Steve "crocodile hunter" Irwin died in accident

[vertigo caz]

^Exactly, this guy has had an amazing life!! He was always such a genuine guy, something that is rare nowdays it seems

[General Qwerty Waluigi]

:bigcry: iwas just reading about that!

[blackchickintheback]

Man. He was crazy...but cool.

I liked his show a lot!

I don't want to believe he's dead!- he has a daughter...

But I guess he's really gone. This is so sad...:cry:

[twistedlogic149]

I loved that guy.

[brazzo]

I lament his death...:cry:

[an_cat]

I'm still upset.... :(

[mc_squared]

I've definitely been on a downer all day because of this..............................:(

[coldplay_steph]

^Ditto :(

[mc_squared]

^Ditto :(

 

Check beneath my username............................

[coldplay_steph]

:bigcry:

 

 

That pic is classic btw! :lol: Just sums him up really.

 

 

:cry:

[mc_squared]

:bigcry:

 

 

That pic is classic btw! :lol: Just sums him up really.

 

 

:cry:

 

Yes - it seemed appropriate to resurrect it as my av.;)

It's how he should be remembered - bursting with enthusiasm and energy.

[mc_squared]

Crocodile hunter was victim of 'voyeuristic wildlife TV'

 

Last updated at 15:12pm on 4th September 2006

Crocodile hunter: Steve Irwin pictured with his wife and sidekick Terri. Click enlarge for full image

 

 

 

Mears said the Australian's death was a tragedy and his heart went out to his family.

But he added that it proved "some things in nature should be left alone".

He said: "He clearly took a lot of risks and television encouraged him to do that.

"It's a shame that television audiences need that to be attracted to wildlife.

"Dangerous animals, you leave them alone because they will defend themselves. Nature defends itself, it isn't all about hugging animals and going 'ahh'.

"It's wonderful to observe but you have to be sensible and maintain a safe distance."

Mears warned of the "gladiatorial" television of today and labelled some wildlife shows "voyeuristic".

He continued: "Television has become very gladiatorial and it's not healthy.

"The voyeurism we are seeing on television has a cost and it's that cost Steve Irwin's family are paying today."

David Bellamy called him "one of the great showmen and conservationists" and wildlife expert Mark O'Shea said it would leave an "immense hole" in the worlds of conservation and television.

Irwin, 44, was filming an underwater sequence for a television series called Ocean's Deadliest on the remote Batt Reef off the north-east coast of Australia when he was killed by a stingray barb.

Crew members aboard Irwin's boat, Croc One, called emergency services in the nearest city, Cairns, and administered cardio pulmonary resuscitation techniques as they rushed the boat to nearby Low Isle to meet a rescue helicopter.

Medical staff pronounced Irwin dead at about noon local time (3am BST), the statement said. Friends say they believe he died instantly.

Those with Irwin said he was swimming in shallow water, snorkelling as his cameraman filmed large bull rays.

Irwin's death was only the third known stingray death in Australian waters, said shark and stingray expert Victoria Brims.

Wildlife experts said the normally passive creatures only sting in defence, striking with a bayonet-like barb when they feel threatened or are trodden on.

Irwin's body was flown to a morgue in Cairns, where stunned family and friends were gathering.

His American-born wife, Terri, was told of her husband's death while on a walking tour in Tasmania, and returned to the Sunshine Coast with her two children, eight-year-old daughter Bindi Sue and son Bob, who will be three in December.

Dr Bellamy called Irwin one of the "world's great conservationists and showmen" and admitted he cried on hearing the news this morning.

He said: "He was magic and for the world of conservation and natural history to lose him is very, very sad.

"Everyone said he imitated me but if I could be as good as him I would be very proud.

"I used to be castigated by people saying I was a showman because I made jokes but what good is it preaching to the converted?"

He continued: "The thing with Steve was he mixed damn good science with showbusiness and I don't know anyone else who did that.

"I'm quite sure all the crocs in Australia are smiling, not crocodile tears, because he made them famous.

"When I heard this morning I cried, the world really has lost a very, very important natural historian."

British zoologist O'Shea said Irwin's death would leave an "immense hole" in the worlds of conservation and television.

O'Shea, who has himself presented television programmes about dangerous reptiles, said Irwin had helped "pave the way" for other people working in the field.

He said: "Although we had different styles of working and I did not know him personally, I am actually completely shocked.

"It is going to leave an immense hole. What he has done for conservation in Australia is massive."

He said that although some "university professors" might have turned their noses up at the way presenters like Irwin portrayed reptiles, he had probably inspired many people to follow a future in conservation.

"A lot of people who now want to study biology and work with animals may not have considered it before they watched him on television," he said.

[indanomati]

OMG i just heard the news, 2 hours ago....i still can't belieave it.........i really liked him........:bigcry::bigcry::bigcry::bigcry::bigcry:

[mc_squared]

I think Australia should announce a "Steve Irwin Day"!!;)

[TraceOddity]

...holy shit!!...:stunned:

[indanomati]

^^....i know.........:(

[Lifelike]

I wonder if they'll continue to broadcast his show here. :/

 

It's still kind of hard to believe. Steve Irwin cheated death a thousand times. Some of his bites have been broadcast. In the end, it took a stingray... but on the bright side, at least he wasn't devoured and torn to bits by a ravenous and pissed off crocodile. I know he loved those things but I'd rather be stabbed by a stingray than ripped to shreds.

 

And that YouTube video of him crying over the dead crocodile is one of the saddest things I've ever seen.

 

R.I.P Steve Irwin

Gone but never forgotten. ;_;

[vertigo caz]

I think Australia should announce a "Steve Irwin Day"!!;)

 

 

 

YES!! I think all aussies would agree with that

[mc_squared]

YES!! I think all aussies would agree with that

 

Hopefully somebody will start a campaign then...................... ;)

[vertigo caz]

I wouldnt be suprised if someone did! Great aussie bloke :cry:

[mc_squared]

I wouldnt be suprised if someone did! Great aussie bloke :cry:

 

John Howard looked really upset on TV.

[mc_squared]

Obituary: Steve Irwin

 

Steve Irwin with wife Terri and daughter Bindi Sue

 

Irwin with crocodiles

 

With his trademark khaki shorts, chirpy manner and an obvious love of wildlife, Steve Irwin was known to television viewers around the world simply as "the crocodile hunter". But Steve Irwin's popular image, wrestling crocs and other creatures, belied the fact that he was implacably opposed to the hunting, not just of crocodiles, but of any animal.

A natural showman as well as a conservationist and zoo owner, Irwin was committed to educating people about wildlife.

He often did this by putting himself at great risk, confronting crocodiles, poisonous snakes and other dangerous beasts in their own environment. This fascinating television was often punctuated by his trademark yell of "Crikey!"

But his unconventional approach drew criticism from those who believed his idiosyncratic style to be irresponsible and cavalier.

Family tradition

Steve Irwin was born in Essendon in Victoria, Australia, in February 1962. In 1970, his parents founded the Queensland Reptile and Fauna Park, later to become Australia Zoo, on the country's Sunshine Coast.

The park specialised in rehabilitating ill or injured baby kangaroos, wallabies, wombats and koalas, and Steve Irwin grew up surrounded by wildlife.

 

Irwin in pictures

 

When his father, Bob, decided to do something about the hunting which threatened to destroy Australia's crocodile population, Steve played his part, working for Australia's Crocodile Relocation Programme which captured and moved the reptiles to safer areas, often to the Australia Zoo.

When television director John Stainton first encountered Steve Irwin, while shooting an advertisement at Australia Zoo, he immediately realised that he had a new star on his hands.

The first episode of Stainton's show, The Crocodile Hunter, was built around a crocodile trapping trip that Irwin and his Oregon-born wife Terri Baines undertook for their honeymoon.

Discovery Channel bought the programme in 1996 and it rapidly became a phenomenon, being screened in 130 countries and bringing both Stainton and Irwin great wealth.

 

Serious commitment

In January 2004, Irwin faced a barrage of criticism after being filmed holding his infant son in one arm while feeding a chicken carcass to a 4-metre saltwater crocodile with the other. At the time, he said: "I was in complete control of the crocodile."

Irwin took over the wildlife park his parents had set up

 

Despite his often light-hearted manner, Steve Irwin's commitment to protecting crocodiles was serious. "Every chance I get, I will put my life on the line to save crocs," he told one interviewer.

Irwin's other programme The Croc Files, The Crocodile Hunter Diaries and New Breed Vets, were also great hits, especially in the United States, and he was feted by television interviewers like Jay Leno, Larry King and Oprah Winfrey.

He even played a cameo role in the 2001 Eddie Murphy film, Dr Doolittle 2, before hitting the big screen the following year with his own movie, The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course.

And a measure of Steve Irwin's fame came when Australia's Prime Minister, John Howard, who described him as "one of Australia's great conservation icons," personally invited the environmentalist to a barbecue for President George W Bush in Canberra in 2003.

[mc_squared]

Australia mourns 'colourful son'

 

The naturalist worked to protect Australian wildlife

 

Irwin with crocodiles

 

Australian Prime Minister John Howard has led tributes to naturalist Steve Irwin who was killed by a stringray while diving off the Queensland coast. He was known for his Crocodile Hunter TV show and his work with wildlife.

Mr Irwin, 44, was struck in the chest by a stingray's barb while filming a documentary on the Great Barrier Reef.

The prime minister said that he had known Steve Irwin well, and that the country had lost a "wonderful and colourful son".

Mr Howard said he was "quite shocked and distressed at Steve Irwin's sudden untimely and freakish death".

"It's a huge loss to Australia - he was a wonderful character, he was a passionate environmentalist, he brought entertainment and excitement to millions of people."

Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer and Queensland's Tourism Minister Margaret Keech praised Mr Irwin for his work saying he had done a lot to promote Australia to the rest of the world and would be greatly missed.

STINGRAYS

Members of the Dasyatidae family of cartilaginous fish, with about 70 species worldwide

Mostly found in tropical seas, but exist in freshwater too

Feed primarily on molluscs and crustaceans on sea floor

Swim with flying motion using large pectoral wings

Usually docile, not known to attack aggressively

Equipped with venom-coated razor-sharp barbed or serrated tail, up to 20cm long

 

British zoologist Mark O'Shea said his death would leave an "immense hole" in the worlds of both conservation and television, adding that Irwin had "paved the way" for other people to work in those fields.

That view was echoed by British naturalist and TV presenter David Bellamy who said he had wept upon hearing the news.

Mr Bellamy called him "one of the great showmen and conservationists".

"He did take enormous risks, but he knew what he was doing. It was one of the terrible, terrible, terrible accidents and I wish to God it didn't happen," Mr Bellamy told the BBC.

UK wilderness expert Ray Mears said that Mr Irwin's death was a tragedy and that his thoughts were with his family, but that the incident served as a warning that "some things in nature should be left alone".

"He clearly took a lot of risks and television encouraged him to do that," Mr Mears said. "The voyeurism we are seeing on television has a cost and it's that cost Steve Irwin's family are paying today."

Usually docile

The incident happened at Batt Reef, off Port Douglas in Queensland, while Mr Irwin was being filmed snorkelling with bull stingrays.

"He came over the top of a stingray and a barb, the stingray's barb went up and put a hole into his heart," Mr Irwin's manager John Stainton told the BBC.

"We got him back within a couple of minutes to Croc 1, which is Steve's research vessel, and by 12 o'clock when the emergency crew arrived they pronounced him dead."

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His programmes were a joy to watch

 

 

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Helmond, Netherlands

 

 

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Obituary: Wildlife showman

Irwin in pictures

 

The flat, triangular stingray gets its name from the razor-sharp barb at the end of its tail, coated in toxic venom.

But the animal only uses this weapon defensively when it feels threatened or is stepped on.

Attacks on humans are a rarity - only two other people are known to have died in Australia from a stingray attack.

Experts say that while painful, stingray venom is rarely lethal and it would have been the wound caused by the barb itself which proved fatal.

Mr Irwin was famous for handling dangerous creatures such as crocodiles, snakes and spiders, and his documentaries on his work with crocodiles drew a worldwide audience.

But he also courted controversy with a series of stunts.

He sparked outrage across Australia after cradling his one-month-old son a metre away from the reptile during a show at Australia Zoo.

An investigation was launched into whether Mr Irwin and his team interacted too closely with penguins and whales while filming in the Antarctic, but no action was taken.

[vertigo caz]

John Howard looked really upset on TV.

 

 

Yeah it looked like he was going to cry, say what you will about john howard, but at least he's always shown he's human.

[mc_squared]

Yeah it looked like he was going to cry' date=' say what you will about john howard, but at least he's always shown he's human.[/quote']

 

He certainly did on this occasion.;)