Croc Hunter

[tikistitch]

Australia's "Crocodile Hunter" Irwin dies

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Steve Irwin, the quirky Australian naturalist who won worldwide acclaim, was killed by a stingray barb through the chest on Monday while diving off Australia's northeast coast, emergency officials and witnesses said.

Obviously very sad (he had two little kids). But, er, can anybody really say they're surprised?



Um, thought not.

R.I.P. mate.

Comments

[meekorouse.livejournal.com]

I guess I'm really surprised because Stingrays don't usually attack people.. yes, you can die from them.. but I always heard about them from those Discovery network shows that basically they don't go after people.. that people usually stumble apon them literally.. to have someone get stabbed through the chest.. that seems very improbable.

Dying from a car accident or heart failure would be less surprising.. It's just inconceivable. I almost don't want to believe it. sigh.

[shizukashi.livejournal.com]

I'm just surprised it was a stingray. I expected him to slip up some day when handling a poisonous snake or get caught by one of those crocodiles he's so fond of. But a stingray barb through the chest into the heart (as the news says it would have had to been to kill him so quickly)?

It's like the animal world marked him for a hitman... X-Files anyone?

[mishakitty78.livejournal.com]

wow, tiki - thanks for sharing this. i'll be interested to hear any further news as yup, stingrays don't usually harm people quite like that. sounds like just a totally completely odd stroke of fate.

i've worked in zoos (specializing in birds of prey and reptiles) for the past 10 years. and, nope, i hate to say it but i'm not that surprised. mr. irwin was AMAZING at hooking the audience and interpreting information, but he also took a lot of chances. poor guy. i hope his family is ok.

[tikistitch.livejournal.com]

That was Mr. Tiki and my first reaction (we heard at 2 am last night)--stingrays can kill people like that? Now from what I'm reading this morning, seems like it was totally a freak accident.

Yeah, I feel really bad for Terri. She always seemed like such a neat person.

[sailor-x.livejournal.com]

I was really surprised when I first heard this on Discovery news. I just can't believe he died so suddenly like that >.<;. Plus.. I would have expected something like a poisonous snake also. I'll miss him and I hope Terri and their children will make it through this tough time.

He had such a zeal for life.

[avalonjones.livejournal.com]

I'm firmly in the "yay for animals" camp, but at the same time it seems I'm the only person on the entire planet who found Steve Irwin highly annoying. This kind of makes you wonder if the animals found him annoying too. And maybe it wasn't so much that the stingray attacked him as he tripped over it, and landed at just the wrong angle.

I feel awful for his wife (who I thought was pretty cool) and kids. And the world has obviously lost someone who cared deeply about animals and the environment--a great loss in and of itself.

I read in another story that a while back he was accused of getting too close to some penguins during filming of a documentary. Think how shocked everyone would be if he'd been killed by a penguin!

[tikistitch.livejournal.com]

I had heard from an Aussie friend that not everyone down under was overly fond of Steve. Partly because of the acting like a stereotype (which seemed to come naturally), and also because of the bad publicity from the photo where he was holding his baby whilst feeding a croc. So, no, you're not the only person on the planet who found him annoying.

The picture I still use on my personal page is me feeding the 'roos at his zoo in Brisbane many years ago. After 20 hours on an international flight from hell, and then stepping out into 90 degree/90 % humidity weather, Gus dragged me to a magical place where critters I'd only seen behind cages now came merrily bouncing up to say hi.

[avalonjones.livejournal.com]

And blessings to him for providing such a place. There's no disputing he was a genuinely good person, and anyone who loved animals and the earth as much as he clearly did is a hero to me (even if I did want to yell at him to STFU with all the "crikey!" stuff sometimes).

And as other people here have said, he died doing what he loved, and that's pretty much the best way to go. Better to die in the sea surrounded by wildlife than sitting at a desk in a windowless office.

[mmymoon.livejournal.com]

I read this last night -- while the two kids and wife part is very sad, indeed, I have a hard time feeling TOO bad for people, themselves, who get to die doing something they love. Instant stingray barb death beats the hell out of colon cancer. ;9

Hopefully that's not too horrible-sounding -- but now you guys know, you know, if I'm crushed to death by a giant cake, don't worry about it for too long. Heh.

I liked poor Mr. Irwin. All the reasons others hate him, his crickey and baby-croc-visits and all, well, he always seemed authentic. He'd be raised around "scary" animals, and was simply doing the same thing for his children, as a family unit, in my interpretation, at least. And he died an authentic death, in that respect. I wonder if Animal Planet channel is having an all-day tribute.

[tikistitch.livejournal.com]

I liked poor Mr. Irwin. All the reasons others hate him, his crickey and baby-croc-visits and all, well, he always seemed authentic.

When we went to Australia many many years ago (before anyone had heard of croc hunter) we ran into a number of people with a particularly Steve-like attitude. I remember especially the tour guide when we went on a snorkeling tour of the Barrier Reef. When a couple of curious sharks started nosing around close to our group, I returned to the boat, but the Aussie guide assured everyone, "Awww, they're just a couple of little reef sharks." My husband then spent another 20 minutes swimming around snapping photos. Of sharks. The first thing he said when he crawled back onto the boat was, "Er, maybe this was *not* my best idea ever."

[hikari-no-raven.livejournal.com]

When I first heard about this I was in a state of disbelief and I said, "He's too crazy to be dead..." Crazy, of course, refering to his dangerous behavior. I'm still having a hard time accepting his death, although I never was a fan. I watched his show every once in awhile, and I mimicked his mannerisms in the occasional "Crocodile Hunter" jokes. Anyway, I hope his children don't grow up hating or fearing sting rays...

[leene-chan.livejournal.com]

Wow...that's really terrible. It seems like a lot of people have been dying prematurely lately, but this still comes as a shock!

[loli-cat.livejournal.com]

Crikey! Look at the stinger on that...!!

Sorry, but I couldn't resist! I was also amazed to hear how he died, especially considering how many times he was bit by dangerous snakes, sometimes in such remote locations that he was hours from the nearest antivenin...

[francarr.livejournal.com]

All the Aussies who were not so fond of Steve are keeping very quiet atm. It is an absolute feeding-frenzy here in the media. The local news is all about Steve, all the channels are advertising "memorial specials", he is all over the newspapers...I myself cannot quite believe he is gone. I feel so sorry for his little girl Bindi Sue. Eight is no age to lose your dad-it is hard enough at 32!

The ironic thing about Steve Irwin as far as I am concerned, is I first became aware of him through South Park! As did several people of my accquaintance. Like so many before him he was invisble until he became famous "overseas".

[tikistitch.livejournal.com]

We all found out about him on the Animal Planet channel--which basically, no one watched before Steve came crashing through screaming "Feral pig!" I actually loved the original Croc Hunter documentaries, but I'm not pleased at the profusion of copycats on the channel, all running in the bush, picking up poisonous snakes by the tail.

I guess I'm NOT suprised...

[loli-cat.livejournal.com]

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.

[nitasee.livejournal.com]

I actually liked him. I enjoyed how much he enjoyed sharing his knowledge of animals. Personally, I always thought he was insane but not stupid. As dangerous as the animals were, he knew what he was doing. That didn't make it less dangerous, just meant that he had better odds. Anybody else trying the same thing would be dead.

The really ironic thing about his death is that it was truly a freak accident. All his experience and knowledge made no difference because it wasn't something you could plan for.

[annlarimer.livejournal.com]

Personally, I always thought he was insane but not stupid.

Well put.