Crocodile Hunter's Steve Irwin dies at 44

On 4 September 2006, shortly after 11:00 a.m. local time (01:00 UTC), Irwin was killed by a stingray barb while filming an underwater documentary in the Great Barrier Reef off the Low Isles near Port Douglas, north of Cairns, Queensland, Australia.

News reports say he was stung either through his heart or through the left side of his chest by a stingray, causing a fatal wound. After he was stung, his crew called for medical help and the Queensland Rescue Helicoper responded.

However, Irwin was immediately pronounced dead at the scene. The Queensland Police Service notified his family and released a statement for the media concerning the event.

In a statement released to Australian media, Foreign Minister Alexander Downer expressed his sorrow and said that he was fond of Irwin and was very appreciative of all the work he had done in promoting Australia overseas.

See also:
http://www.news.com.au/0,,,00.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/5311298.stm
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060904/ts_nm/australia_irwin_dc

Sad day for ,this guy was a fun guy to watch ,this is one freak thing ,a sting ray ????????????????????????????? he loved wild life, nature ,the ocean ,and was always living on the edge.he did get to live his dream but only for a short time ...rest in peace croc hunter.

RIP croc hunter, sad day indeed.....

Very sad, fun guy, I hope some of the dive guides in belize will now understand that stingrays can be dangerous. It's not the fault of the ray if people choose to get too close or touch them.

I always thought it was going to be a snake or croc that did him in but certainly it was just a matter of time with his proffesion and the risks he took to entertain.

i watched the news on CNN this morning only to hear the reporter report it that a Stingray attacked and killed him so i thought a qucik correction on that might be an idea for those that are not familiar with Stingrays.

Stingrays DO NOT ATTACK people and there should be no fear if you see one snorkeling it will not attack you its more likely to swim away as you approach this was a freak accident and apparently from the reports it stung him right in the chest/heart area and killed him almost instantly.

Stingrays use there barbed tail as a DEFENSE only when being molested if it had stung him anywhere else it would of been extremely painful but not life threatening it just happenend to catch him in the wrong spot.

Most Stingray stings are on the leg area as they are accidently trodden on while paddling in shallow water where they feed the first aid in treatment of a stinray sting is to insert the area in extremely hot water as hot as you can physically stand without burning yourself this will nullefy the toxin while getting to medical treatment.

While this info will not help Steve it may be of assistence to a possible reader of this.

may he rest in peace I enjoyed his shows a lot.

First Aid for Stingray Injuries

• If the patient is still in the sea, immediately remove from the water.

• Staunch any profuse bleeding with application of local pressure bandage.

• Immerse the stung limb in hot water, ensuring first that it is not so hot that skin damage may occur.

• Unless the wound is a trivial one confined to a limb, medical help should be sought urgently.

• If the patient has not had tetanus immunisation booster within the last 5 years, ensure this is given by the local doctor.

• If the wound becomes more red and painful after 24 hours seek medical help (possible secondary infection

Adventurers like the "Croc Hunter" aren't destined to die peacfully in their sleep in the nursing home. How sad for his family. I think of the enjoyment he would have gotten working with his children and teaching them as they grew into young adults.
I hope he's having a cold one in Heaven with Marlin Perkins and Jacques Cousteau discussing their great adventures!
Australia has lost a great spokesman, and the world has lost a great environmentalist.

In Florida we use the "stingray shuffle" in other words shuffling your feet instead of stepping when entering and exiting the water. You may bump one, and he will scoot out of the way, but stepping on them is what causes the defense. Also, they often come inshore here, at least, when the water is warmest (like now) to give birth.

Way too SAD, for his family and the world. He will forever be missed.

Steve was one crazy mother. He lived his life on the edge and was in every sense of the word an entertainer. We will all miss him dearly.

Has the ray stung him amywhere else he most likely would have survived. Rays rarely cause problems with humans and in SP the Ray experience is a big attraction.

Let us not forget you are more likely to die on the way to the airport than diving in any way whatsoever.

After hearing this, I think about the children of San Pedro, and how they could all become victims to these so called 'sting rays.' I feel that all sting rays in and around San Pedro should be destroyed for the sake of the people. A relocation will not work! We have to get rid of them, and do it fast before someone gets attacked. People feed these things down at the lagoon around sunset, and its just a matter of time.

I hope you are (hic) trying to be funny. What kind of ray got Irwin? There are several varieties.

actually my dad told me today that this happened on AC about 20 to 25 years ago, he said that a local man was intoxicated and swam out off one of the docks in town where they had a sting ray trapped and the man picked up the sting ray and the barb got him and killed him, true story

You might be thinking of Ramon. He survived , but had a really serious laceration to his leg which became infected and required hospitalization . He very nearly lost his leg and still bears the scars.

It was a Bull Stingray, probably weighing around 220 lbs - Steve was swimming above the ray, while Peter West was filming in front of the animal that became frightened, and spiked him in the chest.

A very sad day , I enjoyed watching his show.
Agree with BCD, very rarely does someone die from the sting,however they say any sting to the trunk area of the body can be fatal. The barb has a lot of protein in it and will cause a very serious infection.

Steve died doing what he loved to do. God bless him & his family.

R.I.P. Steve,
Thanks for all the great memories,
Jerry W.

As a proffesional diver for more than 18 years the comment by UDW is absolutely ridiculous Sting Rays thats are familiar with divers etc and are fed are much more at ease around divers and snorkelers and much much less likeley to use its barb as they are not nervous or afraid when being fed the opposite is the fact.

The ray that stung irwin was a wild Stingray not familiar with human interaction and as it was surrounded it obviously felt threatened and defended its self.

Cayman islands has a HUGE stingray attraction as does San Pedro and neither has had a Stingray fatality with millions of visitors that have enjoyed it.

you can be sure that Steve Irwin would never condone or agree with that statement as it is obviously written by a person that has no knowledge of the subject and is a victim of bad reporting such as some of the news channels that have used this tragedy to make out a Stinray is a vicious sea monster that will attack at the blink of an eye when in reality the truth is the exact opposite its a shy creature that will mind its own business if you mind yours.

Fatality deaths caused by stingrays whihc have been recorded number between 3-17 thats number is so miniscule it clearly shows that Stingrays are not in any way to be feared just respected.

I agree stingrays are about as dangerous as a puppy. I have hooked several over the years while fishing and have even managed to hold them against the boat with the help of a friend while I removed the hook.
It's sad to lose someone who was such a spokesperson for the enviornment.

I have been trying to put together a scenario that would involve a stingray stinger entering under the ribcage (according to a report I saw this morning on the internet)and hitting the heart. The stingrays I have observed don't have a lot of control regarding the stinger, it appears to raise up above the tail at a fairly shallow angle. I might surmise it was more a case of him impaling himself on the stinger rather than the ray attacking him. We did the Grand Cayman stingray thing about ten years ago, and noticed most of the rayse had their stingers missing.

Under Da Water - you are an idiot.
Sorry to be so blunt but you don't destroy innocent creatures because you want to
make a playground of THEIR home and because of a freak accident on the other side of the world.
Idiot

I think we ought to start another witch hunt.

I was attempting to make a joke by using 'sting rays' instead of 'crocs', to try and illuminate how completely stupid the idea of removing or killing all crocs from San Pedro truly is.
There has been semi-serious talk of removing the crocs from the island lately,and I find the idea moronic. Hopefully at least some people got it..
Obviously I dont agree with killing all the sting rays, although you could make a lot of soup...

Cancel the witch hunt.

What a great sense of humour- and timing. Those who are mourning the passing of Steve Irwin will appreciate it.

I knew he was just trying to funny ,as he is a diver.We are all oversensitive today and feel bad about what happend.lets all get along in peace as we all live the dream differently...

amen.
I really liked the picture of the day over in the trip report section. Beautiful!

Wild animals are, um, wild, even the docile ones (stingrays, buffalo, moose). Interaction with wild animals will cause injury to both animal and human, sooner or later. Unfortunately as the population of visitors and residents alike continue to grow here in Belize and Ambergris Caye, incidents will occur.

Support BDART, you may need them someday.

SIN

chris you are so right ,and next trip down , I will give a generious donation to BARDT hope I never need them..

Just keep an eye on the Cuda's you pull in! Yowzers!!

This is so sad... but i hate to say at least he died what he loved doing!! I have made respect for him and wish his family the best with their loss!
He always took responsability for all of his actions and if something went wrong... he said himself it is never the animals fault!

RIP Crocodile Hunter... you will be truly missed!

I assumed that UDW was just being sarcastic from the start, but it brings up a good point. You can damn well bet that excursion with Mr. Irwin had the best medical help available on the boat or easily available on call. That is why the BDARRT is such an important service to San Pedro. Whether you participate in one of the fundraisers on Ambergris (I wish I could) or can give them a little each month, what a peace of mind. Just my opinion.

Considering how he lived his life, it is amazing to me that he was killed by one of the most docile animals in the wild kingdom. I feel for his family but if a person had a choice in how they'd be taken out in this world, well, heck that's got to be in the top 10.

Just got this in an e-mail. Nice little video tribute to Steve Irwin!
http://youtube.com/watch?v=c2aP6oVEKx0&mode=related&search=
May he rest in peace.

Thanks Wonderwoman,
Very nice!!

Even with the best Medical Care, it's very difficult to save someone's life when the Pericardium fills up with blood and the heart has no room to function... almost always certain death even when trying to close a wound in the heart on the operating table... Patient bleeds to death, not an easy task. Steve will be missed!

And.....so, we have a responsibility to continue the idea......that's all.