Dead at 44

[Killer Joe]

Steve Irwin a.k.a. The Crocodile Hunter is dead at the age of 44. He died of a Stingray bite while filming a documentary. Attempts to save him failed. - AP

Okay, I was never a big fan of his show and it's exactly for that reason. I don't even like to watch America's Funniest Videos because of all the accidents they show where people get hurt. Voyerism of that kind is not my cup of tea.

You know, they'll call him a 'hero' but what good is that to his children now?

 

[Limited]

Working with crocs (and other wildlife) is a dangerous job, but whats heroic about it?

 

[jorael]

It's even on the six 'o clock news in The Netherlands.

He is a legend...

 

[Nightstalkers]

Yeah, it got him right in the chest...


Surprised they let him live as long as he has.

 

[Ransac]

Rumor has it that Chuck Norris merely crossed his name off his "Let-survive" list and the rest ran it's course.

All kidding aside, this is very sad.

Ransac, cpa trash man

 

[orgg]

I was a fan, as well as my little brother.

I told him the news, and he said "Awww. Well, I knew it would happen someday."

He's eight. Steve Irwin died the way he lived-- without fear.

His luck in excaping close calls just ran out.

 

[Oversoul]

Working with crocs (and other wildlife) is a dangerous job, but whats heroic about it?

I guess what people might find heroic is that he's rescuing animals by relocating them where they would otherwise be killed. Really, it all depends on your definition of "heroic."

I'll say though...

I don't know the species of stingray involved in this case, but their venom isn't usually the most dangerous stuff compared to some other things out there. They can inflict the damage, but they usually don't actually IMPALE YOUR HEART. In fact, I've never heard of it happening at all (usually a stingray attack is some poor fool steps on one and it cuts up his legs). Stever Irwin probably never saw it coming. The man wrestled crocodiles and handled venemous snakes. They would ordinarily be much more dangerous than a stingray.

So yeah, he was playing a dangerous game and in retrospect he'd have to do something that would get him killed eventually. But that doesn't make this any less of a freak occurence. It's bizarre for a stingray to behave so aggressively toward a person. I wonder how long he was in proximity and what he was doing before it just nailed him like that...

 

[Limited]

I guess what people might find heroic is that he's rescuing animals by relocating them where they would otherwise be killed. Really, it all depends on your definition of "heroic."

I did not know that.

Rescuing animals makes him kind of a hero as well.

 

[orgg]

According to police, Steve's death is on camera.

The Bull Stingray, possibly feeling trapped by Steve and the cameraman, lashes out at Irwin. Steve then looks down and pulls the barb out... ripping open his chest.

 

[Spiderman]

This is (was, since I heard it yesterday) sad news.

And he really wasn't doing anything "dangerous", from what I hear. Just swam a bit too close to the stingray, but I don't even know if that was intentional, like he was talking about it in the documentary he was filming, or just swimming by it and got too close. And it was extremely bad luck to get stabbed/stung in the heart...

 

[EricBess]

Yeah, it's ironic that with all the dangerous creatures he usually deals with that the one that kills him is typically not considered dangerous.

My understanding is that when a stingray is threatened, it just lashes it's stinger (did AP really say "bite"?) up sort of like a scorpion. Normally, it's because someone just stepped on it, so the sting usually happens in the leg or foot.

So it really isn't a "I wonder what he did to make it so mad" so much as "I wonder how he was positioned relative to the ray". Possible he was swimming, didn't realize the ray was there, and put his hand on the ground. He must have been positioned just right so that when the ray lashed (as they do), it hit his heart instead of his leg...

Never watched the show, but Steve's a great personality. And he did do a lot of animal rescue work. There is a croc off the coast here in California (I think LA) that he was scheduled to come and relocate. Now, their not sure what they are going to do or how they will move it without killing it.

 

[Spiderman]

I don't think it was on the ground; I think it was swimming alongside of him. I've swam "with" stingrays myself at Discovery Cove in Orlando, FL (great place!). But I've read that "they" think the stingray was spooked or felt trapped between Steve and the cameraman, which leads me to believe Steve was swimming fairly close as to include the stingray in the shot of whatever he was talking about.

Or the stingray just happened to get in between them and got spooked <shrug>

 

[Killer Joe]

He was swimming above the Stingray.

 

[Oversoul]

The Bull Stingray

That would explains how it was so easy for it to hit him in the chest. The stingrays I've seen in real life and the ones I'm used to seeing in videos are small, usually less than 20 pounds. But that one's huge. It's one of the biggest species and can grow to over 700 pounds.

 

[Nightstalkers]

1.) Don't crowd the wildlife (meaning don't get too close)
2.) Mouths are not hand holds
3.) If you have to run, run faster than the slowest person

 

[orgg]

...and don't swim on top of the 500 pound stingray's backside?

 

[Zigathon]

I don't mean to necro (no pun intended) this thread.

However, the other day my roommate and I were talking about it and I thought it would be hilarious to do a comedy skit in which people are at the zoo or something and a stingray runs into the crowd with a crazed look on its face and shoots someone with a pistol.

No disrespect to Mr. Irwin or his family. I actually thought the guy was interesting. But, murderous stingrays crack me up.

Also, I was at work when the news came out. I said to a couple co-workers, "Oh man. The media and government are going to have a field day with this one. That's all we need, another damn war."

 

[DarthFerret]

The only thing I have to say on the subject, is that I am relieved to hear that they are not going to release the video. Mrs. Irwin has decided to keep it sealed up. Finally a real class act in Television Entertainment!

Tag Guard

 

[Nightstalkers]

Rather uninteresting death really.... people are killed by animals all the time.


now if he had died from one of them blue octopuss' gettin' him... that would have been understandable.

 

[orgg]

That's a faked picture from the Enquirer, Nightstalkers.

The thing was twelve feet across. Those are terrible mock-ups by a tabloid.