CAIRNS, Australia - 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 barb 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!'"
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.
Wild animal
expert Jack Hanna, who frequently appears on TV with his
subjects, offered praise for Irwin.
"Steve was one of
these guys, we thought of him as invincible," Hanna,
director emeritus of the Columbus (Ohio) Zoo and Aquarium,
told ABC's "Good Morning America" Monday.
"The guy was
incredible. His knowledge was incredible," Hanna said.
"Some people that are doing this stuff are actors and that
type of thing, but Steve was truly a zoologist, so to
speak, a person who knew what he was doing. Yes, he did
things a lot of people wouldn't do. I think he knew what
he was doing."
Irwin's
ebullience was infectious and Australian officials sought
him out for photo opportunities and to promote Australia
internationally.
His 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.
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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On the Net:
http://www.crocodilehunter.com
