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.