Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin dies

[Skylar]

CAIRNS, Australia - Steve Irwin, the hugely popular Australian television personality and environmentalist known as the “Crocodile Hunter,” was killed Monday by a stingray while filming an underwater documentary on the Great Barrier Reef. He was 44.

Irwin was killed by a stingray barb to the heart on Batt Reef, off the remote resort town of Port Douglas in northeastern Queensland state, his wildlife park Australia Zoo said in a statement.

Crew members aboard Irwin’s 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 a short time later, the statement said.

Wildlife filmmaker David Ireland said the barb - from a type of stingray called a bull ray - would have been as deadly as a rifle bayonet driven into a vital organ.

Describing stingrays, he added: "They are very dangerous. They have one or two barbs in the tails which are not only coated in toxic material but are also like a bayonet, like a bayonet on a rifle.
"If it hits any vital organs it's as deadly as a bayonet.''

[DaveH]

That is sad to here,I have enjoyed his programs and antics.

[Coop]

My daughter will be very upset,,,she really enjoyed his show.

[Randy Stinchcomb]

very sorry to hear, our prayers go out to his family. he will be missed

[Sam]

Mom called me this morning while I was on the beach. Very sorry to hear this and I will miss his shows. My sympathy to his family.

[igormothra]

that is terrible news, he was so amazing with animals. The world is a darker place without him in it.

[ocsnapper]

It is a sad to hear of his death.

[pohocker]

I've noticed the media are making out stingrays to be deadly, dangerous animals all of a sudden. Like most wildlife, they are only dangerous to us if we mess with them. While I'm sorry for his fate, I always thought he sent a bad message about interacting with wildlife by the way he conducted himself for the sake of ratings and/or sensationalism. This last lesson may be the most important one of his career.

[igormothra]

Originally Posted by pohocker

I've noticed the media are making out stingrays to be deadly, dangerous animals all of a sudden. Like most wildlife, they are only dangerous to us if we mess with them. While I'm sorry for his fate, I always thought he sent a bad message about interacting with wildlife by the way he conducted himself for the sake of ratings and/or sensationalism. This last lesson may be the most important one of his career.

While I agree with you in part, I always thought him a little goofy, you cannot downplay his work with conservation and endangered speicies. That being said, I think that this is not the time to question how he did what he did, but to mourn the loss of someone who obviously went to great lengths to further our education and understanding of all the wonderous cratures on this planet.

[chomper]

CRAZY. Not a bad way to go for a pretty hardcore guy. Maybe a little young, but a lot of people get alot fewer years than him. Feel bad for the loved ones.

[mdram]

this is gonna sound wrong
but i always wondered when he would get hurt/maimed/killed.
its truly sad news. but wild animals are nothing to take lightly

[Randy Stinchcomb]

yeah, sad but when I first heard the news of his death, I thought maybe a Croc got him, not a fish

[chomper]

Originally Posted by mdram

this is gonna sound wrong
but i always wondered when he would get hurt/maimed/killed.
its truly sad news. but wild animals are nothing to take lightly

I hear that. I thought it would have been a snakes venom or crocodile getting him. Stabbed through the heart by a stinger/ barb, thats just meant to be or something. Payback for tormenting all those wild animals and then not eating them. :icon_twisted: :icon_twisted: :icon_twisted:

[fish-aholic]

This may hurt the big ray population....I envision many of them being killed when caught or at a minimum the barbs being snapped off. I've watched fishermen in SC on the piers snap off every barb they come across. To the point where if you catch one they attempt to cut yours off as well (which I wouldn't let them do) No sense in removing the fish's only defense.....

[Sam]

He was very good at what he did. He knew how to handle all those critters on land and had his share of injuries, I'm sure. He had respect for the animals, knowledge and a true love for saving them.

This was really a stroke of bad luck. I am glad he was here for us for so long. Not just us here in the states for entertainment, but for the animals around the world. I'm sure he has inspired countless for a good cause.