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For those who are interested. I know he is popular in the US.
Steve Irwan died about an hour ago just north of here. He was speared through the heart by a stingray. Don't know how, but he was obviously too close.

Cricky! RIP Mr Irwin.

Our sympathy goes out to his family and friends, and our Thanks go with him for all the enjoyment he gave all of us!!

For a while, here in Australia, we would cringe when he carried on as he did. BUT, after a while you come to the conclusion - he's super passionate, and really just a lovable, overly enthusiastic, animated goofball entertainer. He sure does grow on you. He'll be missed by everyone - I have NO DOUBT.

We used to sit and tease about what animal would eventually kill him. Still sad, we was a true nature lover.

Mr. Irwin has captivated my kid's attention for years. They will surely remember him for years to come.

Not that often somebody comes along that defines the word "fearless" the way he did.

It is a sad thing to go so young. On the bright side - So few get to do each day the thing that they love, to do that thing well, to do something that means something to others, and to have success doing it. His stay wasn't long - But his blessings were great while here. God speed, Steve.

I beat you to it.

http://www.bonnevilleamerica.com/forums/...;gonew=1#UNREAD

John you did beat him to it, but your link doesn't work. My server says page not found????

WOW! How ironic!!!

Just last week, my friend was replacing the coils on his '67 Stingray and it shocked the crap outta him when his wife turned the key before he said..."Okay, NOW!"

Dwight
(R.I.P. Steve Irwin...as has been mentioned here...he "died with his boots on"...except for his tender age, not a bad way to go)

Yikes the stingray stabbed him thru his heart. WOW!

What a shame... Only blessing is he died doing what he loved. We all should be so fortunate.

That's a terrible loss. He was very enthusiastic and fun to watch. I feel terrible for his wife and child. I figured sooner or later something like that would happen. He took alot of chances. I never figured it would be a stingray.

A sad loss

Even at work, the conversation has turned to him, people can't believe he's gone.

Just like Yull Gibons (SP?)
He'll never be forgotten cause what he lived for
killed him.
A legend forever in my eyes. Both of them.

As a fellow Aussie I to was shocked to hear that Steve was killed in the way he was. Lets hope that the media concentrate on what that guy did for animals that would have normally been slaughtered and not the crap I have been seeing on FOX where the only clip they have of him was when he had his baby in the Croc cage with him as did his parents when he was a babe. R.I.P Steve

The NEWS made an issue of the baby thing!
Just like the NEWS makes an issue of everything!
Criky! My dad use to hang me by my heels in a tree
and spin me around till I blew cookies!!!
Today he would be called a child abuser.
But I think back on those days and remember how
hard I laffed and enjoyed the ruff houseing!
(Not like I didn't go out of my way to get this
kind of attention!)
R.I.P. Steve

The odds against a stingray striking and hitting a vital organ are so astronomically high that I can hardly believe it happened at all. He was an incredibly entertaining wildlife advocate and will be greatly missed. I dive in Florida and the Caribbean alot and have hand fed stingrays many times over the years. I just can't believe it even happened...

I watched him religiously (oops! ) and loved the guy for being genuine, honest, and extremely knowledgeable. My heart breaks for his family and friends.


I can tell you firsthand about stingrays and their impact. A number of years ago, I commercial fished out of Sebastian, Fl. and dug clams when I couldn't fish. I got nailed by a stingray one day in the spot between the foot and ankle (medical term?). It immediately paralyzed my right leg. I had a clam basket with an inner tube for flotation and I had to use this to make my way back to my boat or I might have drowned. Like an idiot, I tried self medication (extract of echinacea & salicylic acid) and then eventually went to a hospital. Miserable pain for weeks and it took me 6 months to walk without a limp.

It's rare for people to die from a stingray wound but I read that he got stabbed in the heart? Talk about freaky!

What cha mean OOPS?
I see that "commie thingy whatcha ma call it"
post that chased away alot o' people ain't there na mere!?
None the less and hi jackin aside, it was a one off
way to go. God bless the man!
He made CRICKY an International word!!

If you play with fire... RIP Steve. I think we all thought that he would eventually get killed by a wild creature of some sort. Entertainment for others/pounds/dollars... nothing to die for. I feel sorry for his family.

At least he died doing what he loved: harassing, disrespecting, and profiting from wildlife, and then tricking the naive into believing that what he did could somehow be called conservationism, rather than just plain old crass monetary exploitation. Crikey! Let's sure hope some other jackass in hotpants doesn't step up to fill his shoes (uh, short-shorts I mean).

Ok, I see your point. And in a way, I agree.
(save this spot for FJ's poke thingy gif) Not a good idea
to poke, slap, nor prod things best left alone.
Now if WE could get the rest of the world to wake up to this simple fact.......
But then again, there ARE things and/or people that need
whack over the head with a stick!

Ok, so now i'm softening up quite a bit. Although I disapprove of what he did in front of the camera cause I think it was exploitative, he did support alot of conservationist causes behind the scenes (or at least an Aussie friend of mine tells me). He also supposedly founded this really great zoo (in Queensland, I think?). As far as hitting certain PEOPLE with sticks goes; yes, yes, yes! I'm all in favor of that! Not bats or clubs or anything, but a nice, stout, yet flexible stick doesn't do too much damage but could really get your point across!

None of us will ever agree to the same thing every
time all the time. Knowing that puts us ahead of the game.
I don't agree with everything I see on TV or hear on Radio.
But a man died. Period.
Lets give him a few days before we start tearing him apart.
It's just simple respect. Period.
Would you like your family to hear anything bad about you
the very day you die?
Not slammin you man, but lets give Steve a day or so.

Well...I dunno 'bout this "stick thing", guys.

I hear the reason naturalist "Jungle" Jack Hannah sutters and seems a bit "corn-fused" whenever he's on some talk show with his critters, is because HE'S been hit upside da head with a stick too many times at the Columbus Zoo by Gertrude the gorrilla, over the years.

So...there goes THAT theory!

This guy had a personality, energy, and enthusiasm about as big as the country from where he hailed. My sympathies to all in Australia who have lost a worthy and entertaining ambassador.

BTW, CNN said that about 1500 people a year are 'stung' by sting rays, but there has never been a reported death from a sting ray injury - until now.

I am sorry for his wife and child. I think they had only one. They seemed like real life partners. RIP Steve.

Dave

Quote:

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but a nice, stout, yet flexible stick

---

A Nerf stick?

Simmer, I heard they had two small kids thismorning.

Apparently, CNN has/had its facts incorrect. Thanks for stting me straight.

SOunds to me like the sting did not kill him, but was more of a traumatic injury.. From the reports I have seen, he was stabbed in the heart but the stinger or what ever it is called.. If that is the case a few diffrent things could have happend causing his death.


First would be the stinger being large cut his cornary artery ( artery that suplies blood to the heart) and he sufferd a heart attack secondary to trauma.

Or,, The stinger punctured the heart filling the scak that surrounds the heart with blood untill the pressure was so great that it could no longer beat,


Or the venum got into the muscle layer of the heart causing it to become paralized..

Either way is it sad to see him go. But he gave his life for something he truley loved. People say poor him, but I say poor us. For he went through life with a passion and a love for live, while the rest of us sit at home and wish we did this, or want to do that.

He was doing a story on the most dangerous sea creatures but due to bad weather was filming a puff piece for children with his daughter and was done in by a creature that is very difficult to approach unless you are at one of those stingray cities... Anyways, probably a male as they are smaller and more tempramental. Not the animal i pictured killing him... I wonder what kind of premiums he paid for life insurance, or if anyone would even insure him?

Matt, I am betting on the venom. When I got nailed, my leg just would not work, never mind the excruciating pain...

I grew up my whole life with stingrays around. When I was young, my cousin acidentally jumped on one and it stuck her in the calf right before I jumped in. She was hurt pretty bad and took a while to recover. I've always had respect (fear) for stingrays and still stomp my feet walking through the water to run them away. Never cared a bit for feeding or getting close to them. Hooked one once bottom fishing, cut the line, and stayed away from it. When I went to the Carribbean on a cruise, I was supprised to hear about excursions to "Stingray City" to touch and feed stingrays in the wild. NOT FOR ME!

I guess the lesson is that things that have claws, stings, spikes, spines, talons, teeth, beaks, barbs, and very little brains, are inherently dangerous and should not be poked, prodded, petted, or cuddled. Sadly Mr. Irwin joins the ranks of Timothy Treadwell ( eaten by a bear while trying to hug it), Roy Horn ( ravaged by a tiger while trying to make it disappear), and Jose Rojas Mayarita ( stabbed by a swordfish while trying to land it on his boat.)

[n.b. the link to the tiger incident is automatically censored by this site's software - you need to replace the ***** in the URL with a common English word for a cat, which is also happens to be a common word for a female body part. Automatic language parsers have NO sense of humor and NO way of understanding what a word means within a context.]

Siggy