Crocodile Hunter killed

[Aggie87]

R.I.P. Steve Irwin

Stingray kills 'Crocodile Hunter'

SYDNEY, Australia (CNN) -- Steve Irwin, the Australian TV presenter known as the "Crocodile Hunter," has died after being stung in a marine accident off Australia's north coast.

Australian media reports say Irwin was diving in waters off Port Douglas, north of Cairns, when the incident happened on Monday morning.

Irwin was killed by a stingray barb that went through his chest, according to Cairns police sources. Irwin was filming an underwater documentary at the time.

Ambulance officers confirmed they attended a reef fatality Monday morning off Port Douglas, according to Australian media.

Queensland Police Services also confirmed Irwin's death and said his family had been notified. Irwin, 44, was director of the Australian Zoo in Queensland.

He is survived by his American-born wife Terri and their two children, Bindi Sue, born 1998, and Robert (Bob), born December 2003.

Irwin became a popular figure on Australian and international television through Irwin's close handling of wildlife, most notably the capture and relocation of crocodiles.

Irwin's enthusiastic approach to nature conservation and the environment won him a global following. He was known for his exuberance and use of the catchphrase "Crikey!"

But his image suffered a setback in January 2004 when he held his then one-month-old baby Bob while feeding a crocodile at his Australian zoo.

Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer expressed his sorry Monday and said that he was fond of Irwin and was very appreciative of all the work he had done in promoting Australia overseas.

In 2003, Irwin spoke to the Australian Broadcasting Corp.'s Australian Story television program about how he was perceived in his home country.

"When I see what's happened all over the world, they're looking at me as this very popular, wildlife warrior Australian bloke," he said, the ABC reported.

"And yet back here in my own country, some people find me a little bit embarrassing. "You know, there's this... they kind of cringe, you know, 'cause I'm coming out with 'Crikey' and 'Look at this beauty'."

Edited September 4, 2006 by Aggie87

[7/4]

Crikey.

[Soul Stream]

I guess he jacked with the wrong stingray.

[Big Wheel]

Jesus. How does such a thing even happen? I've never even heard of people getting stung by stingrays except by stepping on them.

edit: I guess I'm used to only the garden variety stingray. "The giant Australian stingray can reach 6 to 7 feet across the wings and weigh 750 pounds."

Why are all the animals in Australia 10 times scarier than any animal anywhere else?

Edited September 4, 2006 by Big Wheel

[BERIGAN]

Jesus. How does such a thing even happen? I've never even heard of people getting stung by stingrays except by stepping on them.

edit: I guess I'm used to only the garden variety stingray. "The giant Australian stingray can reach 6 to 7 feet across the wings and weigh 750 pounds."

Why are all the animals in Australia 10 times scarier than any animal anywhere else?

Spiders as well! http://www.usyd.edu.au/anaes/venom/spiders.html#FUNNELWEB

[BERIGAN]

Getting back to Steve Irwin, part of me wanted to say something to the effect that he was tempting fate, forever looking to lose a finger or arm it seemed. But, the story I saw had this photo of Steve and his wife, and it makes it kinda hard to say see I told you so.

[Niko]

in case anyone else needs it: stingray is

Stachelrochen

(pastenague in french while the spanish part of dict.leo.org didn't find anything )

[connoisseur series500]

Horrible news. I'm sad. What a way to go.

[Eric]

Getting back to Steve Irwin, part of me wanted to say something to the effect that he was tempting fate, forever looking to lose a finger or arm it seemed. But, the story I saw had this photo of Steve and his wife, and it makes it kinda hard to say see I told you so.

I agree. I think that on the whole, he was a pretty amazing guy, although this kind of fate might have been inevitable. RIP

[Man with the Golden Arm]

dang. sad indeed.

sounds like he was swimming just above the ray ... a bit like this maybe?

[Big Al]

At the very least, he died doing what he loved.

RIP, and thanks for the wonderful adventures.

[Randy Twizzle]

Unfortunately not everyone is saddened by the news

[catesta]

I used to enjoy watching his shows very much until they went overboard and burned me out.

This is a sad story. The guy may have been a goof ball and forever put himself in dangerous situations, but he obviously loved what he was doing.

[Noj]

Man, that really sucks. RIP, Steve.

[Quincy]

Getting back to Steve Irwin, part of me wanted to say something to the effect that he was tempting fate, forever looking to lose a finger or arm it seemed. But, the story I saw had this photo of Steve and his wife, and it makes it kinda hard to say see I told you so.

I met her once as she's from Eugene OR, though not having cable tv I had no idea who she was. I was volunteering at a wildlife rehab center and I came in to take over as shift supervisor. I headed to the ER as that's where you go first to see who needs critical care. I was told to be quiet as I entered with the previous shift's super as there was filming going on in there. I was then asked by the previous super if I ever watched Animal Planet.

"No, I don't have cable."

"Well, have you heard of the Crocodile Hunter?"

(Pause) "Um...no, I don't think so."

(Disgusted with me) "Oh well, this is Terry Irwin and she's the wife of Steve the Crocodile Hunter."

She was very nice and not bothered at me not knowing who she was (in fact, I think she was mildly amused by it.) She was filming the feeding of some baby birds on a small camera. The best part was she was very much in control of the chaotic scene and took over tending to the ER for the next few hours, and as the center was often understaffed it made my day much easier.

A year or so later I saw them on their show while in a hotel room. Crikey, in just the first 15 minutes of the show the guy damn near died 3 times.

[7/4]

September 4, 2006

Stingray Deaths Like Irwin Are Very Rare

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Filed at 2:04 p.m. ET

Stingrays are strange-looking but normally shy creatures whose defenses include poisonous, serrated barbs in their tails.

At least 35 species of stingrays swim in the tropical waters of Australia's Great Barrier Reef, where television personality Steve Irwin died Monday when he was stabbed in the heart by a ray's barb.

Experts called it a freak occurrence.

They said the triangular-shaped rays are usually unobtrusive, gliding through the water, rummaging on the sea bottom for food or burrowing into the sand. But when stepped on or otherwise frightened, they deploy spines up to 10 inches long with breadknife-like serrations as a defense mechanism.

''If it's spooked by someone stepping on it or swimming too closely over it, frightening it, the tail raises involuntarily,'' said Victoria Brims, a marine life expert at OceanWorld, an aquarium in Sydney, Australia.

The spines emit toxins that can kill many small creatures and that cause excruciating pain in humans. Few people die from the poison, but the spines can badly tear flesh and the wounds are prone to infections, including tetanus.

Simon Pierce of Queensland University's School of Biological Sciences said there were no accurate records of stingray deaths, but estimated there had been about 30 worldwide in recent years.

Witnesses said Irwin was struck directly in the heart.

''It was extraordinarily bad luck,'' said Shaun Collin, a University of Queensland marine neuroscientist. ''It's not easy to get spined by a stingray, and to be killed by one is very rare.''

[Christiern]

He had become a bit too sure of himself--as someone pointed out, this was likely to happen eventually.

Sad for his family.

[Dan Gould]

He had become a bit too sure of himself--as someone pointed out, this was likely to happen eventually.

Sad for his family.

I don't think he became anymore sure of himself than he was when he started out (the episode with the infant notwithstanding). It really sounds like this was a 1 in a million fluke. If he'd died from a snakebite or a croc bit him in half, then yeah, it was going to happen eventually.

but not going like this.

[JSngry]

Isn't that often how it happens, though? You dodge the big bullets only to get hit by a freak one?

[chris olivarez]

He tempted fate as a matter of his routine and fate finally took him up on it. He wasn't invincible but he probably went out the way he wanted to. My sympathy to his family.

[Dan Gould]

He tempted fate as a matter of his routine and fate finally took him up on it. He wasn't invincible but he probably went out the way he wanted to. My sympathy to his family.

Chris has nicely put it in a nutshell.

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

I was very sad when I heard the news this morning. My wife was very annoyed - she watches him all the time.

MG

[ep1str0phy]

Extremely sad, but I'm not entirely sure how to react to this. This does seem like one of those die-by-the-sword moments. Regardless, my condolences to his family, friends, and fans. He was a bright personality.

[kenny weir]

It really sounds like this was a 1 in a million fluke.

No it wasn't. The ray was spooked by having someone so close above it, and a camerman in front. It was reacting to a threat; it wasn't random.

[Dan Gould]

It really sounds like this was a 1 in a million fluke.

No it wasn't. The ray was spooked by having someone so close above it, and a camerman in front. It was reacting to a threat; it wasn't random.

Read the article posted by 7/4, Kenny.

the fluke part was it going through the rib cage and hitting his heart and him dying:

The spines emit toxins that can kill many small creatures and that cause excruciating pain in humans. Few people die from the poison, but the spines can badly tear flesh and the wounds are prone to infections, including tetanus.

Simon Pierce of Queensland University's School of Biological Sciences said there were no accurate records of stingray deaths, but estimated there had been about 30 worldwide in recent years.

Witnesses said Irwin was struck directly in the heart.

''It was extraordinarily bad luck,'' said Shaun Collin, a University of Queensland marine neuroscientist. ''It's not easy to get spined by a stingray, and to be killed by one is very rare.''

sounds flukish to me.