Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin dead

[Jared Moya]

THE Crocodile Hunter, Steve Irwin, is dead.

He was killed in a freak accident in Cairns, police sources said today.

It is understood he was killed by a stingray barb that went through his chest and reportedly into his heart .

He was swimming off the Low Isles at Port Douglas filming an underwater documentary when the tragedy occured.

The Queensland Ambulance Service (QAS) was called about 11am (AEST) and an emergency services helicopter was flown to the crew's boat on Batt Reef, off the coast near Cairns, with a doctor and emergency services paramedic on board.

Irwin had a puncture wound to the left side of his chest and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Irwin's body is being flown to Cairns.

Tasmania Police this afternoon confirmed his wife Terri was travelling in the state at the time of the tragedy.

A spokeswoman said police had made contact with Mrs Irwin and "passed on a message relating to the death of her husband".

The Irwins have two children - a daughter, Bindi Sue Irwin, eight, and a three-year-old son, Robert (Bob) Clarence Irwin.

Steve Irwin - known worldwide as the Crocodile Hunter - was famous for his enthusiasm for wildlife and his catchcry "Crikey!".

In an sad twist, it has been reported that his new documentary was aimed at demystifying the stingray.

Irwin's Crocodile Hunter program was first broadcast in 1992 and has been shown around the world on cable network Discovery.

He has also starred in movies and has developed the Australia Zoo wildlife park, north of Brisbane, which was started by his parents Bob and Lyn Irwin.

Tributes have already started pouring in for the larger-than-life character.

Foreign Minister Alexander Downer, who used a photograph of his family at Australia Zoo for his official Christmas card last year, hailed Mr Irwin for his work in promoting Australia.

Irwin was heavily involved in last year's "G'Day LA" campaign.

"The minister knew him, was fond of him and was very, very appreciative of all the work he'd done to promote Australia overseas," a spokesman said.

A Tourism Queensland spokeswoman said the death was shocking and paid tribute to Irwin's "enormous contribution" to his adopted state.

"I don't think we could even estimate how much he brought us through his personality and his profile and his enthusiasm about Queensland," she said.

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

[evilmegaman]

:icon_salu

this is kinda sad... But out of curiosity... Is a stingray barb part of a stingray?


nvm...

I don't know what to think about this...

[Mels_Smileys45]

Its sad but everyone should have known something bad would happen to him. He was an alright guy but seemed to think if you knew an animal you could predict what it was thinking. Like when he taunted that crocodile with his baby. Just stupid. Like Timothy Treadwell before him, testing wild animals limits is foolish. At some point your odds are reduced to 0, game over.

[DigitalJunkie]

I watch Animal Planet often, I'm going to miss it. :(

[axlman]

No more "Crikey" for all those who loved Steve Erwin! The 44 year old Croc Hunter has passed away early Monday morning during a filming for his show. Steve was stuck by a barb of a StingRay.

Story Link: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060904/..._tv/obit_irwin



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.

Irwin was famous for his enthusiasm for wildlife and his catchword "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.

"The world has lost a great wildlife icon, a passionate conservationist and one of the proudest dads on the planet," John Stainton, Irwin's friend and producer, said in the statement. "He died doing what he loves best and left this world in a happy and peaceful state of mind. Crocs Rule!"

Foreign Minister Alexander Downer, who used a photograph of his family at Australia Zoo for his official Christmas card last year, hailed Irwin for his work in promoting Australia through projects such as "G'Day LA," an Australian tourism and trade promotion week in Los Angeles in January.

"The minister knew him, was fond of him and was very, very appreciative of all the work he'd done to promote Australia overseas," Downer's spokesman Tony Parkinson said.
Irwin's dedication to conservationist causes led him to become 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."
However, Irwin had also received negative publicity in recent years. In January 2004, he stunned onlookers at the Australia Zoo reptile park by carrying his month-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.

He is survived by his American wife Terri, from Eugene, Ore., and 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 the 2002 movie, "The Crocodile Hunters: Collision Course."
Stingrays have flat bodies and tails with serrated spines, which contain venom and can cause cuts and puncture wounds. The creatures are not aggressive and injury usually occurs when a swimmer or diver accidentally steps on one.

[Auggie2k]

Threads merged.

Yeah it is a shame, my brother is actually really upset about it. He will be missed.

[VAMPYRE BLADE]

That sucks i use to watch him on cable, he was a brave guy i wouldnt touch half the animals he did.

[Signa]

im sad but i cant help but feel a little irreverantly mirthful about it. i mean the guy was awsome, but he did some REALLY stupid things too: most of it for entertainment factor. its like when they brought him onto southpark, all he did was wrestle animals for no reason and try to cram his thumb up their butthole. i found that funny because it made more sence doing that than it did for what he did in real life.

whats really funny is that he is only the 3rd recorded death in austrailia from stingrays. such sad irony.

[shawners]

Died doing something you love, and he died with his boots on. If he didnt do what he did, alot of people wouldnt have known so much or seen so many animals. Plus what he did made him famous and probably provide a richer life for his wife and kids. So maybe later when the kids reach a older age, maybe they will understand more about him through all the videos and tapes that he was on.

[CrashPeer44]

Awh:'( i loved that showed I watched it growing up!

RIP Steve Irwin you always brought alot of laughter and amazement through every epesoid

[black_magiic]

I can't believe he died. He could of been the next Chuck Norris. He'll be missed.

[fleecy]

we enjoyed his show. he was so enthusiastic about his work, you could tell he genuinely loved it. i wish i could say it was a shock, but he'd had his share of close calls, and there is a price to be paid for getting up close and personal with some of these species. still, he'll be missed. no more "crikey".

[CrashPeer44]

i'm sad
he has to be few of the people on TV that actually had a non Hollywood bullshit interesting show

[meyou123]

I think it is very sad, because he seemed to love his wife, kids and especially going out and having fun with animals....that is if you can call wrestling alligators or playing with posionus snakes fun!

But he did seem to enjoy what he did while he was here. But I agree with what most here have said....you can only go for so long taking chances and having near misses before somethings got to give.

What may very well have happened is that because of the person he was, he took a chance and swam too close to the stingray...who then felt threatened and fought back the only way it knew how...with it's barb extended. Unfortunately....it hit his chest and pirced his heart. I would think that even if it had of missed his heart, he would have been severly wounded...though he might have lived.

But when it is your time to die, then that is it. I hope his wife and kids can find some peace knowing that he died doing what he loved. I really could not see that kind of person growing old and dying in a rocking char...at least not without driving the old folks crazy with his stories! RIP Steve....you will be missed.

[TheHashasin]

I have to say as long time Greenpeace Activist & Staff Member I have mixed feelings about this guy and his partner. I feel so sorry about his tragic end, though we knew it was inevitable he was going to come to a grizzly end! He torrmented different wild life species & annoyed them IMO all in the name of the $$$ So sad for his kid and immeditae family. I hope perhaps some of these other egotists and money making "IDIOTS" take heed and discontinue this unsavoury way of profiteering...

Peace.