Steve Irwin, the "Crocodile Hunter", Dead At 44

[pitbulllady]

I saw this in someone's journal on DA, and was pretty much convinced that it was yet-another "urban legend", since there have already been many untrue reports about Steve Irwin being killed by this or that animal. However, this is reported on Yahoo News, and Snopes.com, which debunks rumors and urban legends, has confirmed it. How very sad. He was killed by a large stingray which pierced his heart with its barb.

While many people might have considered Irwin to be a nut-case, he did a lot to improve the image of reptiles like crocs and snakes, which are so hated and feared by so many people, and changed many attitudes about them. It is the animals themselves who will miss him the most.:(

pitbulllady

[ch3353-h4xx0rrrr]

Man, I loved that guy.

Great with wildlife. Unlike me. :'(

[Cassini90125]

It was quite a shock for me. Steve Irwin was one of the good guys, a man who really enjoyed life and his work. He'll be missed by many, human and otherwise. :bloosad:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060904/ap_on_en_tv/obit_irwin

[LaBlooGirl]

I was going to post this, and I saw PB beat me to it.
I was terribly shocked, I couldn't believe it. I mean, a STINGRAY? If it had been a croc, that would have been more fitting, ya know? I'm quite sad over it.

[Bloo2daMacs]

awwww... that's pretty sad... (sigh)

[kageri]

Man..... that sucks. Steve Irwin was cool. :[ I'll miss him. Feel bad for Terri and Bindi too.

[Cheesecake_Recipe]

It is a sad day indeed.

[taranchula]

Yeah I just heard the news from my brother, the second I stepped through the door, the most tragic thing of all is this was one of those one in a million fluke occurrences, I mean if he was stabbed anywhere else he might have been okay. But it had to be right through the chest.

A sad loss of an entertaining and educational personality that's for sure.

[Imaginary Light]

I know, I was SHOCKED when I heard. I mean, of all things, a STINGRAY. I really do feel quite bad. He did so much for animals and really cared about them, and I respect that. It's just really sad:(

[Mr. Marshmallow]

I was also gonna post this, and like I said on another forum when I heard this sad news, I didn't love the guy or watch his shows alot but it just plain sucks knowing that someone who loved animals as much as he did had to go.

Irwin was a dedicated guy and he loved his work, its down right crappy that he had to die by such unusual "freak accident" of ways. But I think he would have preferred to die doing what he loved rather then by something else.

He was a positive and supportive guy and no doubt, an all around decent human being, R.I.P Crocodile Hunter, sorry we had to see you go so soon :(.

[Emma]

Oh man, this is such a waste. I feel really bad for his family. And the horrible thing is, I'm sure some people will find some way to laugh at this horrible incident.

[BlooCheese]

Oh man, this is such a waste. I feel really bad for his family. And the horrible thing is, I'm sure some people will find some way to laugh at this horrible incident.

They always do, they always do.

Aw. I liked his show. It was always entertaining.
For shame. He was cool.

[Voxxyn]

He died doing what he loved to do, and I can only admire him for that. Though I can't help but feel terrible for his family.

Rest in peace.

[lucyrocks73]

Yeah, I saw it here this morning. Then I told my mother, who thought it was just an urban legend. It was only when she saw it on CNN that she believed...

It's sad... Although, he occasionally annoyed the CRAP out of me. However, I watched his show all the time.

It's sad that he died.

-Marty :(

[GrimTheLost]

Oh man, this is such a waste. I feel really bad for his family. And the horrible thing is, I'm sure some people will find some way to laugh at this horrible incident.

I hate to admit it, but I did give a little giggle. Not because I hated him or anything (I thought he was funny), but that out of all the times he had been bitten by something poisonous a stingray had gotten the best of him. Atleast he didn't die of a car crash, you know something unfitting of "The Croc Hunter". He will be missed.

[kageri]

Yeah, a sting ray of all things.... then again, maybe it's best that he didn't get killed by a croc, considering he loved them so much and people would say "WELL SEE THAT'S WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU MESS WITH CROCODILES".

[DoubleLatte]

the most tragic thing of all is this was one of those one in a million fluke occurrences, I mean if he was stabbed anywhere else he might have been okay. But it had to be right through the chest.

That's what keeps getting to me. I read on MSNBC that he was actually swimming on top of the stingray. What do you expect from that? He's actually been called on a few times for getting too close to the animals. I guess it was only a matter of time (and an extreme case of bad luck) before something finally happened to him.
Yeah, he was crazy for even doing what he did, but I loved watching the guy. Now I'm wondering what I'll be watching on Animal Planet. It's definitely an immense loss for both the animal world and ours.

I agree with Mr. Marshmallow; At least the man died doing what he was passionate about.

[GrimTheLost]

That's what keeps getting to me. I read on MSNBC that he was actually swimming on top of the stingray. What do you expect from that? He's actually been called on a few times for getting too close to the animals. I guess it was only a matter of time (and an extreme case of bad luck) before something finally happened to him.
Yeah, he was crazy for even doing what he did, but I loved watching the guy. Now I'm wondering what I'll be watching on Animal Planet. It's definitely an immense loss for both the animal world and ours.

I agree with Mr. Marshmallow; At least the man died doing what he was passionate about.

I was told he didn't know that the ray was under him. Oh and you'll be watching reruns of him getting attacked and they caught the attack on tape which was kind of a wish he had long before it happened.

[DoubleLatte]

Haven't seen any reruns of the tape. I feel like it's very morbid of me, but this is actually something I want to take a look at.

[Sims Katie]

I was told he didn't know that the ray was under him. Oh and you'll be watching reruns of him getting attacked and they caught the attack on tape which was kind of a wish he had long before it happened.
In the news it said the police have the tape. I don't think it'll be on air for the public, at least not the actual footage of him being killed.

[GrimTheLost]

I meant him getting attacked by other animals other than the ray, sorry for the confussion guys.

[DoubleLatte]

I meant him getting attacked by other animals other than the ray, sorry for the confussion guys.

Oh, I see. Yeah, your last post made it seem like they had the stingray attack tape. Oh well.

[GrimTheLost]

Well, they do have the tape, but they won't release it.

[Bloofanatic]

I heared about that yesterday that's really sad he was cool.

[GrimTheLost]

He was in the middle of doing a documentary too.

[Sims Katie]

Well, they do have the tape, but they won't release it.

Yeah, they had to look at it.

"Queensland state 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." - Associated Press

[pitbulllady]

Yeah, they had to look at it.

"Queensland state 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." - Associated Press


I read an account this morning of what is on the tape, and it is really disturbing-disturbing in the fact that had ONE thing NOT happened, Steve might still be alive.

He was fully concious and climbed back into the boat on his own power following being speared in the chest. He knew he had taken a hit to the chest, but apparently did not realize how bad. He spotted the barb sticking out of his chest and did what most people would have done, but what is actually the worst thing to do in such a case-he pulled it out himself. He promptly lost conciousness and fell. Had he left the barb in place and remained very still, there is a possibility that even with the barb lodged in his heart, he could have been gotten into surgery and been saved, since the helicopter was already en route to pick him up. Having been trained as a first responder myself, one of the things we are taught is that is a person has a foreign object lodged in or embedded in their body, especially a sharp projectile, DO NOT ATTEMPT TO REMOVE IT! Leave it in place, and stablize it with pressure bandages and keep the person as still as possible; let the surgeons deal with removing it in the hospital OR. People HAVE survived objects through the heart; I have seen a news broadcast of a woman in Oklahoma City who had a large shard of glass right through her chest following a tornado, who survived because the ER people knew not to try to move it. The glass shard had pierced her heart, too, and one lung, but she lived. Often, the object itself will block off arterial bleeding, or it may be lodged in such as way that to pull on it will sever an artery. There is a chance that Steve Irwin would still be alive if he'd left the barb in place, but he probably did not realize the seriousness of the situation, and thought that it was only embedded in muscle outside the chest.

pitbulllady

[Scribble]

Omg that really is disturbing!:o For everything to happen in just the wrong way from the barb piercing his chest to the fact he may have lived if he had left it...

Steve was kind of an idol to me as I'm very pro-conservation and I love animals. I was deeply shocked that he had been killed, especially when he had been killed by a stingray! He did a lot to educate everyone, even the young about how we should conserve and respect our wildlife and their habitats. I'm so sorry for his family too, but hope that in their own way they will continue to educate the world.

Still, at least he died doing what he loved. I couldn't see him dying any other way (except maybe falling victim to a different animal... and later on in life).

Thank you, Crocodile Hunter.

[One Radical Dude]

I'm not really surprised that he'd one day die doing the kind of stuff he loves (it's great that he loved the animals, but it was also dangerous), although I never thought he would be killed as a result of being pierced through the chest by a stingray barb (statistically, human fatalities from stingray attacks are extremely rare). Anyway, it's a shame that he went down like that.

[Thornwhistle]

I feel sorry for Bindi and Bob who will grow up without a dad. :(

[kaytea]

I was shooked when I first heard about this
I just couldn't believe he was gone =( I was crying yesterday and on the day he died

http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h111/kayteas_screenshots/inmemory.jpg

[LaBlooGirl]

It's even harder to deal with his death, knowing that he made a fatal mistake by pulling out the barb. There's no garuntee he would have survived even if he HAD left it in, but there would have been more of a chance. Steve probably tore his heart muscle and the bleeding was immense.
Poor guy.

Good thing is, he went quickly. I think we can all be sure he didn't suffer.

I'll miss him, really miss him, and in his honor I'll be watching Terri (hoping she will take over the shows), and Bindi's show too. I think Steve was doing some kind of vet show, if that airs (for whatever eps may exist), I'll watch that too. I'll probably make a memorial and hang it on my wall too, I'll have to find a nice picture I can print out.

::sighs:: I'll be depressed for a while. And at the same time, I'll be so happy for the guy because some 200 million people are mourning for him, he was that loved.

[kageri]

Yeah -- everyone always said he'd die doing that kind of thing one day, but I never thought it would actually happen. It seemed like he was invincible. I firgured he'd just retire one day and get really old like the rest of us. R.I.P., Steve.

[LaBlooGirl]

Hope it's okay to post this link. It was the best article I read yet that gave an in-depth retelling of the conversation with Bob Irwin (senior), and actually stated something that was said by Terri at the zoo. (To the staff.) I can't wait to hear from Terri, but I do understand she's going through hell right now, so I know we all just have to be patient.

http://au.news.yahoo.com/060904/2/10ebw.html?f=mv

[Daredemon]

Yeah, I didn't believe it at first, but when I found it it was true.. I couldn't believe it..

[Chaos Wielder]

Yeah, it's a shame that it had to happen that way. :( Honestly, I was actually expecting to hear something about him dying any time since he did so many risky things, but it's still shocking that it happened so soon and with a stingray of all things! He will definitely be missed by many around the world. It's just a shame that some people on other forums that I'm a member of were finding ways to make this tragedy funny. But I put an end to that cruel behavior really quickly, if you know what I mean. ;)