NEWSFLASH: Crocodile Hunter’ Steve Irwin dies

[kueytoc]

Let us keep a moment of silence & pays our deepest respect to a wonderful environmentalist whom had taught us so much about Mother's Nature.

I have learnt so much about marine life & animals through his television shows. My prayers go out to his family.

Updated: 1:36 a.m. ET Sept. 4, 2006

BRISBANE, Australia - Steve Irwin, the hugely popular Australian television personality and environmentalist known as the “Crocodile Hunter,” was killed Monday by a stingray during a diving expedition, Australian media said. He was 44.

Irwin was filming an underwater documentary on the Great Barrier Reef in northeastern Queensland state when the accident occurred, Sydney’s The Daily Telegraph newspaper reported on its Web site.

The Australian Broadcasting Corp. said Irwin was diving near Low Isles Reef near the resort town of Port Douglas, about 1,260 miles north of the state capital of Brisbane.

Queensland ambulance service spokesman Bob Hamil confirmed that a diver had been killed by a stingray off Lowe Isles Reef but refused to say who the victim was until relatives had been notified.

A rescue helicopter was sent from the nearby city of Cairns, and paramedics from it confirmed the diver’s death.

“The probable cause of death is stingray strike to the chest,” Hamil said.

Staff at Australia Zoo, Irwin’s zoo in southern Queensland, said they had heard the reports but could not comment.

'Crikey!' Irwin is famous for his enthusiasm for wildlife and his catchcry “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.

Irwin had received some negative publicity in recent years. In January 2004, he stunned onlookers at the Australia Zoo reptile park by carrying his 1-year-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.

Irwin was also seen as 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.”

He is survived by his American wife Terri, from Oregon, and their daughter Bindi Sue, 8, and son Bob, who will turn 3 in December.

© 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

[cityofangels]

Sigh.... When I heard the news, I simply couldn't believe it. And just last night, I was watching his documentary on Animal Planet.

Whole of Australia must be in mourning now..

[kueytoc]

News headlines about his death are now flashing in major news media across the globe.

from REUTERS:

"Crocodile Hunter" Irwin dies By Paul Tait

(1 hour, 11 minutes ago)

Steve Irwin, the quirky Australian naturalist who won worldwide acclaim, was killed by a stingray barb through the chest on Monday while diving off Australia's northeast coast, emergency officials and witnesses said.

"Steve was hit by a stingray in the chest," said local diving operator Steve Edmondson, whose Poseidon boats were out on the Great Barrier Reef when the accident occurred.

"He probably died from a cardiac arrest from the injury," he said.

Police and ambulance officials later confirmed Irwin had died and said his family had been advised.

Irwin, 44, was killed while filming an underwater documentary off Port Douglas.

Irwin had been diving off his boat "Croc One" near Batt Reef northeast of Port Douglas. A helicopter had taken paramedics to nearby Low Isles where Irwin was taken for medical treatment but he was dead before they arrived, police said.

Irwin won a global following for his dare-devil antics but also triggered outrage in 2004 by holding his then one-month-old baby while feeding a snapping crocodile at his Australian zoo.

He made almost 50 of his "Crocodile Hunter" documentaries which appeared on cable TV channel Animal Planet and won a worldwide audience.

The series ended after he was criticized for the incident with his young son and for disturbing whales, seals and penguins while filming in Antarctica.

Khaki-clad Irwin became famous for his seemingly death-defying methods with wild animals, including crocodiles and snakes.

He made a cameo appearance alongside Eddie Murphy in the 2001 Hollywood film Dr Dolittle 2 and appeared on U.S. television shows such as "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno" and on children's television alongside The Wiggles.

Irwin was married with two children, Bindi Sue and Bob Clarence. His American-born wife Terri was his business partner and frequent on-screen collaborator.

(Additional reporting by Michael Perry in SYDNEY)

[kueytoc]

Some useful info for divers & perhaps reefers who keep stingray...

STINGRAY INJURIES, ENVENOMATION, AND MEDICAL MANAGEMENT

[honzo]

gosh! he was my idol! what a pity!

[jervismun]

Oh dear... what will happen to his Zoo then? I'm sadden by the tragedy

[sagangoom]

Such sad news

[searching4dan]

sadden by the news too

any idea wat stingray struck him??

[lightbolt75]

Finally... the heaven have eyes!!!

[FuEl]

If the barb missed his heart he might have lived. What bad luck...

[bonjour2]

Finally... the heaven have eyes!!!

Heaven have eyes??

[cityofangels]

Finally... the heaven have eyes!!!

I believe if you have nothing good to say about a person, especially when a person has passed on, then keep your comments to yourself.

Obviously, your parents (or any other person) didn't teach you such manners. *tsk*

[lightbolt75]

Heaven have eyes??

U never heard of such a thing call karma? Jeez... what planet u living on?

[bonjour2]

NO mah, i know e karma thingy...but this guy doesn't seem to go ard killing animal loh, but merely educating the public abt wildlife so wat karma r we refering to? unless i miss out something interesting abt him that i m not aware of. if like tat , then heaven will have eyes on all of us based on our daily food staple.

anyway, its a sure big loss for Australia. God bless his family.

[hammerhd]

he was killed by a bull ray.

Will missed the Crikey

Anyway I will organise a "Miss Croc hunter" gathering any1 interested??

[Achilles Tang]

Sad that he met with such an unfortunate ending.

But there are too many questions about this.

Rays are known to be extremely shy and non-aggressive. Their barbs are defensive weapons. They swim away from people.

How in the world did Steve get stung in the chest?? Was he hugging the ray?? Was he settling on top of one??

Steve has always been known to put himself in very dangerous situations, either to prove his bravado or to prove the animals are not as dangerous as people think?? I guess this is one time when his fast reflexes failed him.

My sympathies to his family, friends and fans... such a sad end to a good man.

[hammerhd]

some quotes from him:

But I put my life on the line to save animals.

I bled a lot. I got hit across the face. We couldn't film for seven days. I got hit, whacked, underwater, across the face. I finished the shot, got into the boat and blood started coming out.

Steve Irwin

I get called an adrenaline junkie every other minute, and I'm just fine with that.

Steve Irwin

I have no fear of losing my life - if I have to save a koala or a crocodile or a kangaroo or a snake, mate, I will save it.

Steve Irwin

I mean, these are all just little pink bits here (pointing at his arm) and are just curing up now. I've been recently filming a nine-and-a-half-foot female crocodile I had to catch. Oh, man, she bit me up! That was a mistake.

Steve Irwin

I sincerely believe that there's room for cutting down trees for forestry and grazing, so as we all get to eat. Everyone has to compromise.

Steve Irwin

I'm a proud Australian, a very, very proud Australian.

Steve Irwin

I've probably saved thousands of peoples' lives with my educational message on snake bites, how to get in around venomous anything.

Steve Irwin

My belief is that what comes across on the television is a capture of my enthusiasm and my passion for wildlife.

Steve Irwin

My dad taught me from my youngest childhood memories through these connections with Aboriginal and tribal people that you must always protect people's sacred status, regardless of the pest.

Steve Irwin

My field is with apex predators, hence your crocodiles, your snakes, your spiders.

Steve Irwin

No matter where you go and what you do in America, you turn the tele on and you're confronted with violence.

Steve Irwin

No, snakes are no problem. I'd go to any country, anywhere, any snakes, not a problem.

Steve Irwin

See, I've always seen Jacques Cousteau as a hero, mate. He's a legend - like my dad, just a legend. And so what he did for conservation in the '60s through the '70s was just phenomenal.

Steve Irwin

Sharks, I've been self-trained as well, and crocodiles, naturally. I've been catching them since I was nine. No problem.

Steve Irwin

Since I was a boy, from this house, I was out rescuing crocodiles and snakes. My mum and dad were very passionate about that and, I was lucky enough to go along.

Steve Irwin

Snakes are just very instinctive to me. I've been playing with snakes since before I could walk. It doesn't matter where or what it is, from the biggest to the most venomous.

Steve Irwin

So fear helps me from making mistakes, but I make lot of mistakes.

Steve Irwin

So now what happens is the cameras follow me around and capture exactly what I've been doing since I was a boy. Only now we have a team of, you know, like 73 of us, and it's gone beyond that.

Steve Irwin

So, my tactic with conservation of apex predators is to get people excited and take them to where they live.

Steve Irwin

Take the crocodile, for example, my favorite animal. There are 23 species. Seventeen of those species are rare or endangered. They're on the way out, no matter what anyone does or says, you know.

Steve Irwin

That might have a lot to do with it, but you know, I probably don't show fear, but I suffer from fear like everyone else.

Steve Irwin

The first crocodile I ever caught was at nine years of age, and it was a rescue.

Steve Irwin

The only animals I'm not comfortable with are parrots, but I'm learning as I go. I'm getting better and better at 'em. I really am.

Steve Irwin

There's a lot of research behind the scenes that you don't get to see, but I have an instinct that my dad nurtured from when I was born. I was very lucky then.

Steve Irwin

We've evolved from sitting back on our tripods and shooting wildlife films like they have been shot historically, which doesn't work for us.

Steve Irwin

When I talk to the camera, mate, it's not like I'm talking to the camera, I'm talking to you because I want to whip you around and plunk you right there with me.

Steve Irwin

When the East Timor conflict broke out, when they gained independence, the militia killed a lot of East Timorese people. And their sacred totem is the crocodile. They believe that their island is actually a solidified crocodile, so it has sacred status.

Steve Irwin

Where I live if someone gives you a hug it's from the heart.

Steve Irwin

Yeah, for some reason parrots have to bite me. That's their job. I don't know why that is. They've nearly torn my nose off. I've had some really bad parrot bites.

Steve Irwin

Yeah, I think it's an absolute disaster that Australia, the government, allowed kangaroo culling.

Steve Irwin

Yeah, I'm a thrill seeker, but crikey, education's the most important thing.

Steve Irwin

You know, I'm Australian, and we have got the worst sense of humor. We are cruel to each other.

Steve Irwin

You know, you can touch a stick of dynamite, but if you touch a venomous snake it'll turn around and bite you and kill you so fast it's not even funny.

Steve Irwin

[Jameshong]

My 8 yrs old son cry...... !

He is the big fan of Steve Irwin...I did promise to bring him to Australia Zoo next year but now....me and my wife also .

Sad to see this happen and my deepest condolences to the family

[kueytoc]

he was killed by a bull ray.

Will missed the Crikey

Anyway I will organise a "Miss Croc hunter" gathering any1 interested??

tis ole' devil is the culprit ?

[kueytoc]

Sad that he met with such an unfortunate ending.

But there are too many questions about this.

Rays are known to be extremely shy and non-aggressive. Their barbs are defensive weapons. They swim away from people.

How in the world did Steve get stung in the chest?? Was he hugging the ray?? Was he settling on top of one??

Steve has always been known to put himself in very dangerous situations, either to prove his bravado or to prove the animals are not as dangerous as people think?? I guess this is one time when his fast reflexes failed him.

My sympathies to his family, friends and fans... such a sad end to a good man.

It was extraordinarily bad luck. According to AP report, he was on top of the stingray and the stingray's barb went up and pierced into his chest and put a hole into his heart.

From Associated Press (AP):

Stingray kills 'Crocodile Hunter' Irwin By BRIAN CASSEY, Associated Press Writer

Steve Irwin, the hugely popular Australian television personality and conservationist known as the "Crocodile Hunter," was killed Monday by a stingray while filming off the Great Barrier Reef. He was 44.

Irwin was at Batt Reef, off the remote coast of northeastern Queensland state, shooting a segment for a series called "Ocean's Deadliest" when he swam too close to one of the animals, which have a poisonous barb on their tails, his friend and colleague John Stainton said.

"He came on top of the stingray and the stingray's barb went up and into his chest and put a hole into his heart," said Stainton, who was on board Irwin's boat at the time.

Crew members aboard the 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 when they arrived a short time later, Stainton said.

Irwin was famous for his enthusiasm for wildlife and his catchword "Crikey!" in his television program "Crocodile Hunter." First broadcast in Australia in 1992, the program was picked up by the Discovery network, catapulting Irwin to international celebrity.

He rode his image into a feature film, 2002's "The Crocodile Hunters: Collision Course" and developed the wildlife park that his parents opened, Australia Zoo, into a major tourist attraction.

"The world has lost a great wildlife icon, a passionate conservationist and one of the proudest dads on the planet," Stainton told reporters in Cairns. "He died doing what he loved best and left this world in a happy and peaceful state of mind. He would have said, 'Crocs Rule!'"

Prime Minister John Howard, who hand-picked Irwin to attend a gala barbecue to honor President Bush when he visited in 2003, said he was "shocked and distressed at Steve Irwin's sudden, untimely and freakish death."

"It's a huge loss to Australia," Howard told reporters. "He was a wonderful character. He was a passionate environmentalist. He brought joy and entertainment and excitement to millions of people."

Irwin, who made a trademark of hovering dangerously close to untethered crocodiles and leaping on their backs, spoke in rapid-fire bursts with a thick Australian accent and was almost never seen without his uniform of khaki shorts and shirt and heavy boots.

Wild animal expert Jack Hanna, who frequently appears on TV with his subjects, offered praise for Irwin.

"Steve was one of these guys, we thought of him as invincible," Hanna, director emeritus of the Columbus (Ohio) Zoo and Aquarium, told ABC's "Good Morning America" Monday.

"The guy was incredible. His knowledge was incredible," Hanna said. "Some people that are doing this stuff are actors and that type of thing, but Steve was truly a zoologist, so to speak, a person who knew what he was doing. Yes, he did things a lot of people wouldn't do. I think he knew what he was doing."

Irwin's ebullience was infectious and Australian officials sought him out for photo opportunities and to promote Australia internationally.

His public image was dented, however, in 2004 when he caused an uproar by holding his infant son in one arm while feeding large crocodiles inside a zoo pen. Irwin claimed at the time there was no danger to the child, and authorities declined to charge Irwin with 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 against him.

Stingrays have a serrated, toxin-loaded barb, or spine, on the top of their tail. The barb, which can be up to 10 inches long, flexes if a ray is frightened. Stings usually occur to people when they step on or swim too close to a ray and can be excruciatingly painful but are rarely fatal, said University of Queensland marine neuroscientist Shaun Collin.

Collin said he suspected Irwin died because the barb pierced under his ribcage and directly into his heart.

"It was extraordinarily bad luck. It's not easy to get spined by a stingray and to be killed by one is very rare," Collin said.

News of Irwin's death spread quickly, and tributes flowed from all quarters of society.

At Australia Zoo at Beerwah, south Queensland, floral tributes were dropped at the entrance, where a huge fake crocodile gapes. Drivers honked their horns as they passed.

"Steve, from all God's creatures, thank you. Rest in peace," was written on a card with a bouquet of native flowers.

"We're all very shocked. I don't know what the zoo will do without him. He's done so much for us, the environment and it's a big loss," said Paula Kelly, a local resident and volunteer at the zoo, after dropping off a wreath at the gate.

Stainton said Irwin's American-born wife Terri, from Eugene, Ore., had been informed of his death, and had told 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 his 2002 movie.

On the Net: http://www.crocodilehunter.com

[Power]

My 7 yrs old son love to watch his show!

I even brought him to the Australia Zoo twice.

Very Sad to see such things happened... he will be dearly missed.

[kueytoc]

Announcement from his homepage.

[Achilles Tang]

Through his heart??

That's really rotten luck. I wonder if he was wearing a wetsuit with a rubber chest layer at that time... could have saved him.

[cool guy]

[loneteelay]

1 minute of silent for him

He's a good guy. I saw one of his show about wild animals living beside the high-way road and he saved those animals from road and back to forest. The guy talking about karma "YOU BETTER WATCH OUT YOURSELF".

May God Bless You!