RIP..Steve Irwin

Post by **DJ Downunder** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 12:46 am

Yes..The Crocodile Hunter is dead...stabbed in the chest.....by a stingray.

He was a funny guy..what a shame.... http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wir ... id=2391300 ..I know he was popular in the US.

DJ

Post by **toner87** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 2:47 am

"A stingray barb to the heart..." What a freak accident. Sorry for Oz's loss, DJ. What a character he was - and I think he did a lot to increase awareness of wildlife around the world.

T.

R4R&R · Post by **R4R&R** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 7:28 am

Wow - I can't believe it. He seemed so aware of the dangerous creatures he was around, but knew how to stay just far enough away. That's too bad. It seemed like his popularity settled down here in the U.S. in recent times though. Still, a great loss.

big papa · Post by **big papa** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 9:01 am

Horrible, they are showing him on the news right now...

Post by **wncbmw** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 11:27 am

He did a lot for both wildlife conservation and the Austrialian tourist industry and the country's image. A tragedy but a least he died doing things he loved.

The last thing I saw him in on TV, he was traveling the US with his wife and kids in an RV.

darcym · Post by **darcym** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 6:08 pm

RIP Steve -- Crikey -- Irwin.

Freak accident, stingray stings are usually painful but rarely fatal. He was always entertaining and a great champion for wildlife and conservation, with a great smile and loads of Aussie charm. Sad to see his time ended too soon, and for the loss for his wife and two young children. He was doing what he loved, and that is at least some small condolence. We should all be so lucky.

Post by **boxermania** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 6:52 pm

DJ.....He was one of my most watched personalities, with the interest and heart that he took to the animals and teaching you about them.....What a loss.....I will miss him.

Post by **DSKYZD** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 7:27 pm

Woke up this morning to my wife telling me this news. Bummer. I liked that wacky guy.

DSKYZD

Post by **LonestaRR** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 8:21 pm

I liked the guy too but couldn't watch some of the shows with the freaky reptiles. Stingrays are bad news for anyone who gets hit by them. I was hit by a barb a couple of years ago while wading in the bay. However, I was wearing kevlar ray guards so I wasn't hurt. I never go wade fishing without ray guards anymore. I suppose the ray that hit him was larger than what we deal with in the Gulf of Mexico?

R4R&R · Post by **R4R&R** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 8:27 pm

Kristi wrote:I never go wade fishing without ray guards anymore.

You are a serious fisher(wo)man!

Post by **DJ Downunder** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 9:13 pm

Kristy..I'm not sure how big the rays are that you came across but they think the one that got him was about 8' across...that's a biggie.

And 200kg (over 400lbs)..with a spike about 8" long....

....give me a shark anyday...here's more info..

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/ ... 62,00.html

Dr Fry said the stingray that delivered the fatal blow would have been up to 2.5m wide and could have weighed up to 200kg.

"They have a very formidable, jagged barb up to 20cm long. The strongly serrated barb is capable of tearing and rendering flesh. The flesh wound alone can be horrific.

"It is a large barb delivered with extraordinary force and amazing speed."

Dr Fry said fatalities from stingray venom were rare: "It just makes you wish you were going to die, it puts you in that much pain."

I've spent half my life in the water either surfing,windsurfing or kitesurfing and never seen one..maybe the water's too cold down my way.

I just hope he wasn't provoking it in any way...he will be missed.

btw..they think his attack may even be caught on film because a camerman was swimming in front of him filming at the time..

DJ

Just reading about the only two other deaths from rays down under...amazing...and one at St Kilda right where I windsurf the most..

BIZARRE though it was, Steve Irwin's death was not the first stingray-related fatality in Australian waters.

A soldier died in remarkably similar circumstances at St Kilda baths in 1945.
Medical notes show the 33-year-old Australian sergeant was swimming from the centre of the baths to the landing steps when he got into difficulty.

"When almost to the steps, he disappeared below the surface and was seen to be waving his hands over his head," the case notes said.

"After a period of 40 to 60 seconds, he rose to the surface without properly breaking the water and then sank again.

"His friends jumped into the water and assisted him up the steps."

The soldier was bleeding from a wound over his left breast and died soon after his rescue.

An autopsy the following day revealed his heart had been stabbed. A 7.6cm deep wound was recorded.

The city coroner found the cause of death was from a stingray barb.

The case notes were published in Australian Animal Toxins by Struan Sutherland and James Tibballs.

The only other recorded stingray tragedy came in 1988 when a 12-year-old boy died after a freakish incident off far north Queensland.

The boy was boating with friends in Mourilyan Harbour, near Innisfail, when a stingray leapt out of the water and struck three of them.

The boy was found to have a puncture resembling a bullet hole in his left breast.

Gasping for air and in pain, he was admitted to hospital for observation and testing.

He was discharged and appeared to be improving at a later check-up but, six days after the incident, he collapsed and died.

A post-mortem showed the stingray barb pierced his chest, depositing poison that eventually killed his heart tissue.

vintagecycle · Post by **vintagecycle** » Tue Sep 05, 2006 1:41 pm

So very sad. I really loved his energy, my palms would start sweating when I would watch him handle snakes.....
Such a freak accident....

Post by **yjleesvrr** » Tue Sep 05, 2006 1:53 pm

A downer of a news to be sure on Labor Day here in the U.S.

I never enjoyed nature shows as much as I did with Irwin parading around with various dangerous animals, and I grew up watching quite a few nature shows on PBS and Discovery later as an adult. He was a consummate entertainer as well as an activist. He will be missed for sure.

Post by **CycleRob** » Tue Sep 05, 2006 11:14 pm

Krykey!

Hearing about his death on the news last nite was a shocker. Steve is real popular thru his enthusiastic Discovery channel appearances. His peers say he was the foremost expert on wild animal matters, which makes his death all the more strange.

It's not just Australia. Wild animal and nature lovers everywhere have lost a really good man.

Post by **scottybooj** » Tue Sep 05, 2006 11:28 pm

not since crusoe has somebody exposed so many people to the wonders of nature.

8 Feet DJ???? WTF?!!!!!!!!!! I didn't know it was that big?!?!

Post by **dcameron** » Wed Sep 06, 2006 12:54 am

my 15 y/o daughter called last night about the unfortuante news regarding steve irwin. we watched all of his shows, precosious as he was, with delight and wonderment. he will me missed. my condolences to his family.

Post by **iowabeakster** » Wed Sep 06, 2006 6:28 pm

until seeing his pictures on this thread (t.v. avoidance), his death never really hit me.

What a:
Fantastic!
Glorious!
Amazing!

human being Steve was. He will be missed the world over.

Post by **garylspolar** » Thu Sep 07, 2006 6:16 am

I feel sad for his family's loss. I lost respect for the man, however, after the baby incident - a Michael Jackson type move that could have ended up with a crocodiles mouth full of Irwin's baby. For those of you unfamiliar with this stunt, here's a link to the story:

http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/asiapcf/a ... index.html

Post by **wncbmw** » Thu Sep 07, 2006 7:16 am

gary - many people feel the same about that incident. However, I would point out, many people would think taking children on a motorcycle would be putting them in danger also. How many of us have done that?

I think Irwin was probably more expert at what he does than most of us are at riding. I don't think comparisions of "the gloved one" to Steve are valid.

Post by **garylspolar** » Thu Sep 07, 2006 8:03 pm

Poor analogy, really.

My first motorcycle ride with my child will be for his enjoyment, (and yes, mine, as I live vicariously through him). I won't make money from the ride, and I won't ask anyone to film it, for millions of viewers to watch, from which I will profit.

Steve was a celebrity, and made his money from throwing dangerous reptiles around in front of a camera. He brought his newborn child within feet of a crocodile's jaws, for his show. Incredibly horrible and possibly harmful/deadly thing to do, and I doubt the baby recieved any enjoyment from the experience.

I suppose my feelings are even stronger, now being a father myself, and imagining my son Nathan in that situation.

Was Mr. Irwin also an expert with Stingrays? Maybe he should have taken his son for a swim.