One big difference, Steve brought a lot more to humanity than Dale did.
And from what I just saw on Hannity and Colmes, getting killed by a stingray is quite rare, especially how Steve died. Though no one said it, Steve might have been highly careless with the animal to have been stung where he was.
" ... Irwin's fellow documentary maker Ben Cropp revealed that footage shows Irwin swimming alongside a large smooth stingray, also known as a bull ray, in less than two metres of water, while a cameraman from his production company swims in front to film him for a new TV wildlife series.
Without warning, the ray, usually regarded as a placid creature towards humans, stops, turns and lashes out, spearing Irwin in the chest with one of the knife-like barbs at the end of its tail - an action like a paring knife creating "a terrific tearing of flesh", said Bryan Fry, of the University of Melbourne's Australian venom research unit.
It was not known last night whether Irwin, 44, died of a heart attack, blood loss from the wound, venom from the ray or a combination of all three. It was only the third known death by stingray in Australia. ..."
>>>It was possible, some have said, that the ray felt boxed in, with the cameraman in front of him and Steve behind him, so he struck.
He was hit from below the rib cage, with an upward thrust to the heart. Irwin pulled the 8" spine out himself, then lost consciousness as they got him to the boat within 2 minutes.
They did CPR until more medical help arrived (there was a paramedic on the boat) by helicopter 10 minutes later, but by then it was too late.
That last sequence was filmed, and Irwin had said in earlier interviews he hoped it would be on film if he were ever killed by an animal he was working with - that it would show the animal's innocence, just doing what animals do.
The producers of the documentary will talk to Terri Irwin later about the videotape, which is now in the hands of the police, for the coroner's inquest.
It was bad luck. A Stingray barb will even pierce aluminum, they said today about the only thing it can't pierce is fiberglass.
Stingrays really aren't that dangerous (frick, people have them as PETS...just do a google search)...this was a freak incident in which the stinger hit his heart.
A sad one, that is for sure.
My husband, who was a professional fisherman and knows ALOT about this kind of thing says the odds are a million to one to be killed like this...just a totally freakish thing to puncture the heart. In fact, when I told hubby it was a stingray, the first thing he said was that it must have punctured his heart, because although a stingray bite would make you WISH you were dead, it won't kill you. RIP, Mr. Irwin.
Steve Irwin was "intimate" with every species he loved, and that includes all of them. It's a wonder that no croc or viper got him. He died among friends, doing what he loved. We should be so fortunate.