Steve Irwin "Crocodile Hunter" is now dead. Tragic loss.

[Ganoderma]

Not sur eif it has been posted here, but the loved and excentric Crocodile Hunter died from a stingray dart in the heart. Thi sis a BIG loss for the environment and for anybody with an interest in herpetology and biology as a whole. He has been my personal "hero" for ages. Very sad news!

 

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/14663786/

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapcf/09/04/australia.irwin/

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060904/ap_on_en_tv/obit_irwin

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/5311298.stm

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

[ronthepon]

Yes, definitely it is a sad thing. He had a talent for bringing fun and nature together.

[Chacmool]

Steve succeeded remarkably in getting people from all walks of life interested in nature and excited about conservation efforts. He will be fondly remembered.

[TheBigDog]

Even to my callous heart this news hurt. :hihi:

 

Bill

[Ganoderma]

This is one man I believe made the cause so heart filled that it will in fact live past the man. He certainly changed much of the world’s views on conservation and nature in general. It's so sad that this happened, although perhaps a little predictable. It warms my heart to see that he has 2 little ones that can hopefully continue with half the passion their father had.

[somebody]

Yes, he was the one who brough crocs and people together. I personally miss him since i won't be watching any more of his adventures.

[Tarantism]

crinky he was a good chap! but in all seriousness, we mourn his loss certainly...and the fact that stingrays dont even attack...it was such a strange way that he died. i mean, it would have made more sense if we got bitten in half by a "meeeeaaann ol' croc" or something...

 

[TheBigDog]

In my darker moments (and I have many) I used to be amused by the thought of Steve getting paralyzed by some animal and then making his croc enclosures wheelchair accessible so he could continue to do the live shows. Imagine a croc hunter bio with Stephen Hawkings in the role of Steve Irwin. Still doing the same banter, only with a chicken half tied to a pole connected to a special hat he is wearing.

 

Even if that thought still makes me laugh it doesn't change the sadness at his death. I wouldn't have ever actually wanted him to be paralyzed for my own dark amusement.

 

I can almost laugh at the thought of Steve being condemned to Hell. The devil sends a demon to torment Steve, and Steve goes right into his schpeal... "What a beauty of a demon! A right scary bloke indeed. See how he used his claws to savage at my exposed flesh. Cracky that smarts! This is great stuff, and just goes to show that you should try to stay out of hell. LOOK AT HIM GO! You trying to hurt old Steve-o you little bugger? What a moment to treasure forever! Look at how he's feasting on my entrails and taunting me. This is HELL!!! We're right in the thick of it! And take it from me, this is not something you want to go through yourself. The sad thing is that a Demon like this needs 5... 6... 7... blokes my size EVERY DAY. Imagine that. And talk about jaws, look at how he consumes my flesh. And that is some tough tucker there. Poor bloke might break a tooth or worse eating a gnarly specimin such as myself. And then he'd be in a spot! You becareful eating old Steve-o boy! ..."

 

God, I loved that guy.

 

Bill

[Jay-qu]

He was the most passionate and excitable person I have yet to experience, all people that encountered him in the flesh would remark on how he is exactly the same on the camera as he was off..

 

I will miss you buddy..

[Mercedes Benzene]

He truely was an amazing person... at least television made him appear to be so. He will be dearly missed by many people.

'Tis indeed a tragic loss. :hihi:

[Mercedes Benzene]

Take a look at this CNN article:

http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/internet/09/07/irwin.internet.reut/index.html

 

It shows how much Steve Irwin was loved!;)

[Michaelangelica]

I can almost laugh at the thought of Steve being condemned to Hell. The devil sends a demon to torment Steve, and Steve goes right into his schpeal... "What a beauty of a demon! A right scary bloke indeed. See how he used his claws to savage at my exposed flesh. Cracky that smarts! This is great stuff, and just goes to show that you should try to stay out of hell. LOOK AT HIM GO! You trying to hurt old Steve-o you little bugger? What a moment to treasure forever! Look at how he's feasting on my entrails and taunting me. This is HELL!!! We're right in the thick of it! And take it from me, this is not something you want to go through yourself. The sad thing is that a Demon like this needs 5... 6... 7... blokes my size EVERY DAY. Imagine that. And talk about jaws, look at how he consumes my flesh. And that is some tough tucker there. Poor bloke might break a tooth or worse eating a gnarly specimin such as myself. And then he'd be in a spot! You becareful eating old Steve-o boy! ..."

 

God, I loved that guy.

 

Bill

LOL

Yep that would be Steve

Strangely he is better known OS than in Australia.

A lot has come out about him in the last week. Even people who didn't know him or visited his zoo are in mourning

 

All the money he made went into buying and preserving animal habitats from farmers, swampland, areas where there were endangered species etc etc. Few knew of this.

The government offered a State funeral but it was refused as "Steve wouldn't have liked the fuss".

He apparently refused dinners with the MP Academy and President Clinton because he would have to wear a suit and it "Wasn't his scene."

People are talking of having a 'Karki Day' in his honour.

He didn't go to restaurants, drink or smoke. He didn't need to he was high on life all the time. He was happiest in the bush sitting around a campfire

 

He was never bitten by a spider or snake despite frequently handling the most dangerous animals in the world.

 

To have this freak accident occur is unbelievable and stunning. I don't know how his family can handle it. About 30 people world wide die of stingray barbs P.A. The incident was caught on film which I believe is being destroyed.

 

The nation ins in mourning. Even people who hardly knew him are shocked and saddened and surprised by this. Surprised by their own sadness and sense of loss.

But deep down we all know that there has been a big ripple in the Universe-of-all possible-Universes and we know the future is going to be poorer because of him.

 

I do hope there is not too much pressure on his kids to re-incarnate him.

[CraigD]

Steve Irwin’s death shocked and saddened me and mine. I think he did his viewers great service both in showing us exotic animals we’re unlikely to encounter, and setting an example in how to respect and handle – without killing – even potentially dangerous animals we do encounter.

 

In no way intending to tarnish Irwin’s reputation or belittle the tragedy of his loss, I think there are a couple of inaccuracies in Michaelangelica’s post

He was never bitten by a spider or snake despite frequently handling the most dangerous animals in the world.

I’m certain I saw Steve bitten by non-venomous snakes and lizards many times – he appeared to sometimes let them bite him, I think to show that such bites are not overly painful or dangerous, and also what a tough guy he was. Given the number of poisonous animals he handled, I’m skeptical of the claim that he was never bitten by one, despite his obvious skill and experience.

About 30 people world wide die of stingray barbs P.A.

I think fatalities from ray stings are much more rare than this. According to this news article, there have been only 17 reported fatalities from ray stings ever, out of 1,800 stings a year in the US alone.

 

As a child, my parents warned me that a ray sting could lead to drowning. I was stung once by a ray (much smaller than the one reported to have stung Steve Irwin) while wading in waist-deep water. It stung a lot, bled a little, left no scar, and didn’t cause any problems that might have caused me to drown.

 

:cup: Not intending to be morbid, but something about the way Irwin was stung must have been very unusual. Ordinarily, a ray’s long barbed tail slaps against a victims flesh edgewise, causing several small, shallow punctures. The impression I’ve gotten from reports of Steve’s death is that he received a deep puncture from the point of the tail.

 

While I hope journalists continue to respect the privacy of Irwin’s family and friends, and certainly hope the recording of his injury and death remains unavailable to the public, I hope, in the interest of the nature education he was so dedicated to, that an explanation of how he was killed by what is ordinarily a non-fatal encounter is made public. It would be a shame for his death to contribute to people forming unrealistic views about a fascinating and beautiful animal like the stingray.

[Jay-qu]

The footage has only been watch by a very few select people and they say not to release it, I hope they dont. Apparently it stabbed him, very rare, but it happens, probably why fatalities are so rare (that was the 3rd ever in australia). Then cos it was stuck he had to pull the thing out..

[Mohit Pandey]

Steve Irwin was the first very popular Crocodile Hunter. It is a very tragic loss to humanity. I pay my homage to him.

[Michaelangelica]

17 reported fatalities from ray stings ever, out of 1,800 stings a year in the US alone.

yes I was just quoting local, notoriously unreliable, press.(30 was world wide fatalities)

The point is it would be more common to be struck by lightening!

 

 

:eek_big: Not intending to be morbid, but something about the way Irwin was stung must have been very unusual. Ordinarily, a ray’s long barbed tail slaps against a victims flesh edgewise, causing several small, shallow punctures. The impression I’ve gotten from reports of Steve’s death is that he received a deep puncture from the point of the tail.

 

As I understand it, the barb pierced his heart.

[LJP07]

There was a script written and broadcast on WWE Television and one of the ' actors' said " I'm not stupid, at least I don't swim with Stingrays!", they also continued to show the video of that footage for hours afterwards, and later apologised. :D