Breaking news Crocodile Hunter Dead!

[Dago]

Originally posted by Shuckins
Sorry to give offense Slash,  but all the pc bs on here about stuff like this bores me silly.

Steve's wife and child have got to adjust to a life without him.  He could have done his job without taking so many idiotic risks.  His absence will leave an aching void that nothing will ever adequately fill.

He may have died doing what he loved to do...but he still died...and it was a death preordained by his recklessness.  This isn't just about him...it's about the family members who have a lot of time and love tied up in him...who now have nothing.

Or do you actually believe that he died happy?  I seriously doubt it.  He may have been shocked and in agony, but I don't believe he thought, "Well, that's the way it goes...I'm happy to go out this way."

And I'm not going to idolize an individual who places his toddler in a pen with live crocs.

The example he set for the young and the impressionable is not praiseworthy.  It is irresponsible and dangerous.

Regards, Shuckins

I agree with a lot of what you say.  But, I think he was probably a very good  person who made a big mistake based on overconfidence.   His wife and kids will pay the biggest price for his selfish recklessness.

[Seagoon]

Hi All,

Sad news. I know I should have expected this, after all you can only play the wildlife version of Russian Roulette for so long, but it surprised me none-the-less. Croc hunter was one of the few non-animated shows I enjoyed watching with my kids. He was definitely a great showman, even if he did take risks I would never have considered myself. Never thought it would be a Stingray that got him though, ah well, "...no man knows when his hour will come: As fish are caught in a cruel net, or birds are taken in a snare, so men are trapped by evil times that fall unexpectedly upon them." (Eccles. 10:12)

Just a couple of clarifications regarding the discussion:

ABC is reporting the following - "While filming a new documentary, the Animal Planet star was stung in the heart by a stingray's sharp, toxin-filled barbs.

Paramedics were helicoptered in, but it was too late.

Doctors believe Irwin likely died instantly."

Better than being eaten by something, or dying slowly from a venomous snake bite, etc. I suppose.

Also, regarding the kid/croc incident in 2004, he didn't allow his toddler to crawl around, he carried his newborn son Robert into a Croc pen at Australia Zoo with him and was a few feet from them. Personally, I think it was unnecessarily dangerous, but I think Irwin had gotten so used to being close to Crocs that while he remembered that they were dangerous in theory, his long experience led him to play down the "whoops" factor and the unpredictability of wild animals.

[detch01]

While I feel sorry for his wife and child I can't feel sorry for Steve Irwin himself. Considering the number and variety of dangerous animals that he harrassed to up the entertainment value of his television shows it was only a matter of time until one of them killed him. Sometimes the price of stupidity is death. I'm surprised he lived as long as he did.  





asw

[Furball]

Steve Irwin made animal shows interesting, he raised awareness about endangered animals and educated people on how dangerous animals can be overcome when treated with respect.

He is a legend.

[B@tfinkV]

"now this, right here, is one of the most dangerous snakes in the world, a single bite could kill you....lets just see if we can piss it off"



RIP, steve.

[cav58d]

After reading a couple more comments, I'm sure as hell glad im not actually friends with some of you...

If anyone has ever traveled to the Cayman Islands, then surely you have heard all the hype about Sting Ray City, if not visited one of it's dive spots...I have swam with stingray's on seven different occasions in the Caymans ranging from deep water scuba to sandbar snorkle...My first time diving with them was 8 or 9 years old in mid water, 15-20 feet with a snorkle...In retrospect, after dreidock's "words of wisdom" on this subject, I really should shun my mother and grandfather for taking me along on this trip at such a young age...What terrible people to put me on such an unnecessary risk, and it would only have been a matter of time before dreidock could say "I told you so"........

I never found any of the "sting ray city" sting rays to be aggressive.  Granted these stingers quit possibly are the most domesticated in the world, and wouldnt dare harm a human (food source)...


***Man...Airshow pilot's, any type of spectator car drivers, and matador's are idiots!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Who cares how much they are pursuing a lifes dream (other then being wanna be pilots on a computer)...They are moron's, and I hate to say it but "i told you so"

[WilldCrd]

steve you will be missed.

gotta agree with cav here. some of you guys are really cavalier in your proclomations. The man did more in his lifetime than probably all of us put together, and some of you armchair quarterbacks can only sit there with the "i told ya so" BS. Some of ya are downright embarrassing.

I never got a chance to meet steve and I had planned on going to australia next year and seeing the australia zoo. He was a great entertainer and made HUGE strides in animal conservation. And bringing some of the fundamentale issues into the limelite with the population of the whole planet. I dont think there are to many places you can go on GOD's green earth where they havent heard of the croc hunter.

I always liked watching his shows. Even when a "former" GF told me once that it was just a "kids" show and real men dont watch it. pffft i told her that any guy who can wrestle a 20 ft croc into the back of a pickup is damn sure tough enough for me...

His yearly outtakes from his show were always funny as hell to.
And the old fedex commercial he did had me in tears! im sure it will resurface on the web sometime in the next few days

One of my favorite outtakes was when he and terri first got together and they went into the outback. She had to go have a "private" moment , took some TP then after a few seconds came running back to steve yelling "theres a HUGE snake by that tree!! irwin dashes off with all the exitment and wonder of a 10 yr old and comes back with this huge snake explaining its the worlds 3rd deadliest and how beautiful she was....the whole time terri in the background his hopping from foot to foot with that "i gotta peee!!!" look on her face  and trailing half a role of TP behind her it was pretty hilarious...least i thought so:lol

[WilldCrd]

oh and BTW they are saying now that the barb didnt go THRU his chest it entered under his ribcage and peirced his heart. very freakish accident.
I also read it was approx 10 inches long, ill post the report when i locate it again


EDIT:...found it. Its rather long so ill just paste the pertinet info:

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



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.

[Cougar68]

Steve Irwin was no different than the airshow pilot or skydiver that meets an unfortunate end.  Except for the fact that the work he did made enormous strides in animal awareness and conservation.  He took calculated risks and definitely pushed things to the extreme to produce an entertaining and engaging series of shows that educated the world about all of the creepy crawlies out there.  He wasn't stupid or reckless.  He was a very intelligent man that knew the creatures he worked with extremely well.  

Yes he always ran a high risk of something like this happening.  But in providing these shows he introduced animals to thousands upon thousands of people that never would have known.  His work will stand the test of time as being a pioneer in the animal world.  Take care Steve, thanks for all of your work.

[Bluedog]

Sad

R.I.P Steve Erwin

[SFRT - Frenchy]

You cannot call him selfish regarding his familly. On the contrary, what he was doing, and the way he did was why he could provide  for them.

I don't thing that Dale Enhart Jr., sees his dad as selfish.

[1epic1]

why is it that the people who try to do good are always the ones that get the short end of the stick?? i mean why couldnt osama die doing what he loved? like getting a freaking a plane smashed into his fat arse...

R.I.P. Steve....you will be missed

[asilvia]

I just told my wife and kids about what happened. No matter what anyone says about him he brought alot of knowledge of dangerous animals to us normal everyday folk. As a family we would always watch his show in amazement. On top of everything he was also a devoted family man!!!

<<>>Steve my family and I will miss your shows!!! RIP

[Elfie]

Steve Irwin took unnecessary risks imo, ie picking up venomous snakes by the tail when he could have just as easily used one of those snake sticks with a hooked end, much safer. I always thought he would get eaten by a crocodile though.

That said, I did enjoy his shows. It was one of the few shows my 11 yr old liked that I could stand watching. He also did alot of good by bringing awareness to the masses. He just needed to be more careful.

[Dago]

Get off the highhorse cav, diving with stingrays off Grand Caymen is hugely differant than what Irwin did.   I have done the StingRay city thing, no big deal.

But, Irwin had a wife and kids to consider, and the risks he took were foolish when you consider them into the occasion.