Crocodile Hunter killed by stingray

[rainbowgirl28]

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

Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin dead
By staff writers
September 04, 2006 02:14pm

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.

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

Ambulance officers confirmed they attended a reef fatality this morning at Batt Reef off Port Douglas.

Irwin's body is being flown to Cairns.

It is believed his American-born wife Terri is trekking on Cradle Mountain in Tasmania and is yet to be told of her husband's death.

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

The father of two'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.

Louise Yates said it was impossible to quantify how much Mr Irwin had meant to the Queensland tourism industry.

"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.

"It would be difficult to estimate how much he was worth. And it would be difficult to underestimate."

She said Irwin had been a larger-than-life ambassador.

"It's not just what he brought but what he took with him when he travelled, his passion."

Australia Zoo, on southeast Queensland's Sunshine Coast, employs more than 500 people and attracts thousands of visitors every day.

But Ms Yates said it would be "unfair and unjust" to put a dollar value on Irwin's worth to the state, because of how much he had given.

With The Courier Mail and AAP

[newPVer]

wow, i thought he would have died of a rattle snake bite or a crocodile attack. sad, he was amazing with animals.

[PVgoalie101]

my dad just told me about this about 15 minutes before i got on here. its sad, i used to watch his shows all the time.

[SweetPVJumps]

i am sooooooooooooooooooo sad! thats just awful. we'll miss him. me and my cousins decided that calling our cousin's baby our first cousin once removed was too complicated of a title, so for our family, first cousins once removed are called crikeys. we were on a steve irwin obsession phase.

[theczar]

Rest in Peace, Steve, rest in peace.

[vault3rb0y]

This just strengthens my original views that call for the extermination of the entire string ray population in the world.

[newPVer]

idk about getting rid of them, but it is iroic. something that happens to many people each year, kills the person that has had 20x worse encounters with other animals. and I heard that only 17 people in the whole world have been killed by a sting ray. that number is smaller than a lot of animals. rattle snakes, sharks? or even crocodile's themselves. if we were to get rid of the sting rays, we would have to get rid of many other species.

And I dont know the true story of how he died exactly, but i read that he swam down to one that was sitting on the bottom of the ocean. He was planning to 'ride' (what ever that means) the ray. If this is true, Steve must have spooked the ray, and it would have been defending its' self.

Sad story any way you look at it...

[bjvando]

i've been hit by a stingray about 6 times, but in the foot each time...

take your worst muscle camp you've had, and imagine it cramping up, then completely releasing, then cramping up again and doing it over and over... then imagine putting your foot into the hottest water you can handle and let it sit for a couple hours...

they only 'strike' when scared or stepped on.... i could only imagine the pain of getting a strike to the chest....and especially if the venom went into his heard... i couldnt imagine that a heart could handle that at all.....

sad to hear

[Cooleo111]

This just strengthens my original views that call for the extermination of the entire string ray population in the world.

I know you're just kidding, but Steve-O was a conservationist, and he would never let that happen! Seriously, Steve Irwin was not only one of my favorite entertainers but a hero as well, and my prayers go out to his wife and his young children.

[vault3rb0y]

i know he was an enthusiastic, smart and nice guy. Takes some guts to do what he would do too, its not like he was just ignorant in what he did, he knew what danger was involved. He will be remember as a legend, and hero to many, that im sure of.

[sam-o-]

I read up that they said the when the ray hit him the reaction (just like you pulling your hand away from a hot stove or something) caused him to grab the barb and he pulled it out. first thing never pull a barb out the way it came always pull it out from where it's heading since it's serraded.
But i feel so bad.
just imagine how his wife and kids felt.

[bvpv07]

first thing never pull a barb out the way it came always pull it out from where it's heading since it's serraded.

How does one go about removing a serrated barb "from where its heading" when it's in the thoracic cavity?

I feel so sorry for his family. The only good thing that will probably come to this is increased media attention on his focuses (zoos, conservation, etc.). I couldn't believe it when I first read it.