Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin is dead

[Capt_Picard 0]

THE Crocodile Hunter, Steve Irwin, is dead.

 

He was killed in a freak accident in Cairns, police sources said today.

 

It is understood he was killed by a stingray barb that went through his chest and reportedly into his heart .

 

He was swimming off the Low Isles at Port Douglas filming an underwater documentary when the tragedy occured.

 

The Queensland Ambulance Service (QAS) was called about 11am (AEST) and an emergency services helicopter was flown to the crew's boat on Batt Reef, off the coast near Cairns, with a doctor and emergency services paramedic on board.

 

Irwin had a puncture wound to the left side of his chest and was pronounced dead at the scene.

 

Irwin's body is being flown to Cairns.

 

It is believed his American-born wife Terri is trekking on Cradle Mountain in Tasmania and is yet to be told of her husband's death.

 

The Irwins have two children - a daughter, Bindi Sue Irwin, eight, and a three-year-old son, Robert (Bob) Clarence Irwin.

 

Steve Irwin - known worldwide as the Crocodile Hunter - is famous for his enthusiasm for wildlife and his catchcry "Crikey!".

 

In an sad twist, it has been reported that his new documentary was aimed at demystifying the stingray.

 

Irwin's Crocodile Hunter program was first broadcast in 1992 and has been shown around the world on cable network Discovery.

 

He has also starred in movies and has developed the Australia Zoo wildlife park, north of Brisbane, which was started by his parents Bob and Lyn Irwin.

 

Tributes have already started pouring in for the larger-than-life character.

 

Foreign Minister Alexander Downer, who used a photograph of his family at Australia Zoo for his official Christmas card last year, hailed Mr Irwin for his work in promoting Australia.

 

Irwin was heavily involved in last year's "G'Day LA" campaign.

 

"The minister knew him, was fond of him and was very, very appreciative of all the work he'd done to promote Australia overseas," a spokesman said.

 

A Tourism Queensland spokeswoman said the death was shocking and paid tribute to Irwin's "enormous contribution" to his adopted state.

 

Louise Yates said it was impossible to quantify how much Mr Irwin had meant to the Queensland tourism industry.

 

"I don't think we could even estimate how much he brought us through his personality and his profile and his enthusiasm about Queensland," she said.

 

"It would be difficult to estimate how much he was worth. And it would be difficult to underestimate."

 

She said Irwin had been a larger-than-life ambassador.

 

"It's not just what he brought but what he took with him when he travelled, his passion."

 

Australia Zoo, on southeast Queensland's Sunshine Coast, employs more than 500 people and attracts thousands of visitors every day.

 

But Ms Yates said it would be "unfair and unjust" to put a dollar value on Irwin's worth to the state, because of how much he had given.

 

With The Courier Mail and AAP

[Chataeya 0]

:P :P B) OMG! This is horrible News! It is hard to believe and a big shock. But he was always putting himself at risk. Oh this is sooooooooooo sad.

[Capt_Picard 0]

You would think with all that he has done this was the least likely way for him to go.

 

He will be missed...

[trekz 7]

This news is truly shocking and sad! My thoughts go to his wife and chldren. He was a larger than life character who will indeed be missed.

[Sam The Smuggler 1]

I'm not surprised at all..but still...very sad..

 

May he rest in peace.

[Charface 0]

Just a few years ago this was all internet rumor. I'm sad it had to come true so soon.

[Jim Phaserman 0]

Steve Irwin made a name for himself by being a risk taker. He was willing to go after the baddest creatures in nature. Unfortunately, a life of risk is usually a short one. He made learning about animals entertaining, and yes he was once or twice a bit controversial, but he will be missed.

[Trekmachine 0]

He will be missed :P

[KIMIMELA 1]

I'm not believing this

 

He was a daredevil entertainer. I used to love watching the occasional shows, mostly laughing at his "Crikey!" etc. I had a feeling that one of the animals would kill him one day. I just love his passion about widelife and animals.

 

God bless you, Steve. You will be missed. :P

Edited September 4, 2006 by xXTrekkieCaraXx

[Stephen of Borg 2]

extremely sad. I'm not looking forward to telling mom, she loves the guy and doesn't know about this

[KIMIMELA 1]

extremely sad. I'm not looking forward to telling mom, she loves the guy and doesn't know about this

 

His wife doesn't know yet, and how is she going to explain to the children?

[Kor37 9]

I was a big fan of Irwin's and watched his show frequently. Its very sad but I've always thought that he would probably go out this way. Didn't think it would be by a stingray though.......

[Stephen of Borg 2]

UPDATE. Terri has been informed of her husband's death and has boarded a plane with her children to return to Australia.

 

I hope they continue to show his TV series on television. I think it would be a nice memorial to him and would continue to teach kids. He is not a person that needs to fade with time. I'm afraid that without his TV series reruns continuing, he won't be rememered in 40 years

[Odo 0]

This is sad news.

He was a risk taker in his programs. But did it to show the

world the true face of the animals he dealt with not just the miths.

Its very sad for his wife and small children.

But i think he went the way he would have wanted :sadwalk:

[jadziaezri 0]

Australia is missing Steve already. His death is being felt here very much. His cousin was a teacher of mine and we wish him and his family all the best at this time.

 

May the great man rest in peace.

 

 

btw gamera tasmania is a state of australia

[Theunicornhunter 2]

I was very sad to read this; although the world will miss him - he was above all a father to two little children who now have to grow up without a dad.

 

He is certainly a person who loved life and spent his time doing what he had a passion for - and while his death is a tragedy - at least he "lived" life while he was here.

[ARMS 0]

Gutted :P

[Odo 0]

Arms thats not only very not cool

but very desrespectfull.

Edited September 4, 2006 by Odo

[Kor37 9]

Arms thats not only very not cool

but very desrespectfull.

 

 

I really don't believe ARMS was being disrespectful. I just think he's trying to convey the traumatic way that Irvin was killed. Being stabbed by a Stingray's tail has been described as very similar to being stabbed with a large serrated kitchen knife. A very gruesome way to go..

Edited September 4, 2006 by Kor37

[Jim Phaserman 0]

extremely sad. I'm not looking forward to telling mom, she loves the guy and doesn't know about this

 

His wife doesn't know yet, and how is she going to explain to the children?

 

That's a tough thing to do with young children, Cara. The concept that someone is dead is a tough one for alot of people to grasp, especially young children.

[LordOfTheBorg 1]

... It's very, very sad that he is gone now... he was an awesome guy, and i always watched his show on tv...

[starsinmyeyes 0]

I'm very sorry that this happened. Although Steve is well known for his tv and movie pieces there was a lot more to this man. He had great passion for wildlife and the environment. For anyone who wants to find out more....

 

http://www.wildlifewarriors.org.au/

[Theunicornhunter 2]

I understand why the various news channels were quick to provide details - but I believe they have reached the point of descending into poor taste as they often do. I hope his wife is able to keep the children away from the tv during the next few days. Although I do appreciate The Animal Planet running a couple of previously aired documentaries.

 

I also think some people are overlooking the fact that his death was a "freak" accident - not necessarily a result of his chosen profession. Although he was injured on occasion he was knowledgeable and careful with his filmed stunts.

 

Sometimes it doesn't make sense that we should be so sad by the loss of someone we have never met but I think in this case Steve Irwin may be the one celebrity whose death truly is a loss. Many of his fans are/were children and he helped inspire and educate millions in their understanding of nature and wildlife and from what I have watched - he used the proceeds from his fame to support those same causes.

 

In an interview from a couple of years ago he said if he wanted to be remembered for anything it would be his "passion and enthusiasm" for conservation. In the background of another demonstration you can also hear him say that the most important thing we have is family. He spoke so fondly of how he learned his love of wildlife from his parents and crocodile hunting from his dad so it seems a real tragedy he won't be around to do the same with his children.

[Kor37 9]

I just read where his death is on film. I truly hope they don't air that footage although I suspect it will end up on the net somewhere. :P

[Stephen of Borg 2]

Irwin has said that he wanted to have his death on film, if it wasn't caught on tape, he would be disappointed.

Edited September 5, 2006 by Gamera

[Kor37 9]

Thats kind of a strange request. Will his wife and kids be subjected to having to view this over and over again? I surely hope not...

[Capt_Picard 0]

Update...

'Crocodile Hunter' Steve Irwin's Death Caught On Tape

 

September 5, 2006

 

By Associated Press

 

CAIRNS, AUSTRALIA - Videotape of Steve Irwin's last moments shows him pulling a poisonous stingray barb from his chest but no evidence that he had provoked the fish, officials said Tuesday, as tributes poured in for TV's beloved "Croodile Hunter."

 

Irwin, 44, who made a career out of getting dangerously close to deadly beasts, was stabbed through the heart Monday while snorkeling with a stingray during filming of a new TV program on Australia's Great Barrier Reef.

 

John Stainton, Irwin's manager who was among the crew on the reef, said the fatal blow was caught on videotape, and described viewing the footage as having the "terrible" experience of watching a friend die.

 

"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," Stainton told reporters in the Queensland state city of Cairns, where Irwin's body was taken for an autopsy.

 

Police were holding the tape as evidence for a coroner's inquiry - a standard procedure in high-profile deaths or those caused by other than natural causes.

 

Experts agree human deaths caused by stingrays are extremely rare and speculate the stingray may have felt trapped between the cameraman and the TV star.

 

But Queensland Police Superintendent Michael Keating said there was no evidence Irwin threatened or intimidated the stingray, a normally placid species that only deploys its poisonous tail spines as a defense.

 

Stainton said Irwin was in his element in the Outback, but that he and Irwin had talked about the sea posing threats the star wasn't used to.

 

"If ever he was going to go, we always said it was going to be the ocean," Stainton said. "On land he was agile, quick-thinking, quick-moving and the ocean puts another element there that you have no control over."

 

Irwin's American wife, Terri, and two young children returned late Monday from a trekking vacation in Tasmania to Australia Zoo, the wildlife park where the family lived at Beerwah in Queensland's southeast.

 

Australia Zoo was open Tuesday - staff said it was what he would have wanted - but the mood was somber and most visitors paid respects at a makeshift shrine of bouquets and handwritten condolence messages at the gate.

 

"Mate, you made the world a better place," read one poster. "Steve, our hero, our legend, our wildlife warrior," read another. Khaki shirts - a trademark of Irwin - were laid out for people to sign.

 

Parliament interrupted its normal schedule so lawmakers could pay tribute to Irwin, whose body was flown home Tuesday from Cairns. No funeral plans were announced but state Premier Peter Beattie said Irwin would be afforded a state funeral if his family agreed.

 

"He was a genuine, one-off, remarkable Australian individual and I am distressed at his death," Prime Minister John Howard said.

 

Irwin was propelled to global fame after his TV shows, in which he regularly wrestled with crocodiles and went face-to-face with poisonous snakes and other wild animals, were shown around world on the Discovery Channel.

 

The network announced plans for a marathon screening of Irwin's work and a wildlife fund in his name.

 

"Rarely has the world embraced an animal enthusiast and conservationist as they did Steve Irwin," Discovery Networks International President Dawn McCall said in a statement.

[youbroughtheryouRiker 2]

Crikey, mate. Rest In Peace. My brother used to love his show, too.

[KIMIMELA 1]

For anyone who knows the "Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses" song by U2, I have written a tribute song to this. It is called A pain to the heart which symbolises his pain and also our pain of loosing him. What do you think of it?

 

Pain to the heart

 

You're dangerous, 'cause you're honest

You're daring, 'cause you know

What you want

Well you filled our hearts

Full of love and kindness

For any animal to see

 

Look at how big he is

Crikey!

 

You're an accident waiting to happen

You've got pain to the heat… after what the stingray did

Well you shown us things

We were supposed to know

Then you left us… with nothing to watch

 

Hey hey I got him down

Crikey it’s a big croc

 

Who’s gonna restle your precious crocs?

Who’s gonna climb with the monkeys?

Who’s gonna crawl with your tiny insects?

Who’s gonna feed the tiger cubs?

 

Well you fed them, 'cause they needed the food

And you saved them, 'cause they needed their life

Well you proved to us, 'cause we wanted to know

Steve, you entertained us so.

 

There he is, crocodile

Crikey he’s gone so fast

 

Who's gonna ride your elephants?

Who's gonna to bounce with kangaroos?

Who's gonna cuddle cute koala?

Who's gonna swim the Barrier Reef?

 

The deeper you swim

The stingray will swim ... towards your aussie skin

Took a dive in the Barrier Reef...

To a place where the waves calls your name

Under the waves the whales singing...

To you and me...

Pain to the heart, stringray's sharp barb

The blood you bleed...

You just can’t hold…

It’s a pain in your heart

Don't stop the beat in your aussie heart

Don't give up now, pain like a dart

Don't stop swimming and don't look back

Come on now Steve... Don't you look back

 

Who's gonna love your sea life?

Who's gonna fly way up high?

Who's gonna creep in the slient night?

Who's gonna take the place of you?

Who's gonna love your wild animals?

Who could tame the heart of cocs?

Edited September 6, 2006 by xXTrekkieCaraXx

[youbroughtheryouRiker 2]

The meter is a little off in places, but the sentiment's there. Nicely done, Cara.