Sad News:Steve Irwin Was Killed

[Rupert Pupkin]

I just heard some very sad news. The crocodile hunter Steve Irwin was killed by a stingray. He was swimming underwater and the stingray's barb went right into his chest. It was a freak accident. They were filming an underwater documentary for television. I feel really bad about it. I really liked Steve Irwin. He was such a colorful character. He and Paul Hogan did a great job of promoting Australia.

[Scurlogue Champ]

That is messed up....

http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/...ory?id=2391280

[Rupert Pupkin]

It's really a shame. He was a young guy. He was only 44. I will miss seeing him on television. I really enjoyed it when he would come on the late-night shows and bring different animals on the shows.

[1st_Saturday_in_May]

What a shame. RIP Steve...seemed like a very great guy

I'm so bummed. My thoughts and prayers to his family and friends. I really loved his enthusiasum and energy for life. Rest in peace Stevo

[timmgirvan]

Originally Posted by Rupert Pupkin

It's really a shame. He was a young guy. He was only 44. I will miss seeing him on television. I really enjoyed it when he would come on the late-night shows and bring different animals on the shows.

Rupert: I thought that was Jack Hanna!

[Rupert Pupkin]

Originally Posted by timmgirvan

Rupert: I thought that was Jack Hanna!

I like Jack Hanna too. He does the same thing on late-night television as Steve Irwin. They would both come on and bring all kinds of exotic animals. I believe Hanna is the director of the Columbus Zoo. Irwin was a zoo director in Australia.

[GPK]

just awoke to this news as well....very sad. Loved that guy

RIP Steve

Many thoughts and prayers go out to his family.

[Danzig]

just saw it on my homepage...freaky way to go...

leaves behind a wife and two young children, my sympathy to them.

[paisjpq]

that's so sad....when he first showed on animal planet in the 90's I watched all the time...nothing funnier. My roommates and I used to drink every time his wife almost got him hurt dropping alligators and such; he provided much entertainment and was an ambassador for his country and the animals he loved.

[Pointg5]

Sad news, can't believe a Sting Ray got him, this guy plays with Crocodiles, Cobras, Black Mambas, etc...And something that I was holding in Grand Cayman last year, kills him...I think he has some small children, terrible fo them

[AeWingnut]

I should have looked down the page first
I posted the article in the wrong place after you

yes, he had small children

very sad

I thought the same thing.. Stingay?

[Downthestretch55]

RIP Steve Irwin.
Freak accident, very sad.

[kentuckyrosesinmay]

That is very, very sad. RIP Steve. My thoughts and prayers go out to Terri and your kids.

I'll miss seeing him on TV too. I really enjoyed his shows.

While fishing I had a friend step on an Atlantic stingray and the barb penetrated his ankle bones and broke off. He had five months of recovery and now walks with a permanent limp. Rays have those barbs specifically as a defense mechanism against sharks. They are nasty. They are the one animal that really scare me when I fish. Sharks are really not a problem. Rays are everywhere and stealthy. That swimming with rays crap, no thank you. Only with rays that lack barbs. The rays dont want to have anything to do with you. But amazingly they have a very bad habit of trying to get into your shadow while wading. So I never step back. I have a collection of their barbs. They are like multiple arrow heads one on top of another. Most people get lucky and the ray strikes with the barb which is located about a little less than half way up their tail on top, just punctures and withdraws. But when the barb breaks off. Thats major suffering.

Oh my brother got electrocuted by an electric ray. He said it felt like when he grabbed the back of a television set. Really hurt.

Steve Irwin was so full of life. Of course he got lucky many other times. He almost got killed by a snake. Really ironic though. God bless him and his wife and children. He seemed like a really good guy. A great teacher.

Witnesses tell of freak death of Steve Irwin


A DOCTOR and witnesses have told of the desperate efforts to save Australian icon Steve Irwin after the Crocodile Hunter was struck in the chest by a stingray barb today.

Irwin, 44, died this morning after being fatally injured while filming a nature documentary off Queensland.

The news has shocked the nation and prompted a rush of tributes from politicians and the public alike.

Irwin's wife Terri was in Tasmania at the time of the tragedy and had to be contacted by police with the terrible news.

The couple's daughter Bindi, 8, was with her father in north Queensland, Irwin's manager John Stainton said from Cairns.

Choking back tears, Mr Stainton said Irwin had gone “over the top of a stingray and a stingray's barb went up and went into his chest and put a hole into his heart”.

"He possibly died instantly when the barb hit him, and I don't think that he ... felt any pain.”

Professional diver Pete West was on board a nearby boat and was asked by Irwin's team to call in the emergency.

Asked on Channel 7 if Irwin was alive when they got him on his own boat, Mr West said: “I believe so.”

"He was doing what he did best and unfortunately today he wasn't quick enough."

Dr Ed O'Loughlin was aboard the Emergency Management Queensland Helicopter which was called from Cairns at 11.21am (AEST).

Irwin was being given CPR at Low Isles, off Port Douglas, as the helicopter arrived less than one hour after the incident, but Dr O'Loughlin said nothing could be done to save him.

"It became clear fairly soon that he had non-survivable injuries," Dr O'Loughlin said.

"He had a penetrating injury to the left front of his chest. He had lost his pulse and wasn't breathing."

Mr Stainton admitted he had always feared Irwin might meet his death while working with wildlife, but added that Irwin himself was never scared.

"We've been in some pretty close shaves. (But) nothing would ever scare Steve or would worry him. He didn't have a fear of death at all.”

Tragedy

Father-of-two Irwin was swimming at Batt Reef, off the Low Isles, when the tragedy occurred.

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 - Bindi and a three-year-old son, Robert (Bob) Clarence Irwin.

John Weigel, of the Australian Reptile Park on Queensland's Sunshine Coast, said Irwin's death would be "devastating to a lot of people".

"He walked into the room like someone had opened the window and let the light in.

"He seemed invincible and it's a great shock that it could happen."



I hate to be judgemental. And you got to live. But once you have kids its time to slow down a bit. Accchhh. Guys like this gotta do what they gotta do I guess.

[2MinsToPost]

pgard,

i agree 100%. you dance with the devil enough and sooner or later. bad deal no doubt, hope for the best for his wife and kids.

[GenuineRisk]

I'm really, really sad about this, but I figure, doing this kind of thing was his job-- it's what made him famous and what brought in their living. It sucks, but do you tell a firefighter to quit when he has kids? People get killed by car crashes every day-- you just never know when the bell tolls. And in this particular case, this seems like a freak accident-- much less risky than many of the stunts he did over the years. Irwin did a lot of good PR for the creepy crawly animals of the world-- he'll be sorely missed in the conservation movement. I lost a parent when I was young-- my heart also goes out to his kids and wife.

Here's an article on stingrays, for anyone who's interested:

http://salon.com/wire/ap/archive.htm...D8JU6KKG0.html

Oh, this just sucks. What a sad day.

Originally Posted by GenuineRisk

It sucks, but do you tell a firefighter to quit when he has kids? People get killed by car crashes every day-- you just never know when the bell tolls.

GR. He put it on the line. It was a freak accident, the barb must have found its way between his ribs to hit his heart. But some reports say he had the ray cornered. They are dangerous just like the other animals he has fooled with. I have been around them all my life and they are by far the worst thing on our coast except maybe a school of man o war jellyfish.

As far as fireman and kids. File reports. Graduate to Arson investigator. If you have your choice the family has to come into play imo. But thats me. As soon as my girl is out of college, I plan on dying in the bay due to heart attack via a fight with a big ole redfish. Let the blue crabs have me after that. School teacher in me. I have seen too many kids come back to school complete wrecks after the passing of a parent.

[Downthestretch55]

Pgardn,
I've seen plenty of them wrecked when they had two parents.
KRIKIE!
You live, you take your chances, do what you are good at.
Some days you get a bull red, some days a bare hook.

Steve Irwin did what he did because he found meaning in what he was doing.
For sure, sting rays are defensive, and for sure his family will always miss him.
But if he had never put himself in the situation that he thought he could have handled, he wouldn't have lived. Tons of adrenelin. He touched many.
Think about that the next time you contemplate making a cast in the direction of a bull red.

FISH ON!!!

DTS