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Sharki1 |
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Post subject: Steve Irwin got killed by a stingray
 Posted: Sep 04, 2006 - 05:36 PM
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Goby
Joined: Dec 31, 1969
Posts: 38
Status: Offline
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Cairns, Australia (Sep 4, 2006 09:16 EST) Steve Irwin, the hugely popular Australian television personality and conservationist known as the “Crocodile Hunter,” was killed Monday by a stingray while filming off the Great Barrier Reef. He was 44.
Irwin was at Batt Reef, off the remote coast of northeastern Queensland state, shooting a segment for a series called “Ocean’s Deadliest” when he swam too close to one of the animals, which have a poisonous bard on their tails, his friend and colleague John Stainton said.
“He came on top of the stingray and the stingray’s barb went up and into his chest and put a hole into his heart,” said Stainton, who was on board Irwin’s boat at the time.
Crew members aboard the boat, Croc One, called emergency services in the nearest city, Cairns, and administered CPR as they rushed the boat to nearby Low Isle to meet a rescue helicopter. Medical staff pronounced Irwin dead when they arrived a short time later, Stainton said.
Irwin was famous for his enthusiasm for wildlife and his catchword “Crikey!” in his television program “Crocodile Hunter.” First broadcast in Australia in 1992, the program was picked up by the Discovery network, catapulting Irwin to international celebrity.
He rode his image into a feature film, 2002’s “The Crocodile Hunters: Collision Course” and developed the wildlife park that his parents opened, Australia Zoo, into a major tourist attraction.
“The world has lost a great wildlife icon, a passionate conservationist and one of the proudest dads on the planet,” Stainton told reporters in Cairns. “He died doing what he loved best and left this world in a happy and peaceful state of mind. He would have said, ’Crocs Rule!”’
'A huge loss to Australia' Prime Minister John Howard, who hand-picked Irwin to attend a gala barbecue to honor President Bush when he visited in 2003, said he was “shocked and distressed at Steve Irwin’s sudden, untimely and freakish death.”
“It’s a huge loss to Australia,” Howard told reporters. “He was a wonderful character. He was a passionate environmentalist. He brought joy and entertainment and excitement to millions of people.”
Irwin, who made a trademark of hovering dangerously close to untethered crocodiles and leaping on their backs, spoke in rapid-fire bursts with a thick Australian accent and was almost never seen without his uniform of khaki shorts and shirt and heavy boots.
His ebullience was infectious and Australian officials sought him out for photo opportunities and to promote Australia internationally.
Irwin’s public image was dented, however, in 2004 when he caused an uproar by holding his infant son in one arm while feeding large crocodiles inside a zoo pen. Irwin claimed 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 Environment Department investigation recommended no action be taken against him.
Stingrays have a serrated, toxin-loaded barb, or spine, on the top of their tail. The barb, which can be up to 10 inches long, flexes if a ray is frightened. Stings usually occur to people when they step on or swim too close to a ray and can be excruciatingly painful but are rarely fatal, said University of Queensland marine neuroscientist Shaun Collin.
'Extraordinarily bad luck' Collin said he suspected Irwin died because the barb pierced under his ribcage and directly into his heart.
“It was extraordinarily bad luck. It’s not easy to get spined by a stingray and to be killed by one is very rare,” Collin said.
News of Irwin’s death spread quickly, and tributes flowed from all quarters of society.
At Australia Zoo at Beerwah, south Queensland, floral tributes were dropped at the entrance, where a huge fake crocodile gapes. Drivers honked their horns as they passed.
“Steve, from all God’s creatures, thank you. Rest in peace,” was written on a card with a bouquet of native flowers.
“We’re all very shocked. I don’t know what the zoo will do without him. He’s done so much for us, the environment and it’s a big loss,” said Paula Kelly, a local resident and volunteer at the zoo, after dropping off a wreath at the gate.
Stainton said Irwin’s American-born wife Terri, from Eugene, Ore., had been informed of his death, and had told their daughter Bindi Sue, 8, and son Bob, who will turn 3 in December.
The couple met when she went on vacation in Australia in 1991 and visited Irwin’s Australia Zoo; they were married six months later. Sometimes referred to as the “Crocodile Huntress,” she costarred on her husband’s television show and in his 2002 movie. |
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Post subject:
Posted: Sep 09, 2006 - 03:05 PM
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Well all I can say is, "If you walk the line of death long enough, it will get you quicker than you think! "
A sad end ............. |
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Lsdeep |
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Post subject:
Posted: Sep 10, 2006 - 06:30 PM
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Site Admin
Joined: Feb 18, 2007
Posts: 125
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Sydney, Australia (Sep 6, 2006 09:48 EST) Feminist academic Germaine Greer said on Wednesday she hoped the death of Australian "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin would mark the end of what she called exploitative nature documentaries, a discordant note amid floods of tributes.
Irwin died in a freak diving accident off Australia's northeast coast on Monday after he was hit in the chest by the serrated barb from a stingray's tail.
Echoing comments she made this week in the Guardian, Australian-born Greer likened Irwin to a lion tamer and said he had intruded on the habitats of animals and treated them with "massive insensitivity".
"It's no surprise that he came to grief," Greer told Nine Network television.
"We now have enough respect for lions to be embarrassed if we see someone trying to crack whips at them and wave chairs at them. Jumping all over crocodiles is the same kind of thing."
Greer, an award-winning author, is a frequent critic of personalities like football star David Beckham and social trends like reality television.
In 2003 she criticised J.R.R. Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" trilogy for attracting "spaced-out hippies, environmentalists, free-market libertarians, social conservatives, pacifists, new-age theosophists, sexists and racists the world over".
Irwin's death has prompted outpourings of grief and sympathy from around the world, dominating local newspapers and clogging Internet news sites.
His "Crocodile Hunter" documentaries for U.S.-based television company Discovery Channel's Animal Planet were seen by tens of millions of viewers around the world.
He became famous for flirting with death as he wrestled crocodiles, swam with sharks and handled some of the world's deadliest snakes and spiders.
Greer said she found the Irwin phenomenon "embarrassing", although she understood the sadness at his death.
"I'm not saying that's not sad, I'm saying what might be over now is this kind of exploitation of animals," Greer said.
"I am sick and tired of programmes that tell me that the world is full of wicked, nasty, powerful, deadly creatures. Why does Australia set itself up to be made into this hellhole?" she said.
http://www.underwatertimes.com/news.php ... 0512479380 |
_________________
Idealism is what precedes experience - cynicism is what follows.
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Lsdeep |
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Post subject: Stink over Irwin stingray revenge game
Posted: Sep 12, 2006 - 12:33 AM
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Site Admin
Joined: Feb 18, 2007
Posts: 125
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by Louisa Hearn
An offbeat memorial to Steve Irwin has been offered up by an online gaming website which has created a game called Terri Irwin's Revenge.
The game, which is being circulated via email, takes the form of a simple animated pop-up box which depicts an armed Terri Irwin firing at stingrays underwater.
Using simple keyboard keys, the aim of the game is to kill as many stingrays as possible without getting hit.
However the game has not been well received from some members of the public, according to a statement posted on the MoFunZone website.
"We are getting mixed reactions from our visitors regarding this game. We should make it clear, this game is intended to be a memorial and NOT a funny parody," said its creators, Josh Tuttle, -altr- and Onic.
Like the inevitable email jokes that circulate through our inboxes following large news events, online games have become an increasingly popular forum, like the Zidane head butting incident, which also spawned its very own online game.
But while the games are generally free to play, their creators websites generally carry a range of advertisements, making them likely to benefit commercially from the rush of increased traffic to their site.
The issue of online profiteering from misfortune has emerged as a hot issue following the death of Steve Irwin with an explosion of auctions on sites such as eBay emerging since last week as people sought to cash in on the hype by offloading merchandise at a premium.
Irwin fans have also strongly criticised a number comic parodies of the "Crocodile Hunter" appearing on video sites like YouTube, many of which have called for the content to be removed, even though most were posted up before his death.
The Terri Irwin's Revenge game has so far attracted only a 5/10 rating from players.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2006/09/11/1157826859772.html |
_________________
Idealism is what precedes experience - cynicism is what follows.
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Sharki1 |
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Post subject:
Posted: Sep 12, 2006 - 07:07 AM
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Goby
Joined: Dec 31, 1969
Posts: 38
Status: Offline
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| Hmmm.... I dove with I don't know how many stingrays and they never ever were aggressive against me. This makes me ask myself what the heck he did to the stingray to attack him... |
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Hellas421 |
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Post subject:
Posted: Sep 15, 2006 - 12:10 PM
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Blenny
Joined: Dec 31, 1969
Posts: 26
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sorry about his family but: the guy had it coming. come on, how many stupid tv-kids lost all due respect for wildlife because of that monkey (no offence, my primate friends) jumping on top of crocodiles. watch them, but stay clear. there's a reason that they have to build fences around them in zoos you know. i love animals a lot more than most people, but that doesn't give me the right to touch and harass even the harmless ones! i would try to sting anyone bothering me like that as well, if i were a stingray minding my own business. defensive, provoked reaction for the win!
if there's no other way of getting people interested in nature, i mourn for "the most intelligent species on earth". lesson learned, i hope 
hellas |
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Post subject:
Posted: Sep 15, 2006 - 05:34 PM
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Hellas42 wrote:
sorry about his family but: the guy had it coming. come on, how many stupid tv-kids lost all due respect for wildlife because of that monkey (no offence, my primate friends) jumping on top of crocodiles. watch them, but stay clear. there's a reason that they have to build fences around them in zoos you know. i love animals a lot more than most people, but that doesn't give me the right to touch and harass even the harmless ones! i would try to sting anyone bothering me like that as well, if i were a stingray minding my own business. defensive, provoked reaction for the win!
if there's no other way of getting people interested in nature, i mourn for "the most intelligent species on earth". lesson learned, i hope
hellas
Aha Hellas42 !! Now I wonder where he is from? Patrida?  |
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mobydick |
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Post subject:
Posted: Sep 17, 2006 - 07:05 PM
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Guppy
Joined: Dec 31, 1969
Posts: 4
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Sharki wrote:
Hmmm.... I dove with I don't know how many stingrays and they never ever were aggressive against me. This makes me ask myself what the heck he did to the stingray to attack him...
Maybe the stingray didn't like his show!  |
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Sharki1 |
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Post subject:
Posted: Sep 17, 2006 - 07:12 PM
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Goby
Joined: Dec 31, 1969
Posts: 38
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...how sarcastic is that...  |
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Hellas421 |
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Post subject:
Posted: Sep 19, 2006 - 05:41 PM
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Blenny
Joined: Dec 31, 1969
Posts: 26
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Argo wrote:
Aha Hellas42 !! Now I wonder where he is from? Patrida?
enoite =) |
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cavegirl |
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Post subject: Executive producer of the BBC's Planet Earth series has
Posted: Nov 02, 2006 - 09:59 AM
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Blenny
Joined: Dec 31, 1969
Posts: 18
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That says it all basically.
Alastair Fothergill launched an extraordinary attack on the Crocodile Hunter, who was killed by a stingray while making a wildlife program in September.
"What Steve Irwin did for a living was as different from what we do as it's possible to get," he told the Radio Times magazine.
"Let's face it, Steve was a showman. Yes, he introduced a lot of people to natural history, but his basic stock in trade was, 'Aren't I brave, and aren't animals dangerous?' The fact is, I'm not interested in human stars. I'm only interested in animal stars."
Mr Fothergill went on: "The first thing we tell our crews is that if they're in danger, then they're not doing their job.
"The first rule of natural history film-making is that you're there to film the animals' natural behaviour - and attacking humans isn't natural behaviour.
"If they're doing that, it means you've intruded on their world and made them feel threatened."
His comments emerged the day after Irwin's widow Terri fought back tears on stage at the National Television Awards.
She presented a lifetime achievement award to Sir David Attenborough and said he had been her husband's inspiration.
"Of course, as a television wildlife presenter, Steve was larger than life, but his real, true love was conservation," Terri said.
Steve Irwin, 44, died on September 4 when a stingray barb pierced his chest as he was filming a children's documentary on the Great Barrier Reef.
The audience gave a standing ovation to Mrs Irwin, who took to the Royal Albert Hall stage in trademark khaki with "Australia Zoo" emblazoned on her shirt.
"I promised I wasn't going to cry," she said.
Sir David said Steve Irwin had introduced millions worldwide to the natural world.
"He taught them how wonderful and exciting it was," Sir David said.
"He was a born communicator." |
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