Crocodile Hunter
Steve Irwin Killed
09.04.2006, 06:14 AM
Steve Irwin, the hugely
popular Australian television personality and conservationist known as the
"Crocodile Hunter," was killed Monday by a stingray while filming off the Great
Barrier Reef. He was 44.
Irwin was at Batt
Reef, off the remote coast of northeastern Queensland state, shooting a segment
for a series called "Ocean's Deadliest" when he swam too close to one of the
animals, which have a poisonous bard on their tails, his friend and colleague
John Stainton said.
"He came on top of
the stingray and the stingray's barb went up and into his chest and put a hole
into his heart," said Stainton, who was on board Irwin's boat at the
time.
Crew members aboard
the boat, Croc One, called emergency services in the nearest city, Cairns, and
administered CPR as they rushed the boat to nearby Low Isle to meet a rescue
helicopter. Medical staff pronounced Irwin dead when they arrived a short time
later, Stainton said.
Irwin was famous for
his enthusiasm for wildlife and his catchword "Crikey!" in his television
program "Crocodile Hunter." First broadcast in Australia in 1992, the program
was picked up by the Discovery network, catapulting Irwin to international
celebrity.
He rode his image
into a feature film, 2002's "The Crocodile Hunters: Collision Course" and
developed the wildlife park that his parents opened, Australia Zoo, into a major
tourist attraction.
"The world has lost a
great wildlife icon, a passionate conservationist and one of the proudest dads
on the planet," Stainton told reporters in Cairns. "He died doing what he loved
best and left this world in a happy and peaceful state of mind. He would have
said, 'Crocs Rule!'"
Prime Minister John
Howard, who hand-picked Irwin to attend a gala barbecue to honor President Bush
when he visited in 2003, said he was "shocked and distressed at Steve Irwin's
sudden, untimely and freakish death."
"It's a huge loss to
Australia," Howard told reporters. "He was a wonderful character. He was a
passionate environmentalist. He brought joy and entertainment and excitement to
millions of people."
Irwin, who made a
trademark of hovering dangerously close to untethered crocodiles and leaping on
their backs, spoke in rapid-fire bursts with a thick Australian accent and was
almost never seen without his uniform of khaki shorts and shirt and heavy
boots.
His ebullience was
infectious and Australian officials sought him out for photo opportunities and
to promote Australia internationally.
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.
Later that year, he
was accused of getting too close to penguins, a seal and humpback whales in
Antarctica while making a documentary. Irwin denied any wrongdoing, and an
Australian Environment Department investigation recommended no action be taken
against him.
Stingrays have a
serrated, toxin-loaded barb, or spine, on the top of their tail. The barb, which
can be up to 10 inches long, flexes if a ray is frightened. Stings usually occur
to people when they step on or swim too close to a ray and can be excruciatingly
painful but are rarely fatal, said University of Queensland marine
neuroscientist Shaun Collin.
Collin said he
suspected Irwin died because the barb pierced under his ribcage and directly
into his heart.
"It was
extraordinarily bad luck. It's not easy to get spined by a stingray and to be
killed by one is very rare," Collin said.
News of Irwin's death
spread quickly, and tributes flowed from all quarters of
society.
At Australia Zoo at
Beerwah, south Queensland, floral tributes were dropped at the entrance, where a
huge fake crocodile gapes. Drivers honked their horns as they
passed.
"Steve, from all
God's creatures, thank you. Rest in peace," was written on a card with a bouquet
of native flowers.
"We're all very
shocked. I don't know what the zoo will do without him. He's done so much for
us, the environment and it's a big loss," said Paula Kelly, a local resident and
volunteer at the zoo, after dropping off a wreath at the
gate.
Stainton said Irwin's
American-born wife Terri, from Eugene, Ore., had been informed of his death, and
had told their daughter Bindi Sue, 8, and son Bob, who will turn 3 in
December.
The couple met when
she went on vacation in Australia in 1991 and visited Irwin's Australia Zoo;
they were married six months later. Sometimes referred to as the "Crocodile
Huntress," she costarred on her husband's television show and in his 2002
movie.
Sadly saying
goodbye...
You WILL be missed
~R.I.P~
~Steve Irwin~
Mistress Reba
