RIP Steve Irwin

[guitarfreak141]

Steve Irwin a.ka. The Crocodile Hunter was killed by a sting-ray barb that went through his chest. He was swimming off the Low Isles at Port Douglas in Australia filming an underwater documentary and that's when it occurred.

[Mark Pav]

Poor guy. Sucks for Terri and his kids. Unusual way to die, too. I can't think of anyone else who's been killed by a stingray, ever.


http://gallery.photo.net/photo/3830889-md.jpg

[z0s0_jp]

bummer....his wife Terri grew up about 5 miles from here. i really dug his show and the flap over the baby thing was b.s. imo....i learned alot from him about wildlife. :(

[earthman buck]

I just came on to GT with the intent of informing you all of this very same sad news, but as always, I have been beaten to it.

Sad as it is, you have to laugh at the irony. The guy made a living out of basically teasing huge crocodiles and poisonous snakes. He always got out of it unharmed. He goes for a swim one day, and a stingray sticks a barb through his chest.

Kinda like that guy who went over Niagara Falls in a barrel, made it out alive, then slipped on an orange peel and died.

[z0s0_jp]

Unusual way to die, too. I can't think of anyone else who's been killed by a stingray, ever.



Buford Pusser??

[Mark Pav]

Err, no. He died in a car crash. Anyways, I'm sure there must have been other people unfortunate enough to go the same way as Steve, but I've never heard of any.

[z0s0_jp]

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b80/scleppe/otaki-stingray.jpg

[GuitarPsy]

that is ironic indeed, sad news..

[Tonja_Renee]

That's really sad news.. My son loved watching his show.

He definately was a man passionate about educating the world on reptiles and other animals...

[ren]

I always figured he was indestructible..... evidently not. I guess by the law of averages with the number of risks he took, it was only a matter of time.

Having had a read, only 1 other person ever has been killed by a Stingray on the recorrds, and that was in 1945. Apparently the venom isn't very toxic, but the barb can be 20cm long, so I guess he got stabbed to death.

Crazy that the crocs never got him - I saw him wrestling a salt water monster just yesterday afternoon....

RIP you crazy crazy dude.....

[jeffhx]

what a shocker...i had no idea until i came on to gt before checking out the news online...what a freak accident..

RIP Steve :(

[Dr_simon]

What a bummer, he was a excellent fellow and will be sadly missed.

[TOBMetal2010]

i dont even know what to say. when i was a little kid i watched his shows everyday(im 15 now so i was like 5 when i first watched his shows). and he was the one who got me into studying animals and wanting to work with them. this sucks so bad. whats with all the coolest people dying? first theres dimebag, then eddie guerro(wwe wrestler) and now the croc hunter. all in a three year span. i was literally almost crying when i heard the news. steve irwin was a badass dude man. He did some of the most dangerous and coolest stuff and had the balls to do it. he is amazing. i send my condolences to all of the croc hunters fans and his family.


May you R.I.P "Croc Hunter" Steve Irwin


CRIKEY!!!

[elklandercc]

Thats sad, he was a cool guy. He won't be replaceable. R.I.P.

[DAMAGED ONE]

I cant say Im shocked when you mess around with wild animals your bound to get killed. :(

[magicninja]

Well he died doing what he loved which is more than I can say for alot of people. I hope he comes back as a croc. I think he'd like that.

[alucard0941]

He truely was a hero.

RIP Steve Irwin.

[rockonn91]

he died like a man.

more power to him.

[Akira]

This was the first story I saw on the news today and I was so shocked!

R.I.P Steve

[tehplatypus]

I cant say Im shocked when you mess around with wild animals your bound to get killed. :(


but that's the thing...he wasn't messing with the animal or anything....he didn't even know it was there cause the thing was burried under the sand and got startled.

[Leedogg]

RIP Steve Irwin

[acapella]

I still don't believe it. I never really thought he COULD die, never mind that he someday WOULD. I feel worse about this than most things would make me feel, probably just because it changes my view of reality so. RIP Steve.

[CW14]

That fella was cool. We used to live down the road from his zoo and we used to see him feeding crocs and all that before he got famous.

RIP Steve.

[z0s0_jp]

i read they have footage of his death......they said it showed him pulling the barb out then he died immediately after....now there is a badass. he was one tough dude.

[iiholly]

Err, no. He died in a car crash. Anyways, I'm sure there must have been other people unfortunate enough to go the same way as Steve, but I've never heard of any.

He was the 17th or 18th person ever recorded as being killed by a sting ray.

[Hammurabi]

I'm pretty sure pulling the barb out wasn't a very smart move.

I don't know many details of the incident, but if the barb only penetrated the ventricles (lower chambers) and he had left it in he might have survived. Simple ventricle injuries can usually be sewn shut, but once you rip them open and open a major channel for blood loss you're pretty well screwed.

[magicninja]

Any of us would have done the same out of instinct. Those barbs are serated to the max though. Such a tragedy. I've read that there are like only 17 documented cases of stingray involved deaths and most of them are from reactions to the venom. Talk about bad luck.

[Hammurabi]

Those barbs are serated to the max though.
No kidding.

http://i11.ebayimg.com/05/i/08/3a/a3/75_1.JPG

[z0s0_jp]

the guy who was with him when he died will be on Larry King

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b80/scleppe/larry-king-live.jpg

[Tinkerbell_777]

I know when my brother told me the news I was like yeah right i know your kidding...then I saw it on the news...and i was like...omg...that like so sux..he was awesum...his 2 yr old son probably wont even remember him that well...so sad... :(

[tehplatypus]

I'm pretty sure pulling the barb out wasn't a very smart move.

I don't know many details of the incident, but if the barb only penetrated the ventricles (lower chambers) and he had left it in he might have survived. Simple ventricle injuries can usually be sewn shut, but once you rip them open and open a major channel for blood loss you're pretty well screwed.


that's what i was thinking....but yeah...just a natural reaction to rip it out...and he probably didn't realize it pierced his heart when he was doing it.

[PonyOne]

Serious bummer :( My little 9 y/o sister loved him... started crying when she found out... I never watched his show much, but the guy's personality was pretty damn cool. Very excited about what he was doing, always. He knew the dangers, and I'm sure that if he's still out there somewhere, he accepts the way he went.

It is quite surprising, though, that it'd be from a stingray... one of my coworkers summed it up pretty well, that it's like a Formula 1 driver getting hit by a bicycle and dying. Rays are such beautiful, docile creatures... they have them at the aquarium down in Long Beach and you can put your hand in, and they'll come up to be pet, like a dog! They even slap their wings agaisnt the side of the tank if they see you there but aren't paying attention to them. When I was a kid, the aquarium near me had these little teeny ones that were like 7 inches across that were like little puppies. But I guess it goes to show that anything is possible... that those creatures have those defences for a reason, and you really can't defeat nature. It's a mechanical reaction to raise their spine when threatened.