PlanetCatfish.com

Well, I guess most have heard by now: Steve Irwin is dead, killed by, of all things, a stingray.

It appears he was snorkelling during the filming of a documentary, and when he swam over a stingray it startled and stung him in the chest, and apparently hit him in the heart. He is said to have died instantly. A "one in a million" accident, a stingray expert is quoted as saying.

It's a sad day. Not only on a personal level, but conservation has lost one of its most widely recognized faces.

A sad loss indeed. I wasn't a personal fan (I think his "attitude" is a bit along the lines of "thrill seeking", which is perhaps not the best attitude to "deadly animals"), but I definitely agree that it's a loss to conservation, because if nothing else, his programs on TV are very popular and pretty good education material.

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Mats

Steve, you'll be missed!

2 years ago when visiting Australia, a visit to Australia Zoo was on my "to do list"; I've seen many zoos and I am quite certain that this is THE most beautiful zoo I've ever seen.
what really impressed me are the big enclosures for the animals and the low numbers of animals per 'cage'.
Other zoos around the globe could do well (and better!) to take example of Steve's set up north of Brisbane.

and as luck had it i even spotted the man himself from a short distance when leaving the place; unfortunately he was far too busy at the time (with his crew and personel) to stop for a chat, but still.

many times his clownish antics made me frown -all the handling and "hands on" approach of snakes, crocs, spiders and the like- not in the least because there's a truckload of "imitation Steve's" running amok on Discovery or Animal Planet.
still he's the biggest TV personality bringing the animal kingdom up close and personal to people who only know that snakes are bad news and spiders icky and too hairy.
and he sure made me laugh with his "professional Aussie act"!

I heard it this morning.....IMO it's not only a big loss for the watchers of animalshows but for Australia as a whole.
Ask anyone to name someone from there and "Steve Irwin" is most likely to be named first.

i just hope people dont start wanting to buy ray's cos of this, or killing them on sight like shark's. Steve was so funny did anyone see him on Frank Skinner?

Kev

I hope his widow will be able to carry on with the good work they have/had been doing. With all the danger he faced on and off camera, it is a true irony the animal that got him is one that is in many petting zoos. I also hope people won't shy away from rays because of this. I usually didn't watch the Croc.Hunter, but I am a fan of a show where he shows animals being rescued and rehabilitated at the zoo.

He even brought his "professional Aussie" act to the ESPN network (the large US sports network). He did a very funny commercial featuring the mascot of the University of Florida: a Gator. I hope they still show that commercial to honor him. I laughed every time I saw it!
Amanda

He did an even funnier commercial, which maybe not many people remember.

There's a close up of his face, he's using his typical superAussie accent and wearing khakis. He holds up his hand, and says something like "Crikey! I've just been bitten by the famous (name of fake creature) and it's venom is deadly within (very short amount of time). But no worries! The antidote is on it's way by (name of fake express carrier) and - "
Steve suddenly drops over, out of our view, presumably dead.
Voice over: "If it needs to be there on time use (name of well-known express carrier)."

I cannot tell you how absolutely funny this was, and how like Steve Irwin to be in a commercial where he essentially mocks himself. He was a great guy, and devoted to his family.
Sad day.

Deborah

A great loss for us all, Steve was a truly inspiring character whose passion knew no bounds.

RIP, big fella.

A very sad loss. For his family and Australia in general. There was also no greater spokeperson for the Australian environment and conservation issues...not just in Australia, the whole world too
Shaun

A great man with great heart!

A very sad day for me

I was his big fan since I was very, very young ;(

Hope his wife is doing ok (


Regards.

A sad sad loss

For me his genuine interest & enthusiasm for the animals he dealt with was key in our apprecation of him.

He may not have acted appropriately for everyones taste, but he knew what the animals were capable of & interacted with them in a way which in reality probably made him quite safe even if it did not appear so at times.

I await to see what sort of 'memorial' TV now surfaces (rather than a best of)- he deserves something a bit special - 'cos that's what he was

Steve Irwin was a great person.

He understood animals better than most and cared for them.
He didn't turn animals into some profit game, he still took care of them.
And in the face of the public he didn't change his traditions even though it lost him money.

The whole world suffers from losing him.