OT: CRIKEY!!! Steve Irwin's DEAD!

[Kitsune06]

Oh my God! I watched his show a lot as a kid!

That's really sad...

...though a lot of what he did seemed to be risky...

geez. Mom liked him a lot...

[postiechic]

unreal, banana peel!
he was an absolute nutter....and i couldn't stand him..but still, poor bloke. Least he karked it doing what he loved doing most.

[crazycanuck]

My heart goes out to his family.

No matter how much i cringed every time i saw him on tv, light is correct when she said

I think the Aussie Bush is going to suffer the most out of this. He was one of the most vocal conservationists in this country and as a cyclist and someone who loves just getting LOST in rainforrests I thank him for that.

Matey, australia & the other creatures out there... will miss ya.

c

[enzed]

I just heard the story on the TV news.
Yes, he could be annoying at times. But he was an advocate for the environment. I visited Australia Zoo a few years ago and found it fun & educational. He had some great ideas for protecting the aussie bush.
I can't help but feel sorry for the two kids, who are now without a dad.

Being attacked by a stingray? How freaky is that.

[Nanci]

Wow, I can't believe it- he was my hero!!

[arnaew]

It's a shame when someone who champions the environment is lost, by whatever means. However, it must be said that Steve Irwin was a bit of a tosser. He thought (in contradistinction to great nature documentary makers like Richard Attenborough) that he had to perform like an idiot to get people to watch. He has been reported numerous times for poor practices around animals (his son around a crocodile, himself around whales, seals et al) which, unfortunately, often diffused the message. To be stabbed by a stingray in the torso you would have to be doing someting quite unusual in terms of the stingray's orbit. When fishermen sustain bites (the most common victims) it is usually in the limbs, most often when the rays are accidentally hauled in the nets. These bites (stabbings) are rarely fatal. There have been around 17 known deaths in Australia from stingrays, all of them pierced in the torso (which has the same effect as being stabbed by a harpoon with the added bonus of a toxic poison). For this to occur, you basically have to be swimming directly above them or trying to ride them, either of which will p*ss the ray off. Irwin's history and the stingray's habits would indicate that he perhaps wasn't being as responsible or respectful as he should have been. Considering that the doco he was shooting was called 'The Ocean's Deadliest', you'd think that he would have been a tad more cautious... I am so sorry for his wife and children (backpacking in the Tasmanian mountains at the time) - Bindi (daughter, around 8) is apparently a wild life fanatic.

[caligurl]

OMG!!!!!!!!!!!! his poor wife and those GORGEOUS kids of his..... this breaks my heart...........

thanx for posting it....

[massbikebabe]

I was sad when I read the news...

When my kids were little and I was working nights and staying up ALL day with them the Croky Guy used to buy me a half hour of sleep on the couch while they watched his show. I did think he was a little nutters though.



karen