Steve Irwin killed by stingray. :(

thats just lovely.... he was all about respecting the animals.. and wild life in general, he flirted with danger as part of his livelyhood.. and was never cruel to them. if looking after and feeding crocodiles is "pissing them off" then he's guilty...


Im sad about this.. I loved his show

RIP Steve.

I just saw this on the news. We get pretty attached to our icons here, I'm expecting a protracted period of national mourning. It's going to be full on. It's always an odd feeling, you get so used to these institutionalised figures. When Shirley from Skyhooks died (Aussies will know who that is), it was so bizarre, because he'd been on tv my whole life. We'll never hear 'crikey!" again, outside old footage.

Poor Steve

That was my first thought too

>:

I've been swimming surrounded by stingrays myself, just a couple of months ago, and never ever considered it dangerous or lethal.

I guess, this was just a very unfortunate accident. Maybe there's some small consolation in the fact that in the 44 years he had, he was able to have more fulfilling experiences and adventure than most of us in our whole liftetime.

wow

That was a shock, i pressed refresh and there it was.

I used to like his show and his weird accent, but he knew his job was risky so did his wife, i guess you can't take someone's passion away from them, he was just doing his job.

Godbless his family

Sad to hear this. Yes, it's freakish.


Yeah, if you REALLY, REALLY, REALLY piss them off they will sting, but you have to TRY so HARD to get them to do it, it's almost impossible.

The large ones of the South Pacific are generally uninterested in humans, unless you have food like a recently caught fish or something.

In that case they will swarm you, brush against you (think wet, sandpapered cats for a good 'vibe' of what it's like).

In 25 years of regularly being in such areas, I've only heard of 2 stings. Once in the South Pacific, when a guy found a stingray and tried to 'trap' it with his foot against the sandy bottom. It gave him a 'warning sting' and he was in crazy pain for hours.

Another one was local - someone I know accidentally caught a stingray fishing, and tried to free it from the line. Painful sting to the hand. Small stingray, too.



Really though, I don't mind stingrays around me, and I don't mind my kids around them. Stingrays are about as dangerous as a housecat.

Theoretically, Fluffy *could* start ripping at your throat with her fangs and claws, but... it's not gonna happen unless you REALLY get her riled.

This is the second or third time he has died.

heh.. and the last...

I cant help thinking that he died the way he wanted to, and happy.. if that makes sense. I mean could you imagine him being hit by a bus or having cancer. He knew the risks of his job as did his family. its no different to having a fireman for a father or a soldier. Steve risked his life, but instead of saving people he was saving animals. I liked this guy and will miss his documentaries.

I just made a video tribute to Steve Irwin. Heres the link to the video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xtd-VEjgG0

R.I.P Steve Irwin. We will never forget you..

Irwin will be missed in our familly, mainly by our daughter who used to love him to bits. He'll be remembered for his enthusiasm and devotion to wildlife and his conservation work and provision of education for young people will always be here as a legacy.

I personally never agreed with his intrusive presentation style, he'd talk loudly about reducing capture stress and then directly go jump on some poor unsuspecting creature and start yanking it around to show a camera. His death comes as no surprise to me. It seems it was inevitable in the new world of reality TV that has to shock and surprise in order to be noticed and has no place for the effort involved in waiting to film a critter in it's natural envioronment undisturbed.

I was about to start to compare Steve to David Attenbourgh but maybe I shouldn't go there ...

RIP Steve mate!

CRIKEY! I can't believe he's gone!

Didn't he risk his kid's neck while confronting a croc for the camera once?

You mean this?

"Controversy arose during a public show on 2 January 2004, when Irwin carried his infant son, Bob, in one arm while feeding a dead chicken carcass to a crocodile with the other hand. He then set the child down on the ground near a pond with a crocodile in it. Child welfare and animal rights groups criticized his actions as irresponsible and tantamount to child abuse. Steve stated any danger to his son was only a perceived danger and that he was in complete control of the situation. His defenders pointed to his several decades of "hands on" experience and direct interaction with crocodiles, his well-known love for his children, and his respect for his role as a father. Terri commented that their child was in no more real danger than a child being taught to swim would be. No charges were filed. "


Apparently they have his death on film. I wonder how long it'll take to air? (Seriously... I bet it does!).

"Crikey! That was a big 'un. Did ya see that? That ray really got me good! Right through the chest, too! He didn't mean it, though - sting rays are pretty harmless little fellas. Still, judging by this wound it looks like I'm a gonner, eh? Bugger...."

[/bad taste]

In a way I kind of hope it does, perhaps it'll help put an end to a wave of irresponsible TV presentation in his style.. ie: that south african guy and the idiot british vet who copy Steve's stunts but even worse. At least now they won't be able to get insurance after this !




...[image]with hands clamped around animals throat...

"By crikey I just LOVE Stingrays to bits ! Don't you just love 'em ?"

/more bad taste

..

Steve wouldn't have been the Crocodile Hunter if he didn't do what he did for a living.

He did what he loved in life.

Love him or loathe him, the guy did a shitload of work for animal conservation, and got a lot of kids interested in environmental issues.
I'm sad hes gone, and feel sorry for his wife and 2 kids.

That's the one! Here's a pic:



Although I prefer this doctored one.





Oh yes. It's inevitable. Potential intro credits:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=E06cNv55jTs

My mind's eye sees Steve being chased by that big fish towards the end.

[/badtaste]

Some of you people are real jerks. Real examples of what's wrong with humanity. "He got what was coming to him," "he deserved to die," "you play with the bull, you get the horn!" C'mon, you freaks, grow up and show an ounce of human compassion and honor. Or at least fake it, you won't look so much like an ass.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/09/03/manhunt.shootings/index.html

Did that trooper deserve to die for doing his job, too?

if anyone's a jerk in these forums we all know who it is.

CNN is reported he was on the beach filming for the show he was doing with is daughter (she was not on set as I understand) and came across the stingray. He wasn't tackling it, wrestling it, or anything like that. He was talking about it when it shot its barb up through the sand and it happened to hit him in the chest. He is only the third person in history to die like this in Australia, and the marine biologists on the crew are saying its a tragic, one-in-a-million event, getting hit in the chest by a barb, and then getting hit right in a major artery, to boot. A freak accident, not something that "he deserved" or "had coming to him."

Some of you in this thread are heartless people that have no heart or compassion for anyone at any time.