Steve Irwin has been killed by a stingray today while filming a documentary. It's such a tragedy to have lost one of Australia's icons.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/steve-irwin-killed-by-stingray/2006/09/04/1157222051512.html Yeah I saw this to. Too sad since characters like him are not common. He was an entertainer and a big friend of animals.
The cause of death sounds very unlikely though - stung by a Sting ray. How the h3ll is that. The sting ray is a slow lumbering fish and basically Irwin would have had flung himself on the barb.
Well, who knows. Link to CNN story below.
http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapcf/09/04/australia.irwin/index.html Yep a great shame. It does sound rather weird "stingray barb that went through his chest" mind you he was always a bit wacky maybe he just through himself on the barb just to see what would happen.
A great shame, a star entertainer and a brave man... or just wacky!
BBC news reported that the show he was working on was going to be called "Deadly Sea Creatures"
Irony is a bitch.
It is a great shame to lose Steve, he was one of the few personalities that clearly had a real passion for what they did, his shows were informative and done in a way that people where learning and not realising it.
It will be interesting, I think, to watch whatever episode of his show that is going to deal with this, to hear their explanation on how it happened and about the future of the Zoo/Show.
RIP Steve Irwin
My husband woke me this morning with the news about Steve Irwin; we were both great fans. It doesn't come as a huge surprise considering he's been bitten, stung, and attacked by all sorts of creatures already... but it's still very unfortunate. A terribly "lucky" shot for the stingray; for its barb to miss the ribs and go right through the heart. It just goes to show how fragile we are and that at any time we are vulnerable to nature/god/whatever. It's just so very, very sad and incomprehendible to those of us left behind.
Whatever is after this life, I hope it's better. And I hope that maybe through his untimely death, Steve Irwin will be able to raise more awareness, support, and even money for his causes. After all, his wife urged the media to report that stingrays generally aren't killers and that we shouldn't be afraid of them. How courageous in the worst of times for them...
Not a surprise that he'd go out like that...but still a shame.
Makes me wonder about these "Sting Ray City" tourists spots. I was at one earlier this year where the guides lifted sting rays on to your back (or made a sandwich out of you with 2 rays....I wonder if they are exposing themselves to the same type of accident.
From what I know (and I'm not an expert by any means), sting rays generally aren't aggressive, but they can whip out their barbs lightning fast. Usually they swim away if threatened, and most of the stories I've heard about people getting stung are when stingrays get stepped on. I remember a video on the discovery channel of boys walking in water with sticks ahead of them to flush out the stingrays.
It's very strange that a stingray would've "attacked" him; usually they're just reactive. It's also horrible "luck" that the barb passed right through the ribs and into his heart. At least his death was sudden. I know he's a crazy guy and we probably aren't entirely shocked considering he's been exposed to the world's deadliest creatures, but his passion for animals and the environment is certainly notable.
Well, I missed this post and created my own which was sumarily locked by an admin. Always nice to get the door slammed in your face. I will repost it here to make the powers that be happy.
Steve Irwin the Crocodile Hunter died last night while filming off the Great Barrier Reef. Aparently he was swimming next to a stingray when it stung him piercing his heart. He was dead by the time they were able to get him to his boat near by. He leaves behind his wife Terri, his daughter Bindi, nd a son Bob. May our thoughts and prayers go out to them.
One more thing.....I find it in incredibly poor taste that Discovery Channel News chose to include this paragraph in their story about Steve's death.
"Irwin's public image was dented, however, in 2004 when he caused an uproar by holding his infant son in one arm while feeding large crocodiles inside a zoo pen. Irwin claimed at the time there was no danger to the child, and authorities declined to charge Irwin with violating safety regulations."
Nice to know that when a man like Steve Irwin who has spent his whole life crusading for animal and habitat conservation allows a television network like Discovery to ride on his coat tails, they feel the need to bash him hours after his death. They should be ashamed.
You can read the full release here.
http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2006/09/04/irwin_hum.html
RIP Steve
Last edited by ciaran27 on Mon Sep 04, 2006 7:23 pm; edited 1 time in total Yes, sad news indeed... the man had a wife and children is the worst part... imagine the grief they are all going through...
may God be with his family in there time of sorrow.
This is a huge tragedy, considering he was so full of life and so hungry for adventure, god has his eyes closed today, taking the life of such a man.
He brought thrill and joy into the hearts of millions of people around the globe and he died doing the same thing he always used to do, and that is explore new things in search for new adventures.
This is pure proof that life isnt fair and you never know if you get to say: "tomorrow I will do that", because there may be no tomorrow for some 
May he rest in peace. Oh no...!!!!!
Steve Irwin was the guy that proved to us all, that YOU CAN.
To be honest, he has been lucky so long he survived his things, but so sad he had to die 
RIP Steve!! Sad news, he was a brave man, did many things for the animals, and told us more about them than anybody else. RIP.
This is a really sad story. I don't know why but I laughed immediatly upon hearing the news but then I felt sorry for his family and everyone who knew him. My girlfriend met him and his family and said they were really nice people. If a celebrity was to die in a freak accident, I would rather have picked Bill O'Reily. Steve Irwin was a good guy and was lucky to live so well.
Was so shocked when i found out yesterday
What a legend!
Will be sadly missed
R.I.P
Stephen Robert Irwin That sucks... I mean, this man was probably glorifying the stringrays so much... and one goes and kills him. Unlikely? Sort of. Unfortunate? Very much so. Like the news article said, "He died doing what he loved to do."
Kinda makes me rethink about that time at Sea World when we were able to pet the Manta Rays (although I doubt they are as dangerous as the String Rays).
What irritates me the most is that all day CNN and other news agencies keep showing the clip of Steve holding his son and feeding a croc. Like there was no better footage. Why do they seek to marr the image of a man who fights so hard to teach the world about animals and the consequent respect of them? Maybe they think Steve Irwin was just some crazy idiot who spent his life in folly, but to the rest of us, he was a hero for the animal kingdom.
So I totally agree with you about Discovery News adding that "bad" paragraph. They should be celebrating all he did, not focusing on one little incident that was probably blown way out of proportion anyway. Geez.
| Soulfire wrote: |
Kinda makes me rethink about that time at Sea World when we were able to pet the Manta Rays (although I doubt they are as dangerous as the String Rays). |
At Sea World and other similiar places, they remove the barbs from the stingrays. I remember asking that when last I was there. | kiawa77 wrote: |
| Soulfire wrote: |
Kinda makes me rethink about that time at Sea World when we were able to pet the Manta Rays (although I doubt they are as dangerous as the String Rays). |
At Sea World and other similiar places, they remove the barbs from the stingrays. I remember asking that when last I was there. |
Ah, that makes me feel much better.
*Wipes sweat from forehead*
Back to Seaworld it is! | mabuhay wrote: |
| This is a really sad story. I don't know why but I laughed immediatly upon hearing the news but then I felt sorry for his family... |
You know what? I laughed too. I think I laughed because 1. I didn't believe it and 2. it was so blazingly ironic. Then I noticed that he was serious, and I started to cry... which I hadn't done since the doctor told me that the mass in my lung might be a tumor. (I don't cry easily).
I'm sure his wife was prepared for this possibility, but like the rest of us, probably never thought it would happen like this Sad and shocking... though when you think about it, it's somehow not that surprising.
RIP Steve, and prayers to your family.
datter
A great lose, I love his shows...
I've seen him played with crocs and snakes, "dangerously"....
but never thought he will be killed by a stingray...
a great lose indeed.
I love to watching animals documetary show
i love his show of course.
It was really surprise me yesterday when I open a news from Yahoo and read it which shown 48 minutes ago.
I always think one day he will get serious injured by any reptiles in accident. but never thought that he will killed by some kind like fish on first serious accident.
I never heard of the man, but I understand he was some sort of icon to many nature-loving people!
I read that usually the fish that stung him only do that when they feel trapped...
I hope that wasn't the case. My thought go out to his wife and children. He was irresponsible in that respect. But alas, can one give up part of what he loves to do and endanger himself in order to love and care for others?
7Pound7
He was such an awesome guy, I just watched his movie a couple of months back too and thought it was great. I was completely shocked when I heard the news this morning. So sad.
he really helped australia and the world of animals
i feel sorry for his family
"This was only the third known fatality in Australian history from a stingray attack, and the first since 1945.[35] As of 1996, only seventeen worldwide fatalities had been recorded,[36] and it is believed to be the only fatal attack ever captured on film.[37]" source wikipedia.
so misfourtunate
RIP Steve
Its Very Sad. Had Seen couple of his documentories. A great Coregeous Person.
And The Type Of Fatal accident It was a great shock.
Steve was the man, this guy cracked me up, I wish to avenge his death by eating a sting ray sometime soon.
i was deeply saddened as how could someone so full of like just die at the age at 44
| kiawa77 wrote: |
you know what? I laughed too. I think I laughed because 1. I didn't believe it and 2. it was so blazingly ironic. Then I noticed that he was serious, and I started to cry... which I hadn't done since the doctor told me that the mass in my lung might be a tumor. (I don't cry easily). |
I hope it is not dangerous, I hope you get well.
| Quote: |
Steve was the man, this guy cracked me up, I wish to avenge his death by eating a sting ray sometime soon. |
lol, I am going to that too.Steve doesnt only help us be informed of wild creatures, as a matter of fact he had also helped promote australias tourism. However there is one show of him that i disliked most, the one where he risked his son's life just to feed the show.
those people are not supposed to die!! he was a great man. a man of family apart of being the cocodrile hunter. he was more than a tv figure. he will be reminded for a long time.
man i used to watch almost all his shows episodes, was really sad to know that he dies... RIP
This guy Steve will live on in our hearts forever. Not only was he a favourite of animal lovers but also an inspiration for all people who were just too plain scared to do something.
Steve taught us that if u just wish to do it, U can !!! He rolled in the mud with crocodiles, swam with sharks and sting rays ( ) , Went face to face with slithering serpents and basically proved to the world that u ar what u believe u are.
Let us pay our utmost respects to this great dude who has been an inspiration to many of us.
Sob....he shouldn't have died. Still so young and full of energy, plus his lovely family. He teaches me how to value wildlife and spurs my interest in Australian animals. It's a wonder how the Stingway was the killer, and not a crocodile. His death also showed that you can leave this world anytime, anywhere. The incident was actually caught on tape. A part of me wants to see that tape out of curiosity. But I believe it's wrong to publish it.
Well, here in Australia, we're all pretty much in a state of shock. The Australia Show in Queensland has been getting hundreds of well-wished laying flowers and tributes out the The family have turned down the offer of a state funeral.
It's a shame he died so young, but at least he died doing something he loved so much.
R.I.P mate. You will be missed. | dickyzin wrote: |
| The incident was actually caught on tape. A part of me wants to see that tape out of curiosity. But I believe it's wrong to publish it. |
Yes it was caught on tape, good thing its already in the hands of the authorities and it is banned to being shown publicly. | sketteksalfa wrote: |
| dickyzin wrote: | | The incident was actually caught on tape. A part of me wants to see that tape out of curiosity. But I believe it's wrong to publish it. |
Yes it was caught on tape, good thing its already in the hands of the authorities and it is banned to being shown publicly. |
And so it should be. You ought to see the bodies and death shown here in Indo on the daily news, and everyone standing around gawking at it.
Steve was an amazing man, someone who lived out their dreams and should recieve the respect he deserves.
As some have said he did push things a bit at times, appearing maybe a little reckless but as my friend pointed out to me last night, he knew his field of operation, he grew up with wild animals and crocs and it was all a calculated risk.
No more than you and I take on the roads each day, or at least I on my motorbike. But I'm sure you know what I mean.
It may appear a little reckless to someone who is scared of spiders or cockroaches but to a guy who grew up with nature it was just the excitment of living life to the full.
Indeed for his wife and child it must be a heartbreaking time. Death seems to always be that way, harder for those left behind than the one leaving, I guess it's a burden we all must sometimes bear in our lives.
It's a great tribute to the man that so many people around the world care so much and appreciated his work so much, and a tribute to you who take the time to express your condolences.
God bless him. The world would be a better place with more people like Steve.I cried when I heard that Steve Irwin was dead.
I just... Couldnt stop, he is my idol. I love people who help and love animals, taking care of them, and make them feel good. Steve Irwin was one of them.
Let this thread be a thread where people can write a little about how they remember Steve Irwin.
RIP, Steve Irwin.
"Steve Irwin died when he did something that he loved, be with wild-animals. I'm glad he died that way, and not in any other way.", Per-Arne Nilsen.
I only hope the almost surely excessive media coverage wont be too distressing to his family
I heard the news from my class mates, hoping that they would be wrong.
I do want him to come back, because I know I'll miss the energy that he had.
He had a family that loved him and many, many fans. It's a bit sad, or it is extremely sad that he had to leave us. But this is the way life is. I have accepted it a long time ago, that we all will die in the end. People should not be sad for loosing someone, just think of all those nice times you have sheared, or in this case seen. I know it's hard in the beginning, but no ones will live forever, it's just that someone’s do die before their time, in accidents I mean.
There is many that has lost close relatives, but their life’s do go on in the end, it just seem harder in the beginning.
This is enough of my speech about life and death.
I do feel sad because he is dead, but I’ll never stop thinking of him and all the times he has made me laugh.
Well, I think he knew he was going to die while doing his work some day...
If you do dangerous stuff like that for allt hose years, it'll eventually go wrong (even if you know very well what you're doing).
That's why I respect this man very much.
But that won't take away the little empty place in my heart :'(
Steve was a great man, let's hope he gets nice place in crocodile heaven :')
<3 To Steve, and even more <3 to his family, for who this thing is extra hard with all the attention they get.
Try to imagine to see "YOUR HUSBAND IS DEAD" on every journal for the next few days, that would probably suck very much 
I am deeply sadden to hear of his freaky death. The odds of him getting stung direct in the heart? I guess God was ready for Steve to join him in heaven.
My thoughts and prayers to out to his family.
| r_y_e_20 wrote: |
| Steve doesnt only help us be informed of wild creatures, as a matter of fact he had also helped promote australias tourism. However there is one show of him that i disliked most, the one where he risked his son's life just to feed the show. |
If that's such a bad thing, then why not crusade against parents that load their kids in the car for unnecessary trips? They put their kids at a lot more risk than he did his.Very sad news to see!!!
I was up late that night and saw the Breaking News come across the screen that he was killed by a sting ray.
I guess he dies with what he loves, nature! I couldn't think of a better way for him to die, don't take that the wrong way, but with the stuff he enjoyed and worked with his entire life.
RIP Crocodile Hunter
You got a great fan base here in the US-A!
RIP
It's very shocking and sad to hear. My heartfelt thoughts go out to Steve Irwin and his family; what a terrible loss. He could make anything and everything sound exciting and interesting. He was a remarkable man who touched the world, and still does today. May he rest in peace.
Poor guy i really like him, i watched alot of his stuff.... that was messed up..but thats life i guess......
=(
may u rest in peace crocodile man
When I heard about Steve, I couldn't believe it. I used to love his show. I saw a few interviews with he and his kids. I can't even image how his children and wife feel.
The world will miss him greatlly.
I also think that there is going to be a Croc Hunter marathon on tomorrow.
-Justin
My husband told me what happened when I got up. I was numb. All I can say is, the Goddess must have more need of him than we have.
| Quote: |
| He teaches me how to value wildlife and spurs my interest in Australian animals |
You and a few thousand more. What a wonderful legacy.
Steve lived every moment of his life. I don't think he was scared of dying, too busy living. Wouldn't it be great if we followed his example. Yesterday on TV we had a whole day of "Animal Planet" all dedicated to him - they showed him at work, sometimes with his wife. In the evening they showed an Australian TV interview with him.
The man was was very passionate and full of enthusiasm for his work. He truly loved wildlife. In the Aussie interview, he mentioned that he had bought lots of land in Australia and America with the sole purpose of preserving the wildlife that lived there.
I agree with woundedhealer that "Steve lived every moment of his life". He was too busy living and doing the things he cared about to be scared much. As he pointed out in that interview, he loved animals and he treated them the same way he treated his daughter, wife and family - the way he expected them to treat him.
He was truly an inspiration and a great example to all of us. He was the kind of person most of us want to be, but are too afraid to be. Let's hope that his message and positive impact continues to inspire people for generations to come, not only with regard to conservation and wildlife, but also to the way we live our lives!
May he rest in peace! He's earned it! He'll be sorely missed by all who knew him, and fondly remembered by all those who watched him at work.
Devastating news.
When it broke in the UK my whole family was greatly saddened. Steve increased our knowledge of the world around us, and brought us hours of pleasure with his tv shows. My 8 year old was very upset, as we all were, especially as she is the same age as Steve's daughter, and said it was so sad to have your daddy die.
Our hearts go out to his wife, his son and daughter and the rest of the family.
RIP Steve.
wow that stinks. To bad I liked that show.I wonder when / if they will show the last film they taped with the inncedent I want to see it happen.
Not sure if this has been said before, but I read that Steve pulled the barb out of his chest himself. What a man! I would be going nuts, and he seemed to be pretty calm about it all.
It's ironic, he was filming the "World's Dangerous Creatures" (or something of the sort) and he did fine there, but where he was killed was in a "powder puff" segment for his daughter, about the stingrays (or was it mantarays?).
Unfortunate for sure.
The man gave us wildlife at it's best, a true unique character in the world of nature. He made it interesting for all ages and brought wildlife to the forefront our our minds
good onyah, Steve RIP mate
I was so shocked on hearing this. I just couldin't believe the first time I heard it. It was just as if he was part and parcel of everyone of our lives. Such a pity to have lost that man.
May his soul rest in peace.
Shocking, very shocking news! I'm goint to miss this guy a lot! I've always admired his excitement/passion for animals. Look at that guy, beautiful, I'm gonna catch him. Steve, hold on, that's a cricky mate, he'll bite your leg off.
RIP Steve.
5ani
I can only hope that his family doesn't feel to much of the inevitable and unfortunately intense media attention his passing well get from this
yeah i remember when they showed it on the news, that kind of sux but he is in a better place now and may he R.est I.n P.eace
It really was too bad; he did live on the edge and I'm sure that he realized that he put himself at risk, often to extreme risks. That wasn't the way I figured that it would happen, but I think that it was still really sad that he would leave a family and die at a relatively young age.
I used to watch alot of his shows; they were really quite enjoyable, and if he didn't show it to you, then you wouldn't have gotten to see a lot of the wild things and places that he went. May he RIP
A very touching eulogy delivered by Steve's daughter, Bindi, this morning at his ceremony.
Very sad to see such a remarkable man leave at such a young age. He was a great entertainer, conservationist, dad, and mst of all, Australian. He died in such unorthodox circumstances, which were somewhat unexpected by all of us. I mean, he was always toying with danger, but, I don't think any of us actually contemplated his death. He personified invinsibility. Now, I think, it has made people face the true reality of life, and that is, we are all mortal, and none of us have immunity.
CRIKEY, WE'LL MISS U MATE
I heard the re opening an investigation on the "sting ray attack" because he might have had some problem breathing or something while he was underwater. Its sad though that he died filming that because i heard it was for his daughter.
