Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin dead
 

Breaking news - no details yet.

News reports he was killed by a stingray barb.

HOly cow - I looked around a bit and found it was a freak accident. He was diving and filming a documentary and a stingray barb went through his chest. Apparently his wife doesn't even know yet, as she is in Tasmania and they can't locate her.

How sad, At least he died doing what he loved. I feel very badly for his wife and daughter.

That is a real shocker, and very sad. I always enjoyed watching this guy at work, and, like many others, often wondered if his fearlessness would ever get him in trouble. Well, he has my admiration, and his enthusiasm was contagious. Good on ya, Steve!

Steve Irwin Dead???
 

nm, Prudence posted it in the lounge.

My gosh, first Marlin Perkins, then Timothy Treadwell and now Steve Irwin. What in the animal world is going on? It seems like these days a man can not put his life in precarious situations with large, man-eating killer beasts without something bad happening! I don't get it.

HOLY CRAP!!!!

His wife doesn't know yet.

He also had a 3 year old son.

:(

I feel so bad! :(

I'm going to be honest- I thought he was a goddamned idiot when he fed those crocs while holding his infant son. Even so, he was a bit of an icon, wasn't he? I am sorry to see that he has passed. He had an enthusiasm for life and all living things, and I really am sad that he has died.:(

Tis true, I'm afraid.

He was stung in the chest by a Ray,while filming and suffered heart failure.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/...222051512.html


RIP Steve - I'll miss you. :(

CRIKEY!

I guess he wasn't kidding when he said not to try this at home.

I am in so much shock over this right now. Steve Irwin was a pop culture icon over the past decade, and it just doesn't seem at all real.

Back when I was in college, a group of us watched his show on the Discovery Channel, and he was always so out there, and did some of the wackiest stuff that we had ever seen.

In fact, one night, there was a Crocodile Hunter marathon, and we kind of made up a drinking game, where we would take a drink for every Crocodile Hunter-ism out there (a drink for Crikey, a drink for wrestling a croc, etc...). I know that this memory seems a bit odd to mention in this particular post, but at the same time, his show really did entertain me.

I feel so horrible for his wife and children right now.

I had forgotten about that.

He was so charismatic, and his enthusiasm was simply unmatched. I wonder what will become of his zoo.

Maybe his wife will continue to run it or something to that extent. Or, maybe it'll be renamed after Irwin.

This is weirding me out, because we were talking about him yesterday ... and I had not thought about him for years. So the minute he's brought back into my consciousness, he turns up dead ... and that kinda freaks me out .... apart from the fact that, well, he's dead.

But, yeah, what did we expect? Killed by a wild animal, d'uh. And far from it being too early .... I'm really quite surprised he lasted this long.

Some of the quotes and observations in this article really annoy me.

Yes, the man lived a dangerous life. But a victim of "voyeuristic wildflie TV"? This man was a victim of nothing. TV gave him an avenue to share his passion with millions upon millions of people. He would have been doing what he was doing with or without TV (though not filming a documentary) because it was what he loved.

There's this quote - "It's a shame that television audiences need that to be attracted to wildlife." Passion about a subject makes other people interested.

Some people annoy me.

I remember spending many a teenage day watching his shows and laughing at what an idiot he was for the risks he took. But hey, he loved those animals and who am I to deny his impact in the world of wildlife education. many of us may have been laughing at him, but I'm sure we picked up some knowlegde while we were at it, and that is what he wanted I'm sure.

All in all, I find it just a little bit ironic that after cheating death so many times with so many extremely dangerous creatures, it was a sting ray that finally took him out.

RIP Steve. My thoughts go out to his family as they attempt to continue his work.

I think Steve Irwin rocked. He did loads for animal conservation. I'll miss him. My thoughts to his wife and kids.

(BTW, the article Prudence posted said that Terri had been notified.)

An awesome personality with a true love for life and a passion for what he did. He was an asset to the world. I'll miss him for sure.

I think his popularity took a nose dive with that MichaelJackson-like croc in one hand, baby in another stunt. The general public didn't take kindly to it. And his protestations of what was perfectly safe ring a little hollow now that he's met his end through his beastie-interactions of sure-looks-dangerous-to-me.


I will always remember him fondly, however. He had a real shining personality, and his fearlessness bordering on foolhardiness was simply part of the charm.

Wow, what sad news to wake up to this morning. I always enjoyed his shows, although it had been a couple of years since I last watched. He was so excited about what he was showing you that you couldn't help but be excited as well.

For the short time he was among us, he surely lived life to its fullest. We should all be so lucky.

Apparently, his children were with his wife, and they are aware and heading back to Queensland.

The whole event was filmed. This is not that film (and good lord knows I don't want to see it), just a link to a story with the above info.

link

How sad for his family, the conservationalists, and the world at large.

His sense of danger reminds me a little bit of fictional Rubeus Hagrid-- an intense love of animals, a respect for and a connection with them that is unmatched. But passion gets in the way of reason sometimes.

Wow, very sad for his family.

His enthusiasm was infectious and his passion was obvious. Very sad, but as it has been said before, he was doing something he loved.

It's just so shocking that he died. I truly loved his show and watched it right from the beginning. If anything he ALWAYS said that people shouldn't take unnecessary risks. He knew the danger he constantly faced and tried to be vigilant and careful. I found his shows to be inspiring and educational.

The Discovery Channel plans to put together a memorial fund in his memory.

His manager said that he had watched the film. He said that Steve was swimming over the top of a large ray when the ray swung his barb into Steve's chest. Steve pulled the barb out and that was it.

This is sad indeed. He was such an energetic and happy guy. I'm sure this is the way he would have liked to go. My heart goes out to his family. I hope there isn't an outburst by people to off a bunch of stingrays now.
RIP, Croc Hunter.
:(

:mad:

They've updated the page, but a few moments ago, there were no fewer than 3 different places on MSNBC's homepage that said "Croc Hunter's Death Caught on Tape". Now it's down to 2. Thank god that tape hasn't made it to the public yet, and hopefully it never will. But seeing MSNBC blaring that headline all over the place was making me ill.

Well, I'd say it is good that it was filmed for at least one reason. A lot of people immediately assumed that Irwin was doing something to torment the animal. So that can be known either way with certainty.

Since video exists, unless they successfully kept it as only one copy and keep that copy in a trustworthy person's hands it will eventually make it to the media. I don't really have a problem with it being seen but yeah, slavering for it is unseemly.

According to his utterly undocumented IMDB entry's trivia section, he'd have been upset if it hadn't been filmed. Of course, I haven't been able to locate an documented quotes supporting this claim.

I've got no problem with the fact that it was filmed. And if it weren't for the fact that I know that every news outlet is going to drool over themselves and fight for the most sensational way to parade his death for ratings, I wouldn't have a problem with it being publicly accessible. What I have issue with is...well...what I just said I know will happen.

I want to know if his family's going to accept the state funeral offer.

This was so sad. He was a bit nutty but so enthused that you couldn't help but get caught up in it. I feel horrible for his family.

I'm not sure what the source is, but I heard some talk on the radio this morning. They were saying that according to one of Steve's longtime friends and crew members they always expected that if he was to suffer a death like this, it would be in the ocean. Apparently the thinking was that on land he was very aware of his surroundings and capable of taking more risks. In the ocean these things are much more difficult to control.

My friend told me a couple of days ago. So, so sad. Not entirely unexpected, given his line of work, but sad, sad, sad nonetheless. His poor family.

An interesting notion, and frankly, I totally agree with it.
He was a very aware man it seemed, and he seemed acutely in tune with sound, and motion.
You lose so much of that in the water.

He Will be missed :(

Took a week longer than I expected.

This just in, Steve Irwin is way down under.

There's more to this story now. And, honestly, I find it appalling.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/5338118.stm

UGH! This is beyond logic. And extremely dumb to boot.

Agreed. They claim to honour a guy who preserved wildlife by killing off stingrays? IDIOCY!!!

Like the stingrays know what they're being persecuted for. :rolleyes:

If you're going to kill them, at least have the decency to eat them.

currently on the most wanted list:

I agree

:D

I'm still bummed out by this. And now idiots killing rays. That's so not what he would have wanted to happen.

I'm irritated at the PETA people for bashing him and saying it was a good thing he died so soon after he died. Not surprised, just irritated. I have half a mind to suspect that they are the ones killing rays just to make his fans look bad.

If you think the PETA people were bad, did you see what the ex-pat author had to say? Greer, I think?

Yeah, that was pretty harsh. I'm more annoyed by PETA because I know some people actually contribute to them.