Crocodile Hunter, Steve Irwin Dead

[RobFunk]

Re: The crocodile/kid thing.. his wife was there, watching, and I have no reason to doubt that he was in control of the situation. As he said, it was all about "percieved risk", that was his profession.

Right. I just watched the Today show clip of him that aired right after the incident and he said it was completely choreographed and there was 6 well trained croc handlers very near by. Just like you said he was adamant that he was in control 100% of the time, and he would never let anything happen to his children, while he clutched his smiling daughter.

Stingray death accident was freak, it is a normally docile creature albiet a dangerous one and he caught some very bad luck. That could happen to anyone. He was not trying to handle the ray', he was doing something else.

 

[Wrigley]

Steve Irwin

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Jump to: navigation, search
<!-- start content --><TABLE class=infobox style="FONT-SIZE: 90%; WIDTH: 22em" cellSpacing=5><CAPTION style="FONT-SIZE: larger; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent">Steve Irwin</CAPTION><TBODY><TR><TD style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" colSpan=2>
</TD></TR><TR><TH style="TEXT-ALIGN: right">Born:</TH><TD>22 February 1962
Essendon, Victoria, Australia</TD></TR><TR><TH style="TEXT-ALIGN: right">Died:</TH><TD>4 September 2006
Batt Reef, Queensland, Australia</TD></TR><TR><TH style="TEXT-ALIGN: right">Occupation:</TH><TD>television personality, zoo owner</TD></TR><TR><TH style="TEXT-ALIGN: right">Website:</TH><TD>www.crocodilehunter.com</TD></TR><TR><TH style="TEXT-ALIGN: right">Children:</TH><TD>2</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Stephen Robert Irwin (22 February 1962 – 4 September 2006) was an Australian television personality. He was best known for the television program The Crocodile Hunter, an unconventional wildlife documentary series which he hosted with his wife Terri Irwin. He is a world-renowned 'Aussie Icon' and his show is broadcasted to numerous countries around the world. He also owned and operated the Australia Zoo at Beerwah in Queensland with friend William Rollo and his wife.
<TABLE class=toc id=toc summary=Contents><TBODY><TR><TD>Contents

[hide]

• <LI class=toclevel-1>1 Early years <LI class=toclevel-1>2 Career
  • <LI class=toclevel-2>2.1 Rise to fame <LI class=toclevel-2>2.2 Film <LI class=toclevel-2>2.3 Animal Planet <LI class=toclevel-2>2.4 Later projects <LI class=toclevel-2>2.5 Media work <LI class=toclevel-2>2.6 Honours
  • 2.7 Environmentalism
  <LI class=toclevel-1>3 Personal life
  • <LI class=toclevel-2>3.1 Family <LI class=toclevel-2>3.2 Controversy
  • 3.3 Death
  <LI class=toclevel-1>4 Trivia <LI class=toclevel-1>5 References
• 6 External links

</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><SCRIPT type=text/javascript>//<![CDATA[ if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); } //]]></SCRIPT>
[edit]
http://forum.therx.com/
Early years

Born to Lyn and Bob Irwin in Essendon, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Irwin moved with his parents as a child to Queensland in 1970. Bob was a reptile enthusiast and when the family moved, his parents started the small Queensland Reptile and Fauna Park, where Steve grew up around crocodiles and other reptiles.
Steve became involved with the park in a number of ways, including taking part in daily animal feedings, as well as care and maintence activities. On his sixth birthday he was given a scrub python. Bob educated Steve on reptiles, with Steve getting involved physically with crocodiles at the age of 9. He became a crocodile trapper, removing crocodiles from near populated areas, performing the service for free with the quid pro quo that he kept them for the park. Steve followed in his father's footsteps, becoming a volunteer for the Queensland Government's East Coast Crocodile Management program.
[edit]
http://forum.therx.com/
Career

[edit]
http://forum.therx.com/
Rise to fame

The park was a family business, with Lyn and Bob turning it over in 1991 to Steve. He took over the running of the park, now renamed the "Australia Zoo", and in 1992 met (at the park) and married Terri. The footage, shot by John Stainton, of their crocodile-trapping honeymoon became the first episode of The Crocodile Hunter, which became wildly successful in America and the UK. His exuberant and enthusiastic presenting style, broad Australian accent, constant wearing of khakis and catch-phrase "Crikey!" became known worldwide: The Crocodile Hunter aired in over 122 countries worldwide.<SUP class=reference id=_ref-0>[1]</SUP>
Under Irwin's expansive leadership, the operations grew to include the zoo, the television series, The Steve Irwin Conservation Foundation, and International Crocodile Rescue. Improvements to his Australia Zoo include the Animal Planet Crocoseum, the rainforest aviary, and Tiger Temple.
[edit]
http://forum.therx.com/
Film


A poster for The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course


In 2001, Irwin appeared in a cameo role in the Eddie Murphy film Dr. Dolittle 2. In 2002, his first feature film, The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course, was released. In general, reviews of this film were negative. Steve played himself, as well as performing numerous stunts for the film. The film follows Steve who mistakes some CIA agents for poacheres. He sets out to stop them from capturing a crocodile, whom, unknown to him, has actually swallowed a tracking drone. All the crocodiles used in the film were real, and were actually those that had been caught by Steve. The film won the Best Family Feature Film award for a comedy film at the Young Artist Awards. The film was produced on a budget of around $13,000,000. It performed well at the box office, taking in just under three times it's budget.[1] In 2003 Irwin was reportedly in line to host a chat show on Australian network television, a series that never went into production.
[edit]
http://forum.therx.com/
Animal Planet

Animal Planet then released a Crocodile Hunter special called "Crocodiles & Controversy", which attempted to explain both the "Baby Bob Incident" and the Antarctica incident (see below). This special argues that Irwin's son was never in danger of being eaten by the crocodile, and that Irwin could not have endangered animals in Antarctica.
Animal Planet ended The Crocodile Hunter with a series finale entitled "Steve's Last Adventure". The last Crocodile Hunter documentary went for three emotional hours with footage of Irwin's across-the-world adventure, visiting locations like the Himalayas, the Yangtze River, Borneo, and the Kruger National Park.
Irwin went on to star in other Animal Planet documentaries, including The Croc Files, The Crocodile Hunter Diaries, and New Breed Vets.
[edit]
http://forum.therx.com/
Later projects


Irwin feeding a crocodile at Australia Zoo.


In January 2006 as part of Australia Week celebrations in the USA, Irwin appeared at the Pauley Pavilion, UCLA Los Angeles, California. During an interview on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Irwin announced that Discovery Kids would be developing a show for his daughter, Bindi Sue.<SUP class=reference id=_ref-1>[2]</SUP> The show, Jungle Girl, was tipped to be similar to The Wiggles movies, with songs that surround a story. A feature-length episode of Australian kids TV show The Wiggles entitled "Wiggly Safari" appears dedicated to Steve, and he features in it heavily with his wife and daughter. The show includes the song "Crocodile Hunter, Big Steve Irwin".
Steve Irwin was active in politics and was a supporter of the conservative Liberal Party of Australia. In particular, he strongly supported the incumbent Prime Minister John Howard, describing him once as "the greatest leader Australia has ever had" and the "greatest leader in the entire world"; comments which drew a cynical reaction in the Australian media.<SUP class=reference id=_ref-2>[3]</SUP>
[edit]
http://forum.therx.com/
Media work


A poster from Irwin's Quarantine Matters! campaign.


As well as being a general ambassador for Australia due to the nature of his work, Irwin was also involved in several media campaigns. He was employed by the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service to promote Australia's strict quarantine/customs requirements, with advertisements and posters featuring slogans such as, "Quarantine Matters! Don't muck with it" [don't mess around with it].
In 2004 he was appointed ambassador for The Ghan, an Adelaide to Darwin train that began operations in 2004.
He was also a keen promoter for Australian tourism in general and Queensland tourism in particular. In 2002 the Australia Zoo was voted Queensland's top tourist attraction.<SUP class=reference id=_ref-3>[4]</SUP>
[edit]
http://forum.therx.com/
Honours

In 2001 Irwin was awarded the Centenary Medal for his "service to global conservation and to Australian tourism".<SUP class=reference id=_ref-4>[5]</SUP> In 2004 he was nominated for Australian of the Year, which was won by Steve Waugh. Doubts were cast over his nomination when the "baby Bob" incident occurred in January that year.<SUP class=reference id=_ref-5>[6]</SUP>
[edit]
http://forum.therx.com/
Environmentalism

Irwin believed in promoting environmentalism by sharing his excitement about the natural world rather than preaching to people. He was concerned with conservation of endangered animals and land clearing leading to loss of habitat. He urged people to take part in considerate tourism and not support illegal poaching through the purchase of items such as turtle shells. He considered conservation to be the most important part of his work: "I consider myself a wild-life warrior. My mission is to save the world's endangered species." <SUP class=reference id=_ref-6>[7]</SUP> Irwin has bought "large tracts of land" in Australia, Vanuatu, Fiji and the United States, which he describes as "like national parks" and stressed the importance of people realising that they could each make a difference.<SUP class=reference id=_ref-7>[8]</SUP>
He founded the Steve Irwin Conservation Foundation, which was later renamed Wildlife Warriors Worldwide, and became an independent charity. He was described after his death by the CEO of RSPCA Queensland as a "modern-day Noah", and British naturalist David Bellamy lauded his skills as a natural historian and media performer. <SUP class=reference id=_ref-8>[9]</SUP> Irwin discovered a new species of turtle that now bears his name, Elseya irwini - Irwin's Turtle - a type of snapping turtle found on the coast of Queensland. [2]
[edit]
http://forum.therx.com/
Personal life

[edit]
http://forum.therx.com/
Family

Steve married in 1992 to Terri Raines from Eugene, Oregon in the United States. The pair had met a few months earlier when Terri had visited the zoo on a holiday. Together they had two children: a daughter, Bindi Sue Irwin (born 24 July 1998), and a son, Robert Clarence "Bob" Irwin (born 1 December 2003). Bindi Sue is jointly named after two of Steve's dogs: Bindi, who was accidentally killed by a hunter, and Sui, who died in June 2004.
Irwin was as enthusiastic about his family as he was about his work. He once described his daughter Bindi as "the reason he was put on the Earth". His wife Terri once said, "The only thing that could ever keep him away from the animals he loves are the people he loves even more."<SUP class=reference id=_ref-9>[10]</SUP>
[edit]
http://forum.therx.com/
Controversy

Major controversy arose during a public show on 2 January 2004, when Irwin carried his infant son, Bob, in one arm while feeding a chicken carcass to a crocodile with the other hand. The infant was close to the crocodile, and comparisons were made in the press to Michael Jackson's dangling of his son outside a German hotel window. In addition, child welfare groups, animal rights groups, and many of Irwin's television viewers criticised his actions as being irresponsible and tantamount to child abuse. Irwin claimed that any danger to his son was only a perceived danger and that he was in complete control of the situation, and consistently refused to apologize for his actions despite considerable public outcry both in Australia and abroad. His defenders pointed to his many decades of hands-on experience and direct interaction with crocodiles. Terri Irwin claimed that their child was in no more real danger than a child being taught to swim would be. No charges were filed (although the police did visit Irwin at his home and advised him not to repeat the incident).<SUP class=reference id=_ref-10>[11]</SUP>
The incident prompted the Queensland government to change its crocodile-handling laws, banning children and untrained adults from entering crocodile enclosures. <SUP class=reference id=_ref-11>[12]</SUP> In June 2004, allegations were made that he came too close to and disturbed some wildlife (namely whales, seals and penguins) while filming a documentary, Ice Breaker, in Antarctica.<SUP class=reference id=_ref-12>[13]</SUP> Subsequently, the matter was closed without charges being filed.<SUP class=reference id=_ref-13>[14]</SUP>
[edit]
http://forum.therx.com/
Death


Fans leave flowers at the Australia Zoo to mourn Irwin's sudden passing.


On 4 September 2006, Irwin was fatally pierced in the chest by a stingray barb, while off the Great Barrier Reef in Queensland, Australia while filming a segment for his daughter Bindi Irwin's (8 years old at the time) upcoming series. Irwin was in the area filming his own documentary, to be called Ocean's Deadliest, but weather had stalled filming. Irwin decided to take the opportunity to film some shallow water shots for his daughter's program.<SUP class=reference id=_ref-14>[15]</SUP> The BBC reported that this was only the second known fatality in Australian history from a stingray attack.<SUP class=reference id=_ref-15>[16]</SUP> The Sydney Morning Herald lists it as the third known death; the other two deaths being in 1938 and 1945.<SUP class=reference id=_ref-16>[17]</SUP>
Shortly after 11:00 a.m. local time (01:00 UTC), Irwin was filming in the Low Isles, Queensland near Port Douglas, north of Cairns, Queensland, Australia, (Map of where Irwin died) , where he was stung either through his heart <SUP class=reference id=_ref-17>[18]</SUP> or through the left side of his chest<SUP class=reference id=_ref-18>[19]</SUP> After he was stung, his crew called for medical help and attempted to resuscitate him. The Queensland Rescue Helicopter responded, taking him to Cairns Base Hospital.<SUP class=reference id=_ref-19>[20]</SUP> However, Irwin was pronounced dead at noon.<SUP class=reference id=_ref-20>[21]</SUP> He was not killed by the sting itself but from a puncture to the heart in turn causing cardiac arrest. The Queensland Police Service notified his family and released a statement for the media concerning the event.
News of his death prompted a public outpouring expressing shock and loss. Several Australian news websites went down due to high web traffic <SUP class=reference id=_ref-21>[22]</SUP> and talk-back radio experienced a high volume of callers expressing their grief <SUP class=reference id=_ref-22>[23]</SUP>, commemorating his passion and exuberance. Prime Minister John Howard, among many other politicians, expressed his "shock and distress" at the death, saying that "Australia has lost a wonderful and colourful son.” <SUP class=reference id=_ref-23>[24]</SUP>
Steve Irwin's body was flown to a morgue in Cairns, where stunned family and friends were gathering on Monday night.
His American-born wife Terri was told of her husband's death while on a walking tour in Tasmania, and returned to the Sunshine Coast with her two children, Bindi (eight) and two-year-old son Bob.
[edit]
http://forum.therx.com/
Trivia

• Irwin was a great fan of the Singapore Zoo, which he considered a sister institution of the Australia Zoo.<SUP class=reference id=_ref-24>[25]</SUP>
• Irwin loved mixed martial arts competitions and trained with Greg Jackson in the fighting/grappling system of Gaidojutsu.
• Irwin appeared in a 2006 ESPN television commercial in their This is SportsCenter series. In the commercial, he wrestled the Gator mascot of the University of Florida to the ground in an ESPN studio hallway.
• A parody of Steve and Terri forms one of the themes of Irregular Webcomic!
• A parody of Steve, Strewth Irwin, is a recurring character on the Flash cartoon On The Moon.
• A parody of Steve is shown on South Park where he shoves his thumb up a crocodile's anus with a view to seriously pissing it off, much to Cartman's delight.
• In 2004, during an interview with Larry King, he admitted that after receiving many painful bites he had a fear of parrots.<SUP class=reference id=_ref-25>[26]</SUP>
• Irwin was a fan of the Essendon Bombers in the Australian Football League, Essendon being where he grew up as a boy[3]. Steve made several appearances with players and was part of an Australian rules football promotion in Los Angeles as part of Australia week in early 2006 [4].

[edit]
http://forum.therx.com/
References

1. <LI id=_note-0>^ USAweekend.com: Wild Thing, June 18, 2000. <LI id=_note-1>^ The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, 13 January 2006. <LI id=_note-2>^ The Sun-Herald: Crikey! Praise for PM puts you in a snake pit, November 9, 2003. <LI id=_note-3>^ The Age: He's smart, by crikey, June 10 2003. <LI id=_note-4>^ www.itsanhonour.gov.au <LI id=_note-5>^ Sydney Morning Herald: Irwin defends stunt, January 6, 2004. <LI id=_note-6>^ The Age: He's smart, by crikey, June 10 2003. <LI id=_note-7>^ Enough Rope transcript: Steve Irwin, 6 October 2003. <LI id=_note-8>^ Reuters: Australia stunned by death of "modern-day Noah", 4 Sep 2006. <LI id=_note-9>^ CNN.com LARRY KING LIVE: Interview With Steve Irwin, airdate November 25, 2004. <LI id=_note-10>^ O'Rourke, Claire, "Croc hunter ducks for cover", Sydney Morning Herald, January 5, 2004. <LI id=_note-11>^ Sydney Morning Herald: Steve Irwin baby concerns prompt law change, February 24, 2005. <LI id=_note-12>^ Middleton, Karen, "Crocodile Hunter's frolic with whales gets frosty reception", Sydney Morning Herald, June 14, 2004. <LI id=_note-13>^ "Irwin cleared after Penguin Probe", BBC News, June 15, 2004. <LI id=_note-14>^ "Croc Hunter Irwin killed by stingray", THE AGE, 2006-09-04. Retrieved on 2006-09-04. <LI id=_note-15>^ 'Crocodile Hunter' Irwin killed <LI id=_note-16>^ Stingray risks <LI id=_note-17>^ "Steve Irwin dead", ABC Australia, 2006-09-04. Retrieved on 2006-09-04. <LI id=_note-18>^ Williams, David, "Steve Irwin killed by stingray", The Sydney Morning Herald, 2006-09-04. Retrieved on 2006-09-04. <LI id=_note-19>^ Queensland Police Service (2006-09-04). Australian wildlife personality Steve Irwin has died. Press release. Retrieved on 2006-09-04. <LI id=_note-20>^ "Steve Irwin dead", The Courier-Mail, 2006-09-04. Retrieved on 2006-09-04. <LI id=_note-21>^ Smart Office News: Steve Irwin Not The Only One To Die, 4 September 2006. <LI id=_note-22>^ 612 ABC radio: Tributes flow for Steve Irwin, 4 September 2006. <LI id=_note-23>^ The Australian: Irwin brought joy to millions: PM, September 04, 2006. <LI id=_note-24>^ Singapore Sling!. International Crocodile Rescue. Retrieved on 16 March 2006.
2. ^ CNN LARRY KING LIVE - Transcript of Interview With Steve Irwin Aired 25 November 2004. Retrieved 4 September 2006.

[edit]
http://forum.therx.com/
External links


See Wikinews article: Crocodile Hunter's Steve Irwin dies at 44



Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Steve Irwin



Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Steve Irwin

• Crocodile Hunter.com
• Animal Planet
• Steve Irwin at the Internet Movie Database
• Australian Story: What Lies Beneath, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 22 September 2003.
• Enough Rope with Andrew Denton: Steve Irwin, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 6 October 2003.
• Enough Rope with Andrew Denton: Steve and Terri Irwin, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 22 March 2004.

<TABLE class=metadata id=persondata><TBODY><TR><TH colSpan=2>Persondata</TH></TR><TR><TD class=metadata-label>NAME</TD><TD>Irwin, Stephen Robert</TD></TR><TR><TD class=metadata-label>ALTERNATIVE NAMES</TD><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD class=metadata-label>SHORT DESCRIPTION</TD><TD>Australian environmentalist and television personality</TD></TR><TR><TD class=metadata-label>DATE OF BIRTH</TD><TD>1962-02-22</TD></TR><TR><TD class=metadata-label>PLACE OF BIRTH</TD><TD>Essendon, Victoria, Australia</TD></TR><TR><TD class=metadata-label>DATE OF DEATH</TD><TD>2006-09-04</TD></TR><TR><TD class=metadata-label>PLACE OF DEATH</TD><TD>Batt Reef, Low Isles off Port Douglas, Queensland, Australia</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!-- Pre-expand include size: 35489 bytesPost-expand include size: 13555 bytesTemplate argument size: 9241 bytesMaximum: 2048000 bytes--><!-- Saved in parser cache with key enwikicache:idhash:177370-0!1!0!default!!en!2 and timestamp 20060904121623 -->Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Irwin"
Categories: Australian television presenters | Australian conservationists | People

 

[kimchee7270]

Sh*t happens !

bad things can happen Even When U R Careful , But its like anything else .......the more times u jump out of an airplane , it's just one more time there is a chance the Chute's not gonna open or Some big ass bird will take a Sh*t on u .

Steve was in his element and Loved living life to the fullest . i'm sure he'd rather have died at 44 taking the risks then to be living in a cave till he was 70 .Just unfortunate , this time his Environment Caught up to him !:nohead:

 

[Wrigley]

This is what Irwins manager told the BBC

Mr Irwin's manager John Stainton told the BBC the stingray's barb had pierced the personality's heart.

"He came over the top of a stingray and a barb, the stingray's barb went up and put a hole into his heart," he said.

"We got him back within a couple of minutes to Croc 1, which is Steve's research vessel, and by 12 o'clock when the emergency crew arrived they pronounced him dead."

 

[RobFunk]

bad things can happen Even When U R Careful , But its like anything else .......the more times u jump out of an airplane , it's just one more time there is a chance the Chute's not gonna open or Some big ass bird will take a Sh*t on u .

Steve was in his element and Loved living life to the fullest . i'm sure he'd rather have died at 44 taking the risks then to be living in a cave till he was 70 .Just unfortunate , this time his Environment Caught up to him !

His mom died in a car accident. Like he said, that is a situation you are supposed to be able to control. But, anything can happen.

 

[allworld23]

God Bless his family and the legacy he left behind. With all the ways he restrained an alligator, he had to save someone's life somewhere, either by the knowledge he taught, or just holding down a gator somewhere. May the Good Lord watch over his family.

Sincerely,
AW23

 

[Dante]

wow very sad I loved the guy ...but I sorta knew something like this would happen one day

 

[G.MONEY]

OT-Crocodile Hunter IRWIN Dead...

Sad, I always thought this guy was crazy!
CAIRNS, Australia - Steve Irwin, the hugely popular Australian television personality and conservationist known as the "Crocodile Hunter," was killed Monday by a stingray while filming off the Great Barrier Reef. He was 44.

ADVERTISEMENT

Irwin was at Batt Reef, off the remote coast of northeastern Queensland state, shooting a segment for a series called "Ocean's Deadliest" when he swam too close to one of the animals, which have a poisonous bard on their tails, his friend and colleague John Stainton said.

"He came on top of the stingray and the stingray's barb went up and into his chest and put a hole into his heart," said Stainton, who was on board Irwin's boat at the time.

Crew members aboard the boat, Croc One, called emergency services in the nearest city, Cairns, and administered CPR as they rushed the boat to nearby Low Isle to meet a rescue helicopter. Medical staff pronounced Irwin dead when they arrived a short time later, Stainton said.

Irwin was famous for his enthusiasm for wildlife and his catchword "Crikey!" in his television program "Crocodile Hunter." First broadcast in Australia in 1992, the program was picked up by the Discovery network, catapulting Irwin to international celebrity.

He rode his image into a feature film, 2002's "The Crocodile Hunters: Collision Course" and developed the wildlife park that his parents opened, Australia Zoo, into a major tourist attraction.

"The world has lost a great wildlife icon, a passionate conservationist and one of the proudest dads on the planet," Stainton told reporters in Cairns. "He died doing what he loved best and left this world in a happy and peaceful state of mind. He would have said, 'Crocs Rule!'"

Prime Minister John Howard, who hand-picked Irwin to attend a gala barbecue to honor President Bush when he visited in 2003, said he was "shocked and distressed at Steve Irwin's sudden, untimely and freakish death."

"It's a huge loss to Australia," Howard told reporters. "He was a wonderful character. He was a passionate environmentalist. He brought joy and entertainment and excitement to millions of people."

Irwin, who made a trademark of hovering dangerously close to untethered crocodiles and leaping on their backs, spoke in rapid-fire bursts with a thick Australian accent and was almost never seen without his uniform of khaki shorts and shirt and heavy boots.

His ebullience was infectious and Australian officials sought him out for photo opportunities and to promote Australia internationally.

Irwin's public image was dented, however, in 2004 when he caused an uproar by holding his infant son in one arm while feeding large crocodiles inside a zoo pen. Irwin claimed at the time there was no danger to the child, and authorities declined to charge Irwin with 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 against him.

Stingrays have a serrated, toxin-loaded barb, or spine, on the top of their tail. The barb, which can be up to 10 inches long, flexes if a ray is frightened. Stings usually occur to people when they step on or swim too close to a ray and can be excruciatingly painful but are rarely fatal, said University of Queensland marine neuroscientist Shaun Collin.

Collin said he suspected Irwin died because the barb pierced under his ribcage and directly into his heart.

"It was extraordinarily bad luck. It's not easy to get spined by a stingray and to be killed by one is very rare," Collin said.

News of Irwin's death spread quickly, and tributes flowed from all quarters of society.

At Australia Zoo at Beerwah, south Queensland, floral tributes were dropped at the entrance, where a huge fake crocodile gapes. Drivers honked their horns as they passed.

"Steve, from all God's creatures, thank you. Rest in peace," was written on a card with a bouquet of native flowers.

"We're all very shocked. I don't know what the zoo will do without him. He's done so much for us, the environment and it's a big loss," said Paula Kelly, a local resident and volunteer at the zoo, after dropping off a wreath at the gate.

Stainton said Irwin's American-born wife Terri, from Eugene, Ore., had been informed of his death, and had told their daughter Bindi Sue, 8, and son Bob, who will turn 3 in December.

The couple met when she went on vacation in Australia in 1991 and visited Irwin's Australia Zoo; they were married six months later. Sometimes referred to as the "Crocodile Huntress," she costarred on her husband's television show and in his 2002 movie.

___

 

[SportSavant]

Re: The crocodile/kid thing.. his wife was there, watching, and I have no reason to doubt that he was in control of the situation. As he said, it was all about "percieved risk", that was his profession.

ABSOLUTELY, besides, the picture gives a false story of how close they actually were to the CROC....

 

[Journeyman]

'Stingrays often weigh 750 lbs' I would have never guessed that, they don't look that heavy , and for the most part they look very calm...I don't recall ever seeing anything about stingrays being that dangerous when you watch a shark documentary.

Of all the ways for this guy to have died doing his thing, this was a pretty flukey way to go out.

 

[SportSavant]

God Bless his family and the legacy he left behind. With all the ways he restrained an alligator, he had to save someone's life somewhere, either by the knowledge he taught, or just holding down a gator somewhere. May the Good Lord watch over his family.

Sincerely,
AW23

The amount of education he has brought us, he has saved many lives, both animals and humans.....

This man did more for our planet and everything on it in one week, than most of us will do for our entire lives....

 

[Tulsa]

I wouldn't have thought it, but I'm saddened by this news more than I would have guessed.

He was a good fellow and his excitement was infectious. He will be missed and the world was a better place with his crazy ways.

Peace to you, Mr. Irwin.

tulsa

 

[chips2424]

So sad to hear this he will be missed

 

[Journeyman]

Just heard there has not been a stingray death in Australia in decades...what a fluke way for this guy to pass on.

 

[lander]

I can't believe the good Lord would take such a responsible father away. The stunt with the baby confirms that this man was insane. I'm glad his theatrics didn't get anyone else killed too.

You reap what you sew, no?

 

[lifexpired]

Man, it stinks to lose somebody who had SO much passion for what he did.

RIP

 

[kermit16]

I can't believe the good Lord would take such a responsible father away. The stunt with the baby confirms that this man was insane. I'm glad his theatrics didn't get anyone else killed too.

You reap what you sew, no?

Your Post shows how little you know about this great Man. He saved many lives by educating people as to the dangers involved. He was a great voice for conservation in this World as He loved Nature and the animals that occupied this world. He will be sorely missed by most. RIP

 

[xpanda]

Show a little class for Christs sake the guy died and left a family!

Of course, and it's horrible for his family that he's died, especially so young.

But in no way does his death negate the sheer irresponsibility we see in that photo, no matter how many croc handlers were around. All it takes is one good lunge, and that child is gone.

Maybe it's because I'm a woman, but you just DO NOT put your children in situations that carry such a massive risk. And when you do, I lose a crapload of respect. I refused to watch his show again after that stunt. Doubt I was alone.

 

[quantumleap]

Perhaps it was a stunt crock.

 

[Fishhead]

Stunning news this morning hearing of this.