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Wow !!! A huge loss to all the animal lovers out there
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| koky69 |
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.
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!”’
'A huge loss to Australia'
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.
'Extraordinarily bad luck'
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.
Wow , ive been a fan of this guy since his show started .. I really am saddened that he died in this manner :( |
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| DarkAngel |
Just heard about this one. Pretty tragic.
R.I.P. Steve Irwin. |
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| MJM420 |
I am at a loss of words... :( :(
I loved watching his shows when I got an opportunity to watch them. When I opened my home page I thought I read the title wrong on the page. I ended up clicking back & confirmed what i thought I misread.
I'm still in shock...
:( :(
RIP CROC HUNTER |
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| chach |
man that sucks a stingray stinger to the heart thats not a good way to go.
RIP |
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| koky69 |
heres more for you guys to read
THE AGE (Melbourne, Australia) 04 September 06 Daredevil Irwin dies doing what
he loved
Wildlife warrior Steve Irwin was a daredevil who loved flirting with danger
around deadly animals.
But after years of close shaves it was a normally harmless stingray which
finally claimed his life on Monday, plunging a barb into the Crocodile Hunter's
chest as he snorkelled in shallow water on the Great Barrier Reef.
The 44-year-old TV personality may have died instantly when struck by the
stingray while filming a sequence for his eight-year-old daughter Bindi's new TV
series, friends believe.
"You think about all the documentaries we've made and all the dangerous
situations that we have been in, you always think `is this it, is this a day
that maybe his demise?'," said his friend and manager John Stainton.
"(But) nothing would ever scare Steve or would worry him. He didn't have a fear
of death at all."
Mr Irwin made his international reputation wrestling crocodiles and snakes.
But the flamboyant naturalist's final confrontation with a wild animal occurred
at Batt Reef off Port Douglas on Monday morning, where he had been filming a new
documentary, "Ocean's Deadliest".
Taking time off from the main project, Mr Irwin was swimming in shallow water,
snorkelling as his cameraman filmed large bull rays.
"He came over the top of a stingray and the stingray's barb went up and went
into his chest and put a hole into his heart," said Mr Irwin's friend and
manager John Stainton.
"It's likely that he possibly died instantly when the barb hit him, and I don't
think that he ... felt any pain.
"He died doing what he loved best."
Mr Irwin's death was only the third known stingray death in Australian waters,
said shark and stingray expert Victoria Brims.
Wildlife experts said the normally passive creatures only sting in defence,
striking with a bayonet-like barb when they feel threatened.
Marine documentary maker Ben Cropp, who spoke to one of Mr Irwin's crew, said:
"Steve got probably maybe a bit too close to the ray, and with the cameraman in
front, the ray must have felt sort of cornered.
"It went into a defensive mode, stopped, turned around and lashed out with its
tail, which has a considerable spike on it.
"Unfortunately Steve was directly in its path and he took a fatal wound."
Unconscious, Mr Irwin was pulled aboard his research vessel, Croc One, for a
30-minute dash to Low Isle, where an emergency helicopter had been summoned at
about 11am, his Australia Zoo said in a statement.
The crew of the Croc One performed constant CPR during the voyage to Low Isle,
but medical staff pronounced Mr Irwin dead about noon.
Mr 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 and three-year-old son Bob.
The death of the larger than life Mr Irwin, best known for his catchcry
"Crikey!", caused shockwaves around the world, leading TV bulletins in the
United States and Britain.
He was one of Australia's best known personalities internationally and an
ambassador for the nation and its wildlife.
Mr Irwin was also a global phenomenon, making almost 50 documentaries which
appeared on the cable TV channel Animal Planet, and which generated books,
interactive games and even toy action figures.
Prime Minister John Howard said: "I am quite shocked and distressed at Steve
Irwin's sudden, untimely and freakish death. It's a huge loss to Australia.
"He was a wonderful character. He was a passionate environmentalist. He brought
joy and entertainment and excitement to millions of people."
Mourners laid flowers at the entrance of Mr Irwin's Australia Zoo, on
Queensland's Sunshine Coast.
Mr Stainton said bad weather had stopped the filming for their documentary about
some of the world's deadliest sea creatures.
Mr Irwin instead decided on a whim to shoot footage for his daughter Bindi's
upcoming series.
"He said 'I might just go off and shoot some segments for Bindi's show, just
stuff on the reef and little animals," Mr Stainton said.
"I just said fine, anything that would keep him moving and keep his adrenalin
going.
"The next thing I heard on the radio was there was a medical emergency, the
little dinghy he was in was bringing him back with the crew.
"Everyone tried absolutely tirelessly to revive him to keep him alive, we cut
dinghies loose and made it post haste to Low Isle where we knew the chopper
would be able to get in, but I think it's possible he probably died at 11am."
Diver Pete West was on a nearby boat and believed Mr Irwin may have been alive
when pulled from the water.
"He was doing what he did best and unfortunately today he wasn't quick enough,"
he told the Seven Network.
University of Melbourne expert Bryan Fry said stingrays only sting in defence.
"They're not aggressive animals so the animal must have felt threatened. It
didn't sting out of aggression, it stung out of fear," said Dr Fry, deputy
director of the Australian Venom Research.
He said the stingray would have been up to 2.5 metres across, with a
"formidable" jagged barb up to 20cm long, capable of tearing flesh.
"It's not the going in, it's the coming out," Dr Fry said of the serrated barb.
But the stingray's venom would not have been a factor.
Mr Irwin was comfortable around animals, no matter how dangerous, and some
wildlife experts warned he took too many risks.
His enthusiasm and daring made him famous.
The Melbourne-born father of two's Crocodile Hunter program was first broadcast
in 1992 and has been shown around the world on cable network Discovery.
He also starred in movies and helped develop the Australia Zoo wildlife park,
north of Brisbane, which was started by his parents Bob and Lyn Irwin.
He grew up near crocodiles, trapping and removing them from populated areas and
releasing them in his parents' park, which he took over in 1991.
Bob was involved in a controversial incident in January 2004, when his father
held his infant son in one arm as he fed a dead chicken to a crocodile at
Australia Zoo.
Child welfare and animal rights groups criticised his actions as irresponsible
and tantamount to child abuse.
Mr Irwin said any danger to his son was only a perceived danger and that he was
in complete control of the situation.
In June 2004, Mr Irwin came under fire again when it was alleged he came too
close to and disturbed some whales, seals and penguins while filming a
documentary in Antarctica.
Mr Irwin was also a tourism ambassador and was heavily involved in last year's
"G'Day LA" tourism campaign.
Queensland Premier Peter Beattie said Mr Irwin was an "extraordinary man".
"He has made an enormous difference to his state and his country," he said.
http://www.theage.com.au/news/Natio...7222051588.html
Allen Salzberg
HerpDigest.org
Subscribe now To The Only
E-zine That Reports on
The Latest News
on Herpetological
Conservation and Science
(Two issues a week).
www.herpdigest.org |
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| dj douglas |
:confused: Dam just heard about this one...Talk about bad luck
HE had never even been bitten by any venoumous creature before this! |
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| XxGrOoVeERICxX |
:eek: :(
No more Crocodile Hunter! :mad: :(
R.I.P. |
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| DJReLiK2424 |
| Very depressing story :( |
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| FallingMoon |
I was sooooooooooo sad when I heard this, I really couldn't believe it! :(
I loved his shows & his dedication to animals.
I don't think anyone else can come close to that crazy fuker and his Crocodile obsession :sadgreen: |
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| Coup |
| the man was a legend. :( |
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| FallingMoon |
I've been watching Animal Planet for like 2 hours & they're giving repeats of his shows.
Kinda still shocked. |
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| elecmfreak |
Rest in Peace !!
R.I.P Steve Irwin. |
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