CRIKEY!!! He's Dead!
 

Well, he finally didn't make it... he took lots of chances that most normal people don't, and it finally was fatal to him.

I heard his wife has not heard at this time as she's somewhere in Tasmania climbing a mountain...

That's horrible. I mean it's not altogether unexpected, of course, but at the end of the day this was a man of science who had a wonderful, if unique, appreciation for the world arund him. He brought an understanding of the most facinating creatures in the world in to our living rooms, at the expense of his safety and eventually his life. He will be missed.

That's terrible! I can't say I'm suprised though. I remember seeing him do some very dangerous (in a dumb way) things; running from a komodo dragon, teasing an allagator by pulling his hand in and out of it's reach, the list goes on.
Condolences...

Holy crap. I never thought I would see a day where Steven Irwin finally gets outsmarted by an animal. Wow. Just wow. Too bad though- he was an awesome entertainer.

Damn....I thought it was a joke at first.
I suppose if it's your time, better to go doing something you love rather than withering away with no good memories.

depressing, i always loved irwin and hoped he'd have a long life and great retirement soon. I can't believe a stingray is what did it..


He will be missed..

I was just about to post this -.-'

I showed this too a few Australian friends of mine and they laughed. Apparently he wasn't too well liked in Aussie.

This just sucks. Fucking stingray. I guess its better than being torn to pieces by a 20-foot saltwater croc live on camera in front of your wife. The Isaac Asimov of television wildlife broadcasting. First, Marlin Perkins, now Steve Irwin. Now we have to wait another 20 years for a watchable tv animal guy.

Andre Agassi and Steve Irwin on the same fucking day.

He took foolish chances with very dangerous animals.

I enjoyed his show, but he showed a tremendous lack of respect for the power of the Animals he was with.

I know this seems harsh, but there is nothing else to blame here but his own ambition. Once you are a father you need to think a bit more about what you are doing.

That's too bad. He would have made for a GROIT father and grandfather on so many levels.

I hadn't watched his shows in years. I think for many people he'd become a caricature of himself. At some point I stopped seeing the danger. That he'd ever be really hurt. He was just messing with animals in the relative safety of his element and with his experience of animals and their hazards. Still, I did respect his attempts to educate.

Somehow it doesn't surprise me he was caught out underwater, where we're out of our element and small things can become big problems in short order. Still, a stingray tail through the chest? Ouch.

G'night, Steve.

He was a great man, at least he died doing what he loved.

Crikey!!!!!!! RIP Steve Irwin...........
 

I have mixed emotions, he leaves behind 2 very young kids and a lovely wife, yet at the same time a part of me believes (from what I have read and interviews seen of him) that he would have prefered this type of death.

No matter, my heartfelt sympathies and best wishes go to his family in this tragic hour....... Steve was a man who was able to show animals (even the scariest of animals) can be harmless if treated with respect. He also brought much humor and love into the world. He will be sorely missed....


LINK: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060904/...rwin&printer=1

as an aussie myself, im stunned. he's all over the news..the news has only just broken about an hour ago... try www.news.com.au ...

he will be sorely missed my aussies and non-aussies alike. he isnt the only crocodile hunter though. there have been plenty of aussies that do this sort of stuff way before he came along. he got the notoriety because of his colourful character and weird language..yes, his language is weird even to us aussies..and no, we dont all talk like that!

my cousin shoots documentaries for 'the original crocodile man' David Ireland. dont know if you guys have heard of him, but he's been in the game a lot longer than Steve has, but i think David gives the animals a little more respect. i think thats what finally out did Steve, his lack of respect and 'in your face' attitude with the animals.

its true... we lost two legends today.. Andre Agassi and Good ol' Steve Irwin.

Says it all.

Selfish in the extreme to put thrill seeking or fame ahead of a wife and small children. :(

I dont' wish to start an argument or anything, but he was hardly "thrill seeking" or searching for fame. From my understanding of Irwin's life, he was merely trying to teach the world about nature and wildlife. I hardly think he lacked respect for the animals he dealt with and I consider the guy one fo the most selfless people on tv.

I could be wrong, but that's just how i see it. I don't see it as thrillseeking or personal ambition beyond awakening people to what is outside their doorstep.

For that, I will miss him.

Yeah but I always thought the guy knew his shit, knew the animals, knew all the rules.
Can't overlook the family man aspect of it though. Gambling man got burned.

I'm sad to see such a great character pass away. He did a lot for animal conservation as well.

RIP Steve. I have good memories of spending all day in my chair watching Croc hunter marathons.

I love steve irwin, you knew he wasn't a fool in what he was doing, quite the opposite, he knew exactly the risks and consiquences, but had the knowledge to do it.

He was a gambling man, and he lost, which sucks, because he was so enthusiastic about what he did, and helped bring that to other people.

I will miss him.

R.I.P.

It's a shame...but it was his business.............

To quell this rumor:

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,20349888-2,00.html

Though I take issue with this:
That was quoted from John Stainton, his manager. Not a doctor or a medical professional of any kind- his manager. Thanks for the bullshit, John. You don't die instantly from a punture wound to the heart, nor are you suddenly rendered numb. I realize he's trying to comfort people, but the "I don't think there was any pain" line is only supposed to be used when it can reasonably be assumed. This is just bullshit from his manager who doesn't know his ass from his elbow- it's irresponsible and disrespectful to the family (because it's patronizing), in my opinion.

Amen to that.

For the number of times I've seen him actively taunting a dangerous animal just to get a rise out of it and make it attack him, I can't say he did it just to educate. He thoroughly enjoyed the rush. Just because you like to educate doesn't mean you're not a crazy thrill-seeker.

Finding out radiation is fatal to humans in order to invent the x-ray and help all humanity: good use of danger for education.

Being the only AIDS patient to have a zero infection count, allowing massive testing on your body to prove it, then going off the drugs to see if the AIDS virus came back, knowing that if it came back, the drugs are almost 100% guaranteed not to work again: good use of danger for education.

Putting your hands in various animals' mouths, and intentionally pissing them off so you can see what will happen (surprise spoiler- they attack your ass): yeah, not so much.

heh still unerved me to see him pick up snakes by the tails.. here in lousiana we have several that i wouldnt want my kids trying that with.

Yet in the end I liked him. My heart goes out to his family. sad to think your soul mate was miles away when it happened.

Actually, the guy diving with him today said they (professional divers) often dive with sting rays without any problems. They are quite placid. This just seems like a very unfortunate accident.

They just replayed an interview with him on Andrew Denton's show (Enough Rope) on the abc (www.abc.net.au) from 2003. It was actually really interesting. I think he was just a hyper individual, who was really passionate about animals and animal welfare.

He will definitely be missed.

My thoughts go out to his wife and kids.

This was a bit of a freak accident - stingray stings are generally not fatal, but since it's an involuntary response, swimming directly above them can startle them and trigger the reflex, and if you get stung in the pelvis, abdomen, a major artery, or if the barb pierces the heart (which is understandably rare but happened to a 12-year-old boy in the past) it's likely to be fatal. All those nature shows with people floating above placid rays are misleading - diving with them is quite dangerous.

Sucks.

I don't feel the need to debate the merits of his every action. I would rather just wish a fond farewell to a wonderful entertainer, a man who educated his fans and supported his loving family.

It had to hurt for a few seconds while the tail was entering his chest and into his heart. Rather dreadful news to read because he seemed liked a friendly hyper individual.

He was a good bloke. You can argue over whether he was properly responsible for the risks of his position, but I can't imagine being heartless enough to adopt a "well, he asked for it" stance. Don't confuse television with reality. The guy worked with animals all his life, and he did so SAFELY, while crafting a TV show that portrayed him as a risk-taker. Everything I've read says that this was a freak accident, that stingrays are generally harmless.

He was a prominent and enthusiastic environmentalist and wildlife advocate. His work on- and off-screen kept hundreds of crocodiles alive and safely out of contact with humans. His work has educated and enlightened people all around the world. People who worked with him said that he was as enthusiastic and larger-than-life in his ordinary life as he was on camera. I admire him greatly and he will be missed.

With rays, it isnt the insertion of the barb thatll inflict the worst injury... it is the removal of the serrated end that rips skin and heart muscle apart...
I hope it was quick, I hope he didnt suffer... My heart is heavy for Terri and the children for it is those left behind that have the worst battles ahead. I am quite sure that whatever version of afterlife Steve has chosen that he is having fun with crocs.

I'm not denying that, but it was obvious at times he took greater risk than was needed. Also when he dove, he was clearly 'out of his element' and never seemed nearly as confident as on land. That plus he always wore his same outfit while diving when i saw him, added to the show over what was best. Kakhi shorts and a shirt are not the best for diving.

The incident was freakish, of all the things to kill him, I'd have put stingrays far far down the list, but I dont' think anyone who watched his show can be shocked by the fact that he died doing it.

That is very sad. Many people tried to imitate his act but there never was and never will be another Steve Irwin.

This is one of the few "people I've never met" who's death actually made me cry. I truly admired this man for the passion of his conversavation convictions. I always figured he would die doing what he loved....but still....it wasnt a croc....and Im in a little shock.

RIP Steve....you did so much good

I think I remember him trying to catch a crocodile running amok in Hong Kong but he couldn't do it or something.

I think the guy was pretty cool and really allowed people to see a different side of some of these animals. I also think he had a very good understanding of, apreciation of and respect for the animals he worked with. If not, he wouldn't have made it to 44.

This was a freak accident. I snorkel and dive and have been around all sorts of rays. They don't just attack you and I feel pretty sure he didn't just rush up on the thing.

Unexpected things happen with wild animals. Look and Siegfred & Roy.

Hat's off to you...

While his death is tragic, I only hope to have made such an impact on the world when I have to leave... he did a lot of good for the causes he believed in.

You may not die instantly from a puncture wound to the heart, but how about when a load of sting ray toxin is injected into it? I saw that they had a "jellyfish sting expert" (how's that for a job) around, but if a "stingray sting expert" exists, there wasn't one available.

None of us are likely to know if death was nearly instantaneous, since the incidence of stingray toxin injected directly into the heart is so rare.

If you were a responsible and respectful EMT on the scene, is it your opinion that it would have been better to tell everyone that he died after a few minutes of extreme agony? What possible purpose is served by contradicting his manager on the matter? It's not like they didn't try to revive Irwin.

Give Stainton points for bedside manner.

Call me morbid, but I'd kinda like to see the footage of that. Sounds like something out of a sci-fi movie where the B-list actor gets taken out leading up to the climax.

^I wonder how long it'll be before that tape shows up on the web. :(

Anyways, I'm saddened by this news. I've always enjoyed his shows, he was one of a kind.

Many of you say he died because he took chances.
One report said the last human death from a stingray occured in 1945.

hmmm I read that there have been 17 since 1969 (in Australia)

I truly admired this man for the passion of his conversavation convictions. I always figured he would die doing what he loved....but still....it wasnt a croc....and Im in a little shock

(pasted from the other Steve Irwin thread...didnt realize there were two)

99% sure that one won't surface on the web, or if it does, it'll be a long time from now if someone gets into the studio's vaults.

dunno why i feel that way, but i do.

well the police have it.....I wouldnt say its *safe* from being pirated, I would not be surprised to see it surface somewhere

RIP. He was a good man :(

Amen. Shame on all of you who feel the need to turn this into a post of "who's to blame" and "why he deserved it."

His show captivated kids who would not otherwise have watched educational shows about animals. I don't believe he was as respectful of the power of animals but he did more good than otherwise. It's sad to hear that his life was cut short so quickly and unexpectedly.
All I could think of when I heard this early this morning was, "His poor children."

How are the parents on here whose children watch this going to explain his death to your kids?

No, a responsible person (in a medical profession or otherwise) doesn't make shit up. There are a myriad of other ways to comfort the bereaved without blatantly falsifying things. If I found out a family member was stabbed a bunch of times all over his body but not in any fatal places, and basically bled to death, I would punch a person in the face for patronizing me if they blatantly lied to me and said there was no pain, trying to "comfort" me. A responsible person does not make things up.

Good luck reviving a person who sustains a puncture wound to the heart. The blood pressure would be plummeting and he'd either be developing pulmonary edema and drowning in his own blood, or dependent edema where his blood starts building up in his body instead of circulating- either way, you have a few minutes at best, not an hour.

Bedside manner is about helping people in their time of crisis- this does not include blatant lying.

I didn't mean to make a big deal of it, I was simply pointing out that he had no right to say what he said, and it could do more harm than good.

unless i read wrong, didn't he say something to the effect of "I don't THINK he felt much pain" which is probably true after the initial shock of being pierced through the abdomen and into the heart. Pretty sure shock sets in quickly and the pain probably took a while. They also said he was barely conscious. Then again, the same report said he died instantly.

I dont' know what to believe, but i've been seriously hurt before and the pain took quite a while to set in when it's something like being stabbed or cutting off a finger, so i really can buy the guy's story of "I don't think he felt much pain"

Again, though, not wanting to argue it, just that i can see how the person could say it.

It really doesn't matter now, though, sadly. I'd rather have heard stories of excrutiating pain and he's in critical condition but is expected to make a full recovery.

The barb of a stingray is also tipped with poison. If you do some research you'll find that being stabbed by one is extreemly painful. Never the less...

ok, i was really shocked at what happened yesterday, and you are right he wasn't all about thrill seeking, the vast majority of the money he earnt was put back in the the environment. he spent millions on large areas of wilderness so that he could preserve it for many future generations, he used his fame to further the cause of conservation.
the guy was indeed selfless, and a "real" person, much more than i can say about basicaly everyone in the entertainment industry.
RIP steve, the world has just become a colder place.

to all the people saying he was selfish to do this because he has a family, sorry, but bullshit. Statistically animal trainers have a much lower fatality rate than many (probably most) professions. Should cops refrain from having children because they might get hurt? If so, keep in mind that garbage men get killed more frequently than cops do, so they'd better not have kids either. Factory workers are constantly working with large machines and fast moving forklifts. Better not have kids there either. And just driving to work puts you in more statistical danger than being an animal trainer/wrangler, so if you go outside at all you're taking on too much risk to have kids. Pretty soon the only people who can have kids without being selfish will be agoraphobic insurance underwriters and computer programmers who telecommute from home.

*Applauds the above post*

My understanding is he was to get some footage for his daughters show, as the weather wasn't letting him film for his show. And for those that say he wasn't well liked in Australia...wrong....they love him!

Now how am i going to use the fluke-accident death of a celebrity to make me feel like i'm better than someone else?:mad: :mad:

I am actually pretty saddened with his death too, I read that he used his wealth to buy land just to give animals a natural habitat, and I just felt he was one of the few good people who actually did what he sought to do and did it. He in my opinion somehow made the world a somewhat brighter place because of his energy and the way he seemed to get people interested in his beliefs. I hope his family the best and when I read the news last night I could not believe it, and now hearing the way he died.. :( .. the man after getting pierced in the heart removed the barb from his chest.. all I can say is wow

RIP Steve Irwin

I've been following it on the Aussie site, cause the american sites arent SLOW in updating stuff....I read this this morning and it broke my heart


Im heartbroken over this.....just heartbroken

I've been following the aussie news sites because they are updating faster than ours here

This was just posted a little while ago and it breaks my heart

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,20361481-2,00.html

My heart goes out to his family

I've been thinking about this, tho... for me, it would be easier if my husband died in a freak accident like this. That way, I wouldn't feel like there was something I could have done to prevent the accident. I hope his wife is doing well... I'm sure she was always aware that something like this could happen. I do feel sad that he hadn't seen his family in such a long time before the accident.

I also hope that his wife and family see all the stuff on the internet about everyone saying what a great guy he was. YTMND.com is even saying he's greater than Chuck Norris, and anyone who knows internet fads knows that's saying a LOT.

He took bigger risks than the average 'animal trainer', people have been making jokes for years about him being killed fliming one of his shows, and it just happened to happen.

He may have been an expert on croc's and knew how to handle them well, but from watching his show for many years it was obvious he wasn't really at home as a diver, and I'm not surprised he died diving.

He seemed like a hell of a guy, and I feel as bad as anyone who didn't know him personally would about this.

Agreed!! I am sad to hear this news, and he will definately be missed.

John Stainton is going to be on Larry King tonite at 9

Good article from USA TODAY:

http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/...it-irwin_x.htm

It covers many of the topics discussed in this thread.


RAYS' TAILS RARELY DEADLY

There are many of species of stingray, at least 35 in the area where adventurer Steve Irwin was killed Monday.

Though the one responsible for his death is not yet known, some experts suspect the bull ray.

Such a species "can grow up to 7 feet across, 100 to 200 pounds, with a tail about 3 to 4 feet long," says Ray Davis of the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta. "The spine or spines are near the base of the tail in a shallow groove. They can whip that tail, swing it or slash with it to fend off a predator."

Since 1860, 17 people have been killed by stingrays worldwide, says Mike Brittsan, curator at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium in Ohio. "Most are to the trunk area when a stinger hits a vital organ. Steve Irwin got hit in the wrong place."

-- Cathy Lynn Grossman and Karen Thomas

From staff and wire reports

Steve Irwin's deadly encounter with a stingray was captured on dramatic videotape and shows TV's "Crocodile Hunter" pulling out the animal's poisonous barb that had pierced his heart moments before he died, officials said today.
The beloved naturalist was being videotaped snorkeling above the beast for Ocean's Deadliest, a new TV documentary. Queensland Police Superintendent Michael Keating said the footage showed nothing suspicious about Irwin's death nor evidence that he provoked the animal. Police held the tape as evidence for a coroner's inquiry, a standard procedure in high-profile deaths or those caused by other than natural causes.

News of Irwin's death shocked his native Australia, and fans around the world poured out their grief and condolences.

Parliament interrupted its normal schedule so lawmakers could pay tribute to Irwin, whose body was flown home to Beerwah today from Cairns. State Premier Peter Beattie said Irwin would be afforded a state funeral if his family agreed.

"He was a genuine, one-off, remarkable Australian individual, and I am distressed at his death," Prime Minister John Howard said.

The colorful 44-year-old Irwin, who made a career out of getting dangerously close to deadly beasts, was killed while swimming in shallow water on Australia's Great Barrier Reef.

John Stainton, Irwin's manager who was among the crew on the reef and later also watched the videotape of the attack, described the "terrible" experience of watching a friend die.

"It shows that Steve came over the top of the ray and the tail came up, and spiked him here (in the chest), and he pulled it out and the next minute he's gone," Stainton told reporters in the Queensland state city of Cairns, where Irwin's body had been taken after the accident for an autopsy.

Human deaths caused by stingrays are extremely rare.

Stainton said that Irwin was in his element in the Outback, but that he and Irwin had talked about the sea posing threats the star wasn't used to.

"If ever he was going to go, we always said it was going to be the ocean," Stainton said. "On land he was agile, quick-thinking (and) quick-moving, and the ocean puts another element there that you have no control over."

Immediately after the attack, Irwin was rushed to his nearby research vessel, the Croc One.

A doctor aboard the ship was unable to resuscitate Irwin, who was dead by the time a rescue helicopter arrived. "He died doing what he loved best and left this world in a happy and peaceful state of mind," Stainton said.

Irwin's American wife, Terri, and children returned late Monday from a trekking vacation in Tasmania to Australia Zoo, the wildlife park in Beerwah where the family lived. The couple, who met at Irwin's wildlife park in the Australian state of Queensland, have two children, Bindi Sue, 8, and Bob, 2.

Australia Zoo was open today — staff said it was what he would have wanted — but the mood was somber and most visitors were to a makeshift shrine of bouquets and handwritten condolence messages that emerged at the gate.

"Mate, you made the world a better place," read one poster left at the gate. "Steve, our hero, our legend, our wildlife warrior," read another. Khaki shirts — a trademark of Irwin — were laid out for people to sign.

Sue Neilen, Beerwah's only florist, said she has a "huge pile of orders" for flowers from conservation groups and the general public all over the world.

"Some people are telling us they've never bought flowers before to do this sort of thing, but they feel compelled to do it for Steve," Neilen said. "It's like when Lady Diana died."

Irwin — an adventurer famous for leaping onto untethered crocodiles and for his catchphrase "Crikey!" — rose to prominence when his 1992 Australian TV show was picked up by the Discovery Channel in 1996. He made his big-screen splash with 2002's The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course. The TV show went into reruns in 2004 but remained one of the network's most popular programs, airing in 130 countries. Discovery announced plans for a marathon screening of Irwin's work and a wildlife fund in his name.

"Steve was beloved by millions of fans and animal lovers around the world and was one of our planet's most passionate conservationists," Billy Campbell, president of Discovery Networks, said in a statement.

The company said it would rename the garden space in front of its world headquarters building in Silver Spring, Md., to honor Irwin. Animal Planet also is planning a marathon of Crocodile Hunter shows, but the day has not been decided.

Irwin's daring encounters and on-camera exuberance not only brought him worldwide celebrity, but they also created a cottage industry of guerrilla-style conservationists whose close calls made wildlife shows a TV staple, particularly among children.

"I never pictured a croc killing him, but I never pictured a stingray doing it, either," says Jack Hanna, director emeritus of the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium in Ohio. "It's like me getting killed by a poodle."

"Steve might have been a showman, but he was a great conservationist," Hanna says. He notes that 14 years ago, before Irwin's international success, there were two nationally televised wildlife shows. Now there are 29.

"We can agree or disagree on how he taught conservationism," Hanna says. "I couldn't do what he did. But he did have a way of teaching. And in the end I remember him as a conservationist, because he really believed in what he did."

Irwin's exuberant style occasionally irked wildlife officials. In 2004, he caused an uproar by holding his infant son in one arm while feeding large crocodiles inside a zoo pen. Irwin said at the time there was no danger to the child, and authorities declined to charge Irwin with violating safety regulations.

Later that year, he was accused of getting too close to penguins, a seal and humpback whales in Antarctica while making a documentary. Irwin denied any wrongdoing, and an Australian government investigation recommended that no action be taken.

"I think (the criticism) was from misunderstanding him and how he grew up around these animals," says Maureen Smith, executive vice president and general manager of Animal Planet. "He was the real deal. He had a love of family and animals that transcended his show. He became a part of pop culture."

Stainton, fighting back tears in a televised news conference, called Irwin "a passionate conservationist and one of the proudest dads on the planet. " He would have said, "Crocs rule!"

Contributing: Scott Bowles from Los Angeles; Karen Thomas, Cathy Lynn Grossman and Douglas Stanglin from McLean, Va.; Lindsey Arkley from Melbourne, Australia; and the Associated Press.

We all take chances in life, it is unavoidable, so he shouldn't be criticized for his choices.

R.I.P.

Point, but consider this: Since 1860 17 people have been killed by stingrays. 18+ people have been killed in spacecraft (Challenger crew, Columbia crew, Apollo 1 crew, and Gagarin. . There are more but I can't think of them ATM). So by the selfish argument, astronauts are selfish and should not have children.

Also, what would be a risk to you or me, was not so much of a risk to Irwin. He knew what he was doing when he grabbed the cobra by the tail - something that would get us killed the first time we did it. In the same way that hanging out the side of a helicopter with a 35 pound camera on my shoulder is much less risky for me, since I know what I'm doing, than it would have been for Irwin, who would not have known what he was doing.

That I can agree with fully, although this was still a freak accident. Rays generally do not pose a threat to people. I'd have always guessed a croc or a snake would've gotten him.

looking at the previous post with all the statistics of it all....it makes me even sadder. almost like it was meant to be.

I'm in utter shock... I loved his shows and they will be truly missed. I heard the Australian gov't is planning a huge public funeral for him if his family wishes to. I could hardly meet a person who said that they didn't like him, seriously... though a little annoying at times... he was good at what he did, and it took a 'freak' accident to bring him down.

I just found out he pulled the barb out of his own heart. Holy shit.

PS- stingray venom causes extreme pain and swelling, it would not "numb" the area as some have guessed while attempting to back up that douchebag manager's claim of Steve feeling no pain.

I feel bad for his family, but at least he went out doing what he loved, and not rotting at home of old age.

Yeah. I was blown away when I heard that. And evidently he was in cardiac arrest within seconds of that.

I really think you need to lay off the manager....he's had to do several interviews with not only the police but with the WORLD since this happened. The man is so distraught its not funny....have you bothered to watch any of the interviews where he said he wanted to THINK Steve felt no pain, or are you just going by the first one that came out on right after the accident?

Do you think its POSSIBLE, that you might ever be so distraught that you MIGHT put your words together wrong?

Try pulling one of your best friends who's dead out of the ocean and having to speed on a boat for 30 minutes to get to help and then come tell me you'd be perfect in any speech you gave for the media.

shani's right.. give the guy a break analog. people make mistakes. besides.. he's had a chance to see the video now, so lets see what becomes of the next few weeks when things settle down.

i hear that his family may refuse a state sponsored funderal because 'he was just an ordinary bloke and wouldnt want one'...

you gotta admire the Irwins.

I was wondering, would it have been better for him if he hadn't pulled the barb out of his heart? I had always thought that if one was stabbed in the heart with anything, one should leave it in, because it's more damaging to try to remove it and deal with the resulting blood loss ouside of an emergency situation.

What a crazy way to go. People swim with rays all the time, it's like getting kicked to death by a deer or something. Yeah, they're big enough and strong enough to damage/kill a person, but no one ever expects that to happen.

According to whats been reported on the aussie news site (gave up on CNN, dont know if its there or not) two men (a marine and a venom specialist) say

but an actual Doctor says


whole article is here http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599...008780,00.html

Thanks a ton for the heads up. We were able to watch it last night.

So, the Irwins officially turned down a state funeral. also, the site www.ripsteve.com opened up wtih a nice forums section for anyone wishing to give gratitude/condolences.

oh thanks for that link!!! **edit** crap its not working


where did you see they officially turned it down? I dont see anything on the aussie site yet

two cartoons I found

http://messageboard.techsavy.net/upl...siecartoon.jpg

http://messageboard.techsavy.net/upl...iecartoon2.jpg

Shani I don't think that Steve had any time to analyze what was actually happening. He probably felt the jab and instantly reacted by putting his hand there and yanking out the foreign object. It's a natural instinct.

Why anybody would feel the need to assault Steve's manager's integrity with a "douchebag" label is utterly beyond me. That doesn't seem like a natural instinct.

oh I know lol I was answering the question Sultana asked

Also to dlishsguy and eribrav:

If someone close to me had died, I would not be talking to the media. I would be mourning. He chose to speak to the media.

You're telling me I should care about the choice of words of a man whose priorities are 1. media, then 2. grieving?

Anyone with the media, until I was done and I decided it was time to talk, would be invited to fuck off and leave me alone.

People need to grieve, and the press needs to take a back seat to that. Poor Steve was still warm when this guy stepped in front of cameras.

Let me be plain: NO ONE (outside of necessary law enforcement, which wasn't an issue, and the family) has any "right" to your side of the story, your retelling of the events, or any info at all on what happened from your point of view or personally known by you. The press can wait until you're able to say what happened, after mourning. I don't care if that means the whole world goes two days just knowing he died without details.

I'm supposed to care about a guy whose response to the death of a person he calls a friend is to do interviews and press conferences and schedule guest appearances on TV shows? Fuck him. That's not a friend. Friends mourn first. Those are fucked up priorities.

Respect for the dead means letting those people who need to, grieve. We are so hung up on instant news of everything and have some odd thought in our minds that we have a right to get every last detail the very second it happens, that no one even cares that he chose press over grieving. He should have waited. Who's going to argue that?

It's easy for any of us to look at it and deconstruct and parse every statement and situation. We all want to be able to pick apart what we think someone else should have done without ever just accepting the fact that sometimes people make mistakes and have to live with the burden.

From the single interview I have seen he apologized for his lack of ability to recall exactly what he said, what words he chose etc. The guy was his manager and his friend he had two responsibilities, one to his friend and one to the media.

**** edit because this is one of those times I really cant say what I want to say because I refuse to sugar coat my opinion of what has been recently posted

YOu know, it's a sad thing, but I can't help but find it just a touch funny that after watching him take on just about every deadly criter out there, he get's taken out by a freakin fish. I'm not really what you would call a fan, but I had a lot of respect for the guy. My heart goes out to his friends and family. RIP Steve.

Steve Irwin was a public figure, as his manager, it's his responsibility to talk w/ the media. That comes w/ the job. I'd imagine if nobody was talking to the press, we'd all be saying that there must be some conspiracy....oh wait we already are, aren't we.

No...*some* people are trying to say you cant wear two hats at once and be a person's PR man and friend at the same time because a friend wouldnt really give a shit that the public would want information about such a world renown person. I guess next thing you know somebody will be criticizing Terri for making a statment to the zoo employees the day after Steves death....guess she couldnt really care for him too much if she could take the time to talk at them huh?

I'm sorry, Analog, that's not going to cut it. He's the manager of a celebrity who died a high profile death. It's unreasonable to think the guy could make it out of this without talking to the media. This is a big story; it's a tragic story. People want to hear about it. You might disagree with how the system (i.e. mass media) works, but the pressure put on him to make these appearances is as undeniable as it is immense.

I very much doubt his first priority in some global sense is to make media appearances. I'm sure he'd much rather be with friends and family mourning the tragic passing of a friend. The structure of our society doesn't support that choice and you're being intentionally obtuse and insensitive to say that he's realistically in a position to do otherwise. YOU might not care about the pressures of the media world and might wish they didn't exist, but that does not make them somehow disappear for someone who has spent his entire life and career immersed in them.

i hate to say it (well not completely) but he had that coming. he did a lot of crazy (yet cool) stuff, & it was only a matter of time for one of those animals took a bite out of him.

still, i never really thought it would happen . . .

If his manager, who was also his friend, didn't perform his JOB by handling the media, the unhappy task would fall upon the Widow, or someone else who shouldn't have to deal with the media at that time. He was helping to take care of the widow and the kids, which is exactly what Steve would have wanted and expected.

Stuff like this happens every day.

I'm just hoping the video never gets out to the public for the families sake.

He has a huge body of work there is no need to show his death to gawkers. Hell his kid will never know him, he doesn't have to have someone showing him a youtube of his fathers death a when hes a kid.

Also, everyone deals with death in different ways. It helps some people to talk about it and at the same time he had to feel an obligation to the millions of fans to say something. Give the guy a break, he lost a friend.

Agreed. People have a sick sensation with gore and death.

I found a great quote from his wikipedia entry:

Your sarcasm is delicious.

He built that zoo up. I doubt anyone would argue that the people working at the zoo would be anything less than good friends of his, if not "damn near family". Those people would definitely fall under the umbrella of any person's definition of "people close to him".

So, no, no one would criticize her for that- I don't even understand how you could possibly equate the manager talking with the media at large, with his wife privately addressing the people Steve worked with at the zoo, who would be close to him.

I love sarcasm, but I find that sarcasm is best, in conversation, when you have a valid point (or any point, really) to make.

I guess not everyone would agree with that. /sarcasm


I didn't say don't talk to them at all, ever. I said they can wait until he's ready- and since you're all blaming his lack of word control on his grieving, then I'm saying he should have grieved enough that he's able to make statements. He could have taken one extra day. Sidenote: I don't give a flying monkey's ass what people want to hear about. People can wait.

We don't owe anything to the media. His job, if he's a friend, is to his friend and the family- and last I checked, Irwin is dead and no longer in need of a publicity manager. From here on out, he would manage his intellectual property interests, if anything. Right now, Irwin's interests are his family and friends that need to cope. This guy could have waited (a few more hours? a day?) until he felt ready to talk to the media. For a guy who supposedly spends his life immersed in the media, he made a poor choice to speak extemporaneously while under such severe circumstances. There's no reason he couldn't have waited a few more hours, or until the next day.

wholeheartedly agree.

While I agree with the sentiment, are we sure that's what Steve would have wanted? I mean, think about it... he was an entertainer. His whole joy was in entertaining. He didn't quietly weave baskets in a cave somewhere away from people- he was right out in front of crowds, large crowds, putting his safety on the line to give people a show. I'm honestly curious what his intentions would be with regard to this... and I wonder if it was written in his will.

I wonder if the last word he breathed was "Crikey!"

But humour aside, it's terrible that's he's gone, my heart goes out to his family.

i was reading somewhere that he said he wanted to go out being eaten by a crocodile saying, "CRIKEY" as his last words...

it makes me smile.

Then again, i also read where his crew thought the ocean would be where he'd buy it. Makes sense as he was obviously capable on land, but you can't really move faster than most marine animals.

This has no resemblance to what happened to Irwin, so I don't see this as a valid comparison.

:confused:

You should probably avoid family funerals, then, even though 80-year-old Aunt Edna is having has trouble blocking a left hook because of that arthritis in her shoulder. (To remove any doubts about how this should be interpreted: I don't think much of your statement, or philosophy, or whatever you want to call it.)

:confused: :confused: :confused:

What I SAID was The point being that even though his manager may have thought Irwin was dead, he didn't try to play doctor, decide Irwin was dead, and cease resuscitation attempts. I used to teach CPR, and we drilled into the students that CPR is continued until a) Professional medical help is present, b) the patient revives, or c) you are forced to quit, due to exhaustion.

Your quote above certainly appears to contradict these principles.

Marv: To the CPR point... I was referring to the doctor, not the manager. The article said the doctor tried reviving him until the helicopter came. That's what I was referring to. I wasn't talking about the manager at all in that regard.

To the funeral point: There's a huge difference between blind sympathy (some relative or whomever making something up to comfort you), and outright lying from someone "official". He put himself in an official capacity to speak on the events that occurred, and issued a public statement that I felt was very irresponsible, because it was such a blatant mistruth. This is hardly the same thing as someone coming up and offering sincere condolences that happen to be a bit more optimistic than reality would allow.

I don't know why this is such a big deal. All I said was he was being very irresponsible in lying like that. As manager, and in front of press in that professional capacity, he issued a statement that contained an obvious falsehood. It's irresponsible. And I called him a douchebag for it- which, honestly, I almost never use that word because I find it tasteless, but I found him to be tasteless so it worked out.

It's clear that no one can explain to you, in a way you can comprehend, why it's inconceivably obnoxious to call Steve's close friend a "douche bag" for giving a statement to the press that may or may not have had an element of the unknowable in it. I won't go further and assign blame for whose failing that is.

some more info to shed light on the story..maybe this might quell this little fued..at least for a little while.

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,20378335-2,00.html


Safety suit didn't fit Irwin image

By Hedley Thomas and Michael McKenna
September 09, 2006 12:00am


ON the afternoon before his final adventure, Steve Irwin sat on the aft deck of Deepstar, an aluminium catamaran moored at Batt Reef off Port Douglas, and looked wide-eyed at his host Pete West's newest purchase.

It was a modern-day suit of armour. A head-to-toe stainless steel mesh outfit, complete with full-face helmet.
The creation of a San Diego-based company specialising in marine equipment, it had been custom-made to protect its wearer from all but the most determined sea creatures.

Even tiger sharks - known to devour stingrays, serrated barb and all - would have found the sections of steel unappealing.

The wildlife guru's childlike enthusiasm - his best friend and manager, John Stainton, reckoned he had never grown up - was at once obvious.

Irwin did not hold back. He picked up the heavy and unusual-looking thing. Turning it over and feeling its smooth texture, he began asking questions.

"Crikey. How heavy is it, mate?" Irwin, 44, asked West, an expert diver-cinematographer and the owner of Deepstar. "It's 12 kilograms, Steve."

To meet Irwin was to immediately like him. His energy, over-the-top antics and interest in all he talked to were unique and completely genuine, and West was won over.

West, who had spent most of his life either in or on top of the water since working as a teenager at Marineland at Manly in Sydney, explained the suit's features. While the expensive high-definition cameras were heavy on land but virtually weightless in the water because of the buoyancy of the housing, the suit would still be a burden.

But with additional air in a buoyancy vest, West had no qualms. Its design permitted a good range of movement. It had cost him and his business, National Underwater and Marine Agency, about $7000 - a drop in the ocean if it could save a life. It was brand new, shipped from the US a few weeks earlier. At 49 and a new father for the first time, West started to explain to Irwin why he had taken an extra precaution that few underwater cinematographers had contemplated. He had taken risks on dives throughout the world - primarily on deep-sea oil rigs and for the military - before arriving at Port Douglas 15 years ago and falling back into cinematography. There had been close shaves, but now it was about doing all he could to ensure he would be around to watch his 10-month-old daughter, Taylor, grow up.

West had respected Irwin and admired his work from afar for years. Their meeting over soft drinks and snacks on the Father's Day Sunday afternoon, as Deepstar lay at anchor over the coral bommies teeming with turtles, rays and sharks, was their first.

The suit was unorthodox. West figured that some of his tough-as-teak mates, who wore just rubber and scuba tanks during close encounters with man-eaters, might have gently ribbed him.

To the man known to millions of people as the Crocodile Hunter, a seemingly fearless naturalist who wrestled reptiles and dangled venomous snakes around his neck while wearing khaki, the stainless steel mesh might have seemed a bit over the top.

Irwin's fans expected him to flirt with danger. Risk, whether real or perceived, was the most compelling part of the show and Irwin played it perfectly. He was not into mockery or gratuitous put-downs, but the lifesaving suit would never work for Irwin, despite his fears that one day, and probably in the sea where he was most vulnerable, an animal would get the better of him.

Irwin had just begun working with West and his crew on a documentary series, Ocean's Deadliest. There was mutual respect. But the banter on board was tinged with disappointment. Exchanging anecdotes about the triumphs of their children, the men would have preferred to have been at home on Father's Day.

They were on the water because deadlines had to be met. After shooting sequences in the waters at Agincourt, about 40 nautical miles northeast of Port Douglas, Irwin's vessel, Croc One, had motored south to Batt Reef. The bull rays were abundant because the shallows had plentiful food and there were fewer foreign threats - the big-hulled tourist vessels, transporting hundreds of day-trippers kitted for snorkelling, were too large to come close to the reef and the sea life.

On board Croc One were some of Irwin's closest friends and colleagues, people whose trust had been proved time and again.

The vessel's skipper, Chris Reed, dared not bring her in too close to the reef; the jagged coral deserved respect.

Apart from John Stainton, the film producer who had discovered Irwin and managed and marketed him to the world, there was Jamie Seymour, a marine biologist with a legendary passion for sea animals, and highly regarded cameramen Justin Lyons and Philippe Cousteau, the grandson of famous French ocean explorer Jacques. The crew members on Croc One and Deepstar were experienced at sea and trained in first aid.

Irwin's time in north Queensland in the days and weeks before he arrived at Batt Reef was typically adrenaline-charged: he had rolled in the mud with crocodiles in Lakefield National Park at Cape York and brushed over lethal stonefish at the reef of Agincourt.

In Port Douglas, Irwin was the natural attraction when he stepped from Croc One on to the marina - photographed and cheered by tourists from around Australia and abroad.

But the weather last weekend was lousy, dark and foreboding. The usual millpond-like conditions at Batt Reef had turned, with strong southeasterly winds creating a chop on the water and stirring up the sand in the shallows. For the high-definition cameras, visibility was soupy.

Irwin, already frustrated for a couple of days before the weekend at his inability to capture on film excitement in the water, was settling for alternatives - deadly cone shells and sea snakes - when someone mentioned Batt Reef's schools of rays. The rays are usually gentle, but their barbs can be dangerous, and footage of a large bull ray gracefully turning around the coral was better than nothing.

On Monday morning, Irwin was bursting with energy and a determination to make up for the disappointment of the previous days. Because of its deeper draft, Croc One was moored about 1km north of Deepstar.

Two of West's diving crew were in the water, checking anchors and preparing for the afternoon shoot, while he and marine biologist friend Teresa Carrette stayed on board. They could see the white inflatable dinghy from Croc One about 500m away; the tide was turning as Irwin, snorkelling in his khakis, shadowed a medium-large ray while Lyons filmed.

Suddenly the dinghy was racing towards Deepstar at full speed, and instinctively West knew something was amiss. The inflatable bumped into the starboard quarter and Lyons yelled: "Steve's been hit by a stingray!".

The predicament was dire. Irwin, lying in the inflatable, was not moving. There was an obvious wound to his chest and at first glance it looked dangerously close to his heart. He had a reputation as the guru of high drama and edge-of-your-seat TV, but this take was not part of the script.

The underwater camera lay on the floor of the dinghy. Lyons, who filmed the strike but did not realise exactly what had happened until he saw blood in the water, appeared gravely worried.

On Croc One, most of the crew remained oblivious to the crisis. West, who had been a medic on oil rigs, summed it up quickly. If it had been a gash to the foot or some such injury, Irwin would have been pulled on board and given professional first aid but the volume of blood around his chest looked serious. He told Lyons to speed to Croc One and Seymour.

As the inflatable sped off, the first radio call went out. The Port Douglas Coast Guard did not respond on the emergency VHF channel 16, so West called for the next nearest. "Coast Guard Cairns. Coast Guard Cairns. This is Deepstar. We are in need of immediate medical assistance."

In the conversation with the radio operator in Cairns, no names were used at first. But on Croc One, the skipper, Reed, heard the plea for help. The inflatable was seconds away from Irwin's 20m vessel and the crew readied for action.

After Cairns Coast Guard switched to channel 73, so the situation could be discussed without interruption from others on the water who had heard the first distress call, Seymour, who had been monitoring the conversation and had assessed Irwin's critical condition, came on the radio. He upgraded the alert and asked for an emergency evacuation.

Stainton would later reveal he believed Irwin was already dead, but nobody was prepared to give up hope. There was a frantic but well-organised drill as the crew took it in turns to try revive him. Although Croc One was in deeper water at Batt Reef, it still had to proceed with caution around the coral until the throttles could be pushed fully forward. But the next radio call was grave. Seymour wanted to know if West had a defibrillator on board. Negative. He had plenty of oxygen, but nothing to restart a heart. The question had said it all.

All the way into Low Isles -- the closest shelter and heliport between Batt Reef and Port Douglas -- the crew on Croc One kept trying. They had abandoned the inflatable and another dinghy, the Black Pearl, both of which West recovered. "How is Steve doing?" West asked after receiving a call from Lyons to ask if the camera had been retrieved.

"He's in the hands of professionals," Lyons replied.

Having been asked to secure the camera and ensure its tape had not malfunctioned, West hit the playback button and he and Teresa Carrette watched the last few seconds on the small view-finder. As Stainton disclosed later, the footage was graphic and shocking. West watched a medium-wide shot of Irwin paddling above a 1m-wide bull ray, which suddenly whipped its tail and barb into his chest.

"When I saw the film it explained exactly what had happened," West told The Weekend Australian yesterday.

"I had feared already that Steve was dead. The facts are we lost a great Australian in a tragic accident. Like everybody else in this country, I didn't know what a treasure we had until we lost it.

"The simple things kill. And it happens too quickly."

Apparently you are unaware how tough the media can be. And they don't wait for payment owed, they just relentlessly go after that payment. There is often no escaping them and it becomes better to confront the situation, especially if that is your job, as it was in this case. And even though it is your job, there are trying times and we are all human.

some media outlets do that, yes. I'm happy to say that I've never forced or unduly pressured anyone who's lost a loved one to talk.

I've covered PLENTY of funerals (most of the recent ones all thank's to Mr. Bush's war), and when someone doesn't want to talk, they don't talk. Period. My assignment editor can go to hell if he doesn't like it.

However, I've never had a problem telling the story because others WANT to talk. It's cathartic for them to talk to me, even if there is a giant Betacam pointed at them at the time.

I'm guessing Steve's manager was in that latter category. Sometimes when something horrifically tragic happens to you, you just have to talk about it. He probably also felt a big sense of duty to all of Steve's fans. So he talked. Should he have said Steve felt no pain? Maybe, maybe not. I've never lost a close friend after trying and failing to keep them alive for 30 minutes as we raced to shore. But I have a very close friend who I've known and worked with for over a decade and, if she were to die on me like that, I can't imagine I'd be thinking very straight for quite some time.

I certainly think calling the guy a douchebag and being that hard on him is way, WAY out of line. Perhaps you have sufficient control over your emotions that you can lock them away when you're simultaneously talking to the media and trying to make sense of what for you is an unbelievable personal tragedy. Many do not have that control. I would venture to say most of those that lack it, wouldn't want it. Part of what makes us human is the ability to feel emotions and to sometimes have those emotions eclipse our colder, more intellectual side.

Well to be honest at times his whole "crikey attitude" bugged me but he was a good bloke with good intentions and died doing what he loved. Rest in peace Steve.

I liked him.I belive he did care for the animals and sent out a good message thru his work. I also believe he knew what he was doing with animals and did not take uneccesary risks...he knew what he was doing.

This has been an interesting thread to read to say the least.

While I don't know the first thing about how Austraila deals with animal conservation or how Aussies felt about Steve and his approach to getting his message across, I do find some of the comments made about him interesting.

If this were a PETA member, in some peoples eyes the person would be considered a hero even with PETAs reputation for being a shady organization...

Then there is the simple issue that most people don't get how important animal conservation really is. If a species that the media has hyped out as being evil, people will go out of their way to kill it. Sharks are a perfect example.

Sharks over the past 10-15+ years have been presented as beasts that have no other agenda than to chew on humans. The media fails to talk about all the food processing plants that dump 100's of pounds of scraps into ocean waters that brings the "man eating" beasts close to shores. Since Steve died due to taking sting ray barb to the heart, I'm just waiting for media to label sting rays in the same way.

I could take is a step further and mention how people cannot wrap their brains around how to properly take care of their pets, nevermind mind the lessons that need to be known of how to deal with a nest of rattlesnakes that may be hidden under a persons front porch and stumbled upon by accident.

I didn't know Steve personally, so I'm not going to speculate on what his intentions were or why he used such extreme methods to make his point that all animals of all kinds need to be protected, but unlike some people, I give the man alot of credit. Police officers, fire fighters, EMT's, ect...put their necks on the line every day. You never hear people stating that they deserved to die because of their occupation choice, but since Steve was all about animals, somehow it's different and it is in more ways to count, but he seemed to understand that people wouldn't listen if he just simply talked about what he was doing. I'm a big Jack Hanna fan, but people tend not to take him seriously ( even though they should) because he doesn't wrestle with 400 pound gaters or taunt cobras to the point where he/she reveals his/her impressive hood.

So was Steve so far off base? I don't think so. Will I continue to learn animal trivia from Jack Hanna? Of course.

Education goes alot further than having somebody write a cover page story of some newspaper that is filled with bogus facts and fiction just so they can make their boss happy.

RIP Steve!