Posted on 09/03/2006 9:29:57 PM PDT by lunarbicep
Edited on 09/04/2006 5:53:46 AM PDT by Admin Moderator. [history]
He was killed in a freak accident in Cairns, police sources said. It is understood he was killed by a sting-ray barb that went through his chest.
He was swimming off the Low Isles at Port Douglas filming an underwater documentary and that's when it occured.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.com.au ...
Yeah I agree. There are few animal shows I like. One happens to be Animal's Funniest Videos and Dog Whisperer. I liked Steve's Aussie schtick though. He was funny.
Prayers for him.
Same here. This is totally unexpected.
A beautiful posting, with thanks and a big ditto.
How can a sting ray barb, which isn't that incredibly long, pierce someone's chest? I saw a 3" barb described as "huge." At least 1" of that would have been in the sting ray tail.
Getting caught in the gears of a combine is a good way to go.
Aw, man...that's sad. He was one of a kind. I suppose it wasn't such a bad way to go for him, but...aw, man.
He's been reported dead so many times, this seems unreal.
Sad. That Michael-Jackson-like stunt with his infant son in the croc enclosure made me wonder about his sanity, but this is very sad indeed. He truly did love his crocodiles.
Very bad news, may he RIP.
Fenner PJ, Williamson JA, Skinner RA.
Ambrose Medical Group, North Mackay, Qld.
A fatality occurred in a previously healthy 12-year-old boy after a penetrating chest injury from a stingray barb. The injury occurred under freak circumstances. Death was a result of cardiac tamponade which was secondary to venom-induced, localized myocardial necrosis and spontaneous perforation, six days after the direct penetration of the right ventricle by the barb. Three other cases of less serious stingray envenomation are described which illustrate the significant localized morbidity that may occur without immediate wound exploration and toilet after adequate anaesthesia. We also report a study of a series of 100 minor stingray envenomations which, when treated, resulted in no morbidity. It is possible that local infiltration with 1% plain lignocaine may have a direct counteraction against stingray venom that remains in the wound area. Stingray venom has insidious, but powerful, localized tissue necrosing properties in humans.
Ditto that.
I can't get it... but that's not surprising. With this report hitting the wires, there are probably hundreds of thousands hitting the site right now.
Steve Irwin was a good man who was both entertaining and genuine. I have been seeing him all day on a darn Wiggles tape and he brought my children many laughs, as he has in the past for me.
He also taught people a great many things about an environment both scary and foreign to what we experience.
May Godd Bless him and his family and may he rest in peace.
Well.. there are 3 threads about this now on FR so it must be true.
It appears that it is true, lunarbicep.
Sorry.
http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ned=us&q=%22Steve+Irwin%22&btnG=Search+News
This is the saddest news I have seen in awhile. Irwin was a true enthusiastic and compassionate man; he was very contagious with his mannerisms, knowledge, and unique way of handling animals that one could only admire. He held my admiration and respect.
From 7News:
Steve Irwin killed in stingray attack
By 7News
Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin has been killed in a stingray attack near Cairns on Australia's far north coast.
It was believed Irwin had been swimming off the coast of Cairns when he was stung.
"It is understood he was killed by a sting-ray barb that went through his chest," Brisbane's Courier Mail reported this afternoon.
Irwin was best known for his documentary series "The Crocodile Hunter".
He was born in Victoria and found his love of animals after following in his father's footsteps, volunteering his services to the Queensland Government's East Coast Crocodile Management program.
He spent years living on his own in the mosquito infested creeks, rivers and mangroves of North Queensland, catching huge crocodiles single-handed.
In June 1992, he married American Terri Raines after they met when she visited Irwin's Australia Zoo.
The 44-year-old is survived by his wife and two children, Bindi and Robert.
I remember being in the water with a entire school of stingrays off Crandon Park Beach South Florida....they we beautiful and all swimming in formataion. I never realized they were so deadly.
I'm still hoping that this is a false alarm ... What a shame, if true.
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