awww crikey.....

[bell]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060904/ap_en_tv/obit_irwin

Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin killed

i always enjoyed his crazy wierd antics.....rip steve



copied from ap

BRISBANE, Australia - Steve Irwin, the Australian television personality and environmentalist known as the "Crocodile Hunter," was killed Monday by a stingray during a diving expedition, Australian media said. He was 44.
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Irwin was filming an underwater documentary on the Great Barrier Reef in northeastern Queensland state when the accident occurred, Sydney's The Daily Telegraph newspaper reported on its Web site.

The Australian Broadcasting Corp. said Irwin was diving near Low Isles near the resort town of Port Douglas, about 1,260 miles north of Brisbane.

A helicopter carrying paramedics flew to the island, but he died from a stingray barb to the heart, ABC reported on its Web site.

Telephone calls to Australia Zoo, Irwin's zoo in southern Queensland, were not immediately answered.

Irwin is famous for his enthusiasm for wildlife and his catchcry "Crikey!" in his television program "Crocodile Hunter," which was first broadcast in Australia in 1992 and has aired around the world on the Discovery channel.

He rode his image into a feature film, and developed the Australia Zoo as a tourist attraction.

Irwin had received some negative publicity in recent years. In January 2004, he stunned onlookers at his Australia Zoo reptile park by carrying his 1-year-old son into a crocodile pen during a wildlife show. He tucked the infant under one arm while tossing the 13-foot reptile a piece of meat with the other.

Authorities declined to charge Irwin for 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 Environment Department investigation recommended no action be taken against him.

[450knotOffice]

Yea, I just posted about it in another thread. Tragic. I feel sick for his wife, who has yet to be told because she's hiking in Tasmania. I would not want to be the person who has to give her the news. They seemed like best friends.

Really sad.

[pwd72s]

What's wrong here? You'd think the news could have been witheld until the wife was told...

[lisa_spyder]

I agree Paul,

But the newsbreak here has just informed us that Terri (wife) has now been told .

Not sure what happened here...if I were in her shoes I would have wanted to know first.

A real shame...our household won't be a happy one tonight as the kids all adore the Irwins.

[Fishcop]

Details in here

http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,20349534-952,00.html

[rouxroux]

A very sad and tragic loss, indeed. He made all of his shows so captivating. Quick wit, a true love of family and nature. RIP Croc Hunter.

[CJFusco]

A STINGRAY?!? This guy gets in the face of spitting cobras, wrestles alligators, picks up scorpions, lets deadly spiders crawl on his arm... and he gets killed by a STINGRAY?!?

[azasadny]

Steve Irwin, natural selection at work

[Moneyguy1]

Stingray defense is to raise the barb vertically. If the stingray is on the bottom, hidden, and the victim is moving downward, the barb has nowhere to go but in the victim since the stingray cannot move downward.

[Usmellgass2?]

Originally posted by CJFusco
A STINGRAY?!? This guy gets in the face of spitting cobras, wrestles alligators, picks up scorpions, lets deadly spiders crawl on his arm... and he gets killed by a STINGRAY?!?

I know... I thought the same thing. I always enjoyed his wit and showmanship. RIP Steve.