The Crocodile Hunter, Steve Irwin Has Died

[A Private Eye]

Very sad I used to love his programmes, he did a lot for the conservation of nature and will be sadly missed.

RIP

[Mandy.]

I like to believe he's in a better place now, and I know he died doing what he loved. But I can't help but think about his wife and children... He left 2 little children.?
It's a loss for everyone, but it's just so sad to think about his family.?

[MR W,AXL ROSE]

to be honest,i wasnt his biggest of fans although i did enjoy some of his crazy antics but id just like to say i did feel gutted for him and his family when i heard the news.R.I.P STEVIE BOY 

[lcg]

I liked watching his programs. He seemed a very nice man.
R.I.P 

[bazgnr]

I still can't get over how much of a freak accident the whole thing was.  I've been scuba diving many times, and been around stingrays on most of those dives.  Getting stung by one is far from rare, but actually dying from one is.  It's so very sad and horribly unfortunate that he got hit where he did.  A irreplacable loss for his family and his fans...

[liquidvirus]

RIP:(....Man im really gonna miss him, he made some of the most entertaining nature shows ive ever seen

[badapple81]

Apparently it's only the 3rd known death from getting attacked by a Sting Ray. Tragic.

[themovieaddict.com]

Steve said if he ever died to keep filming it so the footage wouldn't go to waste. I really hope the footage of him getting stung by the stingray surfaces soon!

People will say" YOU'RE SICK" but hey...these are Steve's own wishes...besides, I'm curious to know whether he provoked the thing or was just swimming around and suddenly, BAM! Out of nowhere, you know?

Either way, a very sad day.

It's not really the fact that he's dead that's so upsetting as much as what he represented. It's a huge blow to that part of our minds where we feel as if these people are safe. The Crocodile Hunter was like the guy who could never get killed - he messed around with huge deadly creatures. And what ended up killing him? A fucking stingray. Tragic.

"Crikey...I survived the lion attack, the elephant stampede, the alligator ambush and the swarm of killer bees...and I'm the second guy to be killed by a stingray in Australian history."

Never Underestimate The Power Of The Stingray, I suppose.

[SuperMike]

That's a shame, he was a funny guy.

[JeRrYFaR]

He will be missed.. I personally am a "herper" which is someone that photographs reptiles and Steve helped me to get into that sport.  I'm not nuts like him, but he was a very entertaining guy.

I made my avatar for him, though you can't see it as it's so small..

-Dave

[Kujo]

According to a story on CNN.com someone who was on the crew said it was a freak incident. Steve was swimming into an area and boxed in the stingray without even realising it. The stingray just acted in natural self defense.

[jabba2]

Wikopedia says 17 known deaths from sting rays but of course many things on that site are subjective.

I remember around 1999 when those shows came out it was unlike anything else on TV. Steve was taking less risks since those days, but i still ocasionally watched his show. Steve was never once bitton by a poisenous snake.

[Layne Staley's Sunglasses]

Sad thing is, he probably wouldn't blame the creature....   That's how good a man he was.

[themovieaddict.com]

Wikopedia says 17 known deaths from sting rays but of course many things on that site are subjective.

I remember around 1999 when those shows came out it was unlike anything else on TV. Steve was taking less risks since those days, but i still ocasionally watched his show. Steve was never once bitton by a poisenous snake.

17 worldwide. Two in Australia - counting good ol' Steve-o.

Seriously, talk about irony. He defies death before some of the most deadly creatures in the world - and gets killed by an animal that's only ever killed one person before - ever - in his country's history. 

RIP Stevey.

[Danny Top Hat]

Wikopedia says 17 known deaths from sting rays but of course many things on that site are subjective.

I remember around 1999 when those shows came out it was unlike anything else on TV. Steve was taking less risks since those days, but i still ocasionally watched his show. Steve was never once bitton by a poisenous snake.

That's definately not true.  i saw an episode when he was bitten and had to have the venom removed.  They carried on filming - of course - and he sounded like he was genuinely worried for a time.

Cool guy.

[Jim]

Wikopedia says 17 known deaths from sting rays but of course many things on that site are subjective.

Subjective, what?

Fabricated, maybe.

[themovieaddict.com]

From Google News:

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.

John Stainton told reporters the footage, which he had handed to police, was the worst thing he had ever seen, Sydney's 2GB radio reported this morning.

"I have seen the footage and it's shocking," Mr Stainton said.

"It's a very hard thing to watch because you're watching somebody die and it's terrible."

Mr Stainton, also a producer and director of Irwin's popular television shows, said the footage showed Mr Irwin pulling the barb out of his chest before losing consciousness.

'The tail came up'

"It shows that Steve came over the top of the ray and the tail came up, and spiked him here (in the chest), and he pulled it out and the next minute he's gone.

"That was it. The cameraman had to shut down."

Mr Stainton, who was aboard Mr Irwin's vessel Croc One when the tragedy occurred, said it was likely the television star and naturalist died almost immediately as a result of the stingray's blow.

"(He was) probably a metre coming over the top of it," he said.

"He was underwater. I think, and the coroner's report will say what happened, but I think he died fairly instantly."

Mr Stainton said he was still in disbelief that a stingray could claim his close friend's life.

"He was always on the precipice," he said.

"He always pushed himself to the very limits but I thought he was invulnerable and I think he did too.

Close shaves

"I think we all had that belief that we'd pull through whatever situation we were in and he has been in some very close shaves with snakes and crocodiles.

"I would never imagine it to come from something like a stingray."

A post-mortem examination has confirmed Irwin died after being speared in the chest by a stingray's poisonous barb.

"We're not going into the detail but there's definitely no surprises. Everyone knows how he died," a police spokeswoman said.

Mr Stainton said  Irwin's crew was struggling to come to terms with the death.

"Devastated," Mr Stainton said when asked at a news conference in Cairns today how Mr Irwin's crew was coping with the loss.

[jabba2]

Wikopedia says 17 known deaths from sting rays but of course many things on that site are subjective.

I remember around 1999 when those shows came out it was unlike anything else on TV. Steve was taking less risks since those days, but i still ocasionally watched his show. Steve was never once bitton by a poisenous snake.

That's definately not true.? i saw an episode when he was bitten and had to have the venom removed.? They carried on filming - of course - and he sounded like he was genuinely worried for a time.

Cool guy.

I think your talking about Steve Austin or Austin Stevens "snakemaster" another reptile guy who was bite by a Cobra and used a venom pump to suck it out. thats another reptile guy on Animal planet.

[MR.BROWNSTONE]

I never was a big fan, but I always admired his enthusiasm and his love for animals

Same here. The man loved what he did very much. R.I.P.   

[MCT]

You always knew an animal would be the death of him...

But such was the nature of his job, I guess.