Crocodile Hunter

[coppperbelle]

Steve Irwin the Crocodile Hunter was killed today in Australia. He was stung by a stingray.

[chico2]

You are not serious I hope

[chico2]

I just checked the news and it's true:sad:
He was a very annoying man at times,but most of the time I enjoyed his shows and he clearly loved animals.
He showed us on many occasions,even undesireable scary animals are just animals like any others and deserve to survive on this earth.
He also taught us a lot about the country he loved so much
I for one am very sorry about his untimely passing,he'll be missed:sad: Steve

[technodoll]

i just woke up to read this... oh man, i have tears in my eyes, i LOVED this guy... LOVED his shows... how utterly tragic, sad, and what a stupid death. his poor wife must be devastated :sad:

steve, you leave behind a great legacy

[chico2]

I can see his gap-toothed grin,his zest for life and the life around him,with all the evil people in the world,why take the good???
Maybe he was needed to assist at the Rainbow Bridge :love:

[Violeta]

:sad: I just posted this in OT forum.
I am sooo sad. Here is the story:

“Crocodile expert Steve Irwin has been killed by a stingray while diving off the Northeast coast of Australia.

The fish pierced the chest of TV's famous khaki-clad "Crocodile Hunter", while the 44-year-old was filming an underwater documentary off Port Douglas in northern Queensland.

A helicopter rushed paramedics to nearby Low Isles, about 1,260 miles north of Brisbane, where Irwin was taken for treatment, but he was dead before they arrived, police said.

Local diving operator Steve Edmonson, whose boats were out on the Great Barrier Reef when the accident happened, said: "Steve was hit by a stingray in the chest - he probably died from a cardiac arrest from the injury."

Toxicology experts said Irwin's death was more likely to be a result of the physical injury to his chest than the stingray's venom.

A stingray's strongly serrated barb can grow up to 20cm long and is capable of tearing and rendering flesh.

Dr Geoff Isbister, a clinical toxicologist at an Australian hospital, said: "What happened to Steve Irwin is like being stabbed in the heart.

"It has little to do with the venom and all to do with the trauma caused by the barb of the stingray.

"Although the venom may cause tissue damage, the physical trauma in this case would have been enough to cause a lethal injury."

Dr Bryan Fry, of the Australian Venom Research Unit in Melbourne, said: "Stingrays only sting in defence - they're not aggressive animals, so the animal must have felt threatened. It didn't sting out of aggression, it stung out of fear.

"The stingray's venom would not have been a factor. While extremely painful, stingray venom is rarely lethal."

The largest species of stingray can grow to about 4m in length or width and their tails are often twice as long as their bodies.

In 2004, Irwin caused outrage by holding his then one-month-old baby in front of a hungry crocodile. His TV series ended after he was criticised over the incident and also for allegedly disturbing whales, seals and penguins while filming in Antarctica.”

[RVT092481]

I couldn't believe it either when I read it here. But then it was on the local 6pm news. I always loved watching his shows. I heard that the movie that he was making was about the worlds most deadliest creatures...

[technodoll]

more news... http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/...222098946.html

The underwater video footage of Steve Irwin's death after he was speared in the chest by a stingray was "shocking" his manager reportedly said today.

video tribute to steve...

http://media.theaustralian.news.com....in1_player.htm

mate... you will be as missed, as you were loved

[jawert1]

Like Chico and Prin, I've not stopped thinking about it all day, the world has lost one of it's brightest beacons on wildlife respect and conservation. I can't even begin to imagine the impact to his wife and children. I pray that everyone takes heed from his life and goes forward avidly and passionately to protect those that haven't the voice to speak for themselves. And as AngiesMan said, he died with his boots on, I can't think of a better way to go out.

[beamer]

apparntly steves death was caught on camera, i hope its not published
steve

[HunterXHunter]

I'm sure that video will surface somehow...

I always thought he would retire from the show once he loses a limb to a croc or something, but this is way too sad. Steve Irwin You will be missed indeed

[Cathy1]

The Queensland Government has set up an official book of condolences that will be given to his family.
http://www.qld.gov.au/announcements/steve_irwin.html