow to find that stingray and kill it with my bare hands!

LOL

Now, now, I think someone has done that already and is putting it on eBay...

Seriously, it is a blow to Australia and the world.

I would've thought his death would be more ironic. Instead, it is merely a tragic statistic. He becomes one of the few people in the world to have been killed by a stingray sting. When I heard how it happened, I was thinking, "Yes, that'd be right.", as a stingray sting can be fatal when it hits the heart.

I feel sorry for Terri, Bindi and Bob at being left behind, and his father, Bob Irwin, for having to bury his son.

It wasn't the sting or the venom that killed him, but the barb - which is like a big long skewer, going straight through his heart. It would have been very quick.

Stingrays have a sneaky habit of hiding under the sand where you can't see them. So if you're looking at the poisonous sea snake over there, and you land hard on the sand in scuba gear (quite common for the relatively inexperienced divers), the stingray that you crashed onto will defend itself. It's really really bad luck it got him through the heart. I will miss his enthusiasm and passion for animals and biodiversity.

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,20349888-2,00.html

Well, what I read is that they aren't even defending themselves. It's more of a mechanical move that strikes the "predator". It seems it's really hard to get stung and even more rare to be struck in the chest. It looks like his death was due to both the barb and the venom.

Another site that talking about this is all NTs and talking about him and his poor family. I don't know but the last time this guy was in the papers, it was about him dangling his baby in front of the croc. I think he was a liability to them. I can't say I liked how he nosed into wildlife's affairs. Rescuing wild animals from urban areas is one thing, but going out into the wild and monkeying with them is another. And bringing babies into a croc pit is disgusting.

He avoided crocodiles and wasn't killed by them, yet he was killed by a stingray. I first saw it on wikipedia. I couldn't believe it though. Luckily he is survived by his wife and 2 kids. It would of happened anyway at any other given time, considering the amount of danger he put himself into.

So his father put him in danger as a child by "holding" him while in close-contact to dangerous animals, therfore it was ok that Steve did the same? Looks like abuse does travel through family history.

Crickey! Did you see that? It got me right in the chest! Oh...

Steve did so much for animal conservation and local tourism. I can just picture him in heaven saying "By Crikey, Mate" and looking after the animals up there.

One example of what a kind man he was, was a local lady's son got lost at Australia Zoo. When she was reunited with him, her son was having a milkshake with Steve.

While that may have been his last words, and as funny as they may have been in another context (ie, before this happened in a satire, or some decades from now), that was just not funny.

I never heard that emc! Goes to show.

The baby Bob issue actually would seem different, if one saw different angles of what was going on. The camera that is seen on news photos and footage is behind them. Another angle shows Steve actually outstretched, with one hand at full outreach towards the croc with the chicken (I think), and Bob in the other well away from the croc. Still dangerous and slightly irresponsible, but considering Irwin's experience with crocs compared to, say, Michael Jackson's knowledge of a drop over a balcony some storeys up. At least with Steve Irwin, everything is pretty much "what you see is what you get".