[eastbay]

This unfortunate news makes my kids and me sad.

Buy enough tickets for the death lottery and one day you will win. Well said Doly.

Better to live like he did.

[da23]

bye steve, thx for the programs

[pup55]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'N')o it's not surprising at all that he would die while frivolously screwing around with some sort of potentially lethal creature.

[eric_b]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('pup55', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'N')o it's not surprising at all that he would die while frivolously screwing around with some sort of potentially lethal creature.

[gnm]

As Steve would say...

CRIKEY!




-G

[themallard]

Apparently he swam over it, it it got startled. I wish people wooudlnt think of him as careless. I mean when you've got millions of people watching your every move, that a lot of pressure to put on your shoulders. He was one of the best animal handlers in the world, hes not careless. Everyone goes at him for bringing his kid in on a crocodile feeding, if anyone can do that he could. You don't know what happened exactly, only the camera crew knows for sure. The tape has been turned over the the police, and probably the coroner to determine the exact cause of death. He was a great man, a conservationist, a great father, and husband. He will be missed. He deserves the State Funeral his family has been offered.

[smallpoxgirl]

It seems to me that it really doesn't matter how good of an animal handler you are, wrestling crocodiles, picking up poisonous snakes, jumping on ferrel camels from a speeding truck....these are just not smart things to do. It's the whole Timothy Treadwell syndrome. I don't understand this concept that in order to really appreciate nature you've got to pick up some lethal animal and hug it. Why can't we appreciate nature without needing to manhandle it? Maybe the theory is to try and demystify nature because of Westerners seeming need to anihilate anything that poses any threat to them. Reality is those things are very dangerous AND they have an important place in the world.

[azreal60]

See, I disagree smallpox. I find it ironic simply because the guy spent his whole life tangling with dangerous animals, and then an animal that caused, what, 3 deaths this year, kills him? I bet housecats caused more than 3 deaths this year. I admit he made handling nature into entertainment, but just because he trivilized it a little doesn't mean he didn't bring it to millions more people than it otherwise would have.

He died in a tragic accident. But he died doing what he loved to do, which was bring man closer to appreciating nature. If more people appreciated nature, we wouldn't be in the situation we are in. More power to the man, and my condolences to his family.

[smallpoxgirl]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('azreal60', 'S')ee, I disagree smallpox. I find it ironic simply because the guy spent his whole life tangling with dangerous animals, and then an animal that caused, what, 3 deaths this year, kills him?

[azreal60]

I know, but he wasn't killed by a croc. He was killed by a stingray doing something that anyone could have died over. You or I could have scubaed over this little guy, startled it, and gotten killed. No amount of skill in animal handling can prevent that.

I just found it ironic that he Wasn't killed by a croc.

[smallpoxgirl]

There's an article on Time.com here: Link

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')his morning, at 11am Australian time, things finally came unglued for the 44-year-old as he was shooting a documentary segment on stingrays. Snorkeling on Batt Reef , a stretch of the Great Barrier Reef about 15km from Port Douglas in North Queensland, Irwin happened to swim over a large ray which, startled, whipped its barbed tail upwards into his chest. He died instantly. Veteran marine wildlife documentary maker Ben Cropp, who has spent hundreds of hours filming on Batt Reef, says Irwin had come too close to a bull ray. Citing a colleague who saw footage of the attack, Cropp says Irwin had accidently boxed the animal in, causing it to attack. "It stopped and twisted and threw up its tail with the spike, and it caught him in the chest," says Cropp. "It's a defensive thing. It's like being stabbed with a dirty dagger." Says Cropp: "It's a one-in-a-million thing. I have swum with many rays, and I have only had one do that to me."

...

Some in the animal conservation world felt it was perhaps inevitable that this larger-than-life figure would someday take one too many risks. "He had a long history of doing this kind of thing with dangerous animals; some people do these things and get away with it, and other times your number comes up," says Professor Grahame Webb, a crocodile expert who operates a crocodile park in Darwin. "He had huge experience with crocodiles and snakes and reptiles, but stingrays are quite different."

[Battle_Scarred_Galactico]

I'm sure Steve knew the dangers, he said that. I always enjoyed watching him, good on you Steve.

[Omnitir]

Irwin was an educator, campaigner and conservationist who taught many Australians to love their flora and fauna. His contributions towards the conservation of wildlife would be the greatest in Australia, if not the world. He died not only doing what he loved, but doing what he believed in.

The world has lost one of its greatest conservationists, and he will be missed. His work will continue to impact our world for many years to come, through the inspiration he has generated, and the campaigns and programs he has created.

[ucosty]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('smallpoxgirl', '
')So rays kill 6 times as many Australians every year as crocodiles, and he was trying to get all cheeky with them for a TV segment. Not bright, IMHO.

[BurnCalories]

I wonder how long it will be until a copy of the death video shows up on the net.

[PrairieMule]

Very sad.

Most days the bull fighter wins but some days the bull gets lucky.

Godspeed Steve.

[smallpoxgirl]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('ucosty', 'U')ntrue. It _was_ three deaths (in Australia) recorded at all, not per year.

[Omnitir]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Omnitir', ' ')He died not only doing what he loved, but doing what he believed in.

[PraireRanger]

Meh, everyone dies...

[Omnitir]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('PraireRanger', 'M')eh, everyone dies...