*Stingray Kills 'Crocodile Hunter' Irwin*
Sep 4, 9:34 AM (ET)
By BRIAN CASSEY
CAIRNS, Australia (AP) - 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 barb 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.
Wild animal expert Jack Hanna, who frequently appears on TV with his
subjects, offered praise for Irwin.
"Steve was one of these guys, we thought of him as invincible," Hanna,
director emeritus of the Columbus (Ohio) Zoo and Aquarium, told ABC's
"Good Morning America" Monday.
"The guy was incredible. His knowledge was incredible," Hanna said.
"Some people that are doing this stuff are actors and that type of
thing, but Steve was truly a zoologist, so to speak, a person who knew
what he was doing. Yes, he did things a lot of people wouldn't do. I
think he knew what he was doing."
Irwin's ebullience was infectious and Australian officials sought him
out for photo opportunities and to promote Australia internationally.
His 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.
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My first thoughts were of his kids and his wife. Although they will
know of their father through family and friends, his presence will be
missed in their lives and I pray for them to be ok.
My next thought was that this man is part of the reason why we were able
to make it through my oldest sons colic times as an infant. Glen would
cry for hours on end and no matter what you tried, nothing seemed to
work. Until we put in the "Wiggles Safari" vhs tape.
Glen in the middle of a cry, stopped and stared at The Wiggles and Steve
Irwin as they talked and sang to him. We played and continue to play
the Wiggles Safari on a regular basis.
Heck, Glen now figures most big birds are Kookaburra before any other
type. Cuz they feature that bird in the movie.
Thank you to the Wiggles and Thank you to Steve Irwin for saving my
sanity and giving my son happiness in a time of pain we cannot know cuz
he was too little to speak it.
