Sorry if someone posted this already btw ....




THE AGE (Melbourne, Australia) 04 September 06 Daredevil Irwin dies doing what
he loved
Wildlife warrior Steve Irwin was a daredevil who loved flirting with danger
around deadly animals.
But after years of close shaves it was a normally harmless stingray which
finally claimed his life on Monday, plunging a barb into the Crocodile Hunter's
chest as he snorkelled in shallow water on the Great Barrier Reef.
The 44-year-old TV personality may have died instantly when struck by the
stingray while filming a sequence for his eight-year-old daughter Bindi's new TV
series, friends believe.
"You think about all the documentaries we've made and all the dangerous
situations that we have been in, you always think `is this it, is this a day
that maybe his demise?'," said his friend and manager John Stainton.
"(But) nothing would ever scare Steve or would worry him. He didn't have a fear
of death at all."
Mr Irwin made his international reputation wrestling crocodiles and snakes.
But the flamboyant naturalist's final confrontation with a wild animal occurred
at Batt Reef off Port Douglas on Monday morning, where he had been filming a new
documentary, "Ocean's Deadliest".
Taking time off from the main project, Mr Irwin was swimming in shallow water,
snorkelling as his cameraman filmed large bull rays.
"He came over the top of a stingray and the stingray's barb went up and went
into his chest and put a hole into his heart," said Mr Irwin's friend and
manager John Stainton.
"It's likely that he possibly died instantly when the barb hit him, and I don't
think that he ... felt any pain.
"He died doing what he loved best."
Mr Irwin's death was only the third known stingray death in Australian waters,
said shark and stingray expert Victoria Brims.
Wildlife experts said the normally passive creatures only sting in defence,
striking with a bayonet-like barb when they feel threatened.
Marine documentary maker Ben Cropp, who spoke to one of Mr Irwin's crew, said:
"Steve got probably maybe a bit too close to the ray, and with the cameraman in
front, the ray must have felt sort of cornered.
"It went into a defensive mode, stopped, turned around and lashed out with its
tail, which has a considerable spike on it.
"Unfortunately Steve was directly in its path and he took a fatal wound."
Unconscious, Mr Irwin was pulled aboard his research vessel, Croc One, for a
30-minute dash to Low Isle, where an emergency helicopter had been summoned at
about 11am, his Australia Zoo said in a statement.
The crew of the Croc One performed constant CPR during the voyage to Low Isle,
but medical staff pronounced Mr Irwin dead about noon.
Mr Irwin's body was flown to a morgue in Cairns, where stunned family and
friends were gathering on Monday night.
His American-born wife Terri was told of her husband's death while on a walking
tour in Tasmania, and returned to the Sunshine Coast with her two children,
Bindi and three-year-old son Bob.
The death of the larger than life Mr Irwin, best known for his catchcry
"Crikey!", caused shockwaves around the world, leading TV bulletins in the
United States and Britain.
He was one of Australia's best known personalities internationally and an
ambassador for the nation and its wildlife.
Mr Irwin was also a global phenomenon, making almost 50 documentaries which
appeared on the cable TV channel Animal Planet, and which generated books,
interactive games and even toy action figures.
Prime Minister John Howard said: "I am quite shocked and distressed at Steve
Irwin's sudden, untimely and freakish death. It's a huge loss to Australia.
"He was a wonderful character. He was a passionate environmentalist. He brought
joy and entertainment and excitement to millions of people."
Mourners laid flowers at the entrance of Mr Irwin's Australia Zoo, on
Queensland's Sunshine Coast.
Mr Stainton said bad weather had stopped the filming for their documentary about
some of the world's deadliest sea creatures.
Mr Irwin instead decided on a whim to shoot footage for his daughter Bindi's
upcoming series.
"He said 'I might just go off and shoot some segments for Bindi's show, just
stuff on the reef and little animals," Mr Stainton said.
"I just said fine, anything that would keep him moving and keep his adrenalin
going.
"The next thing I heard on the radio was there was a medical emergency, the
little dinghy he was in was bringing him back with the crew.
"Everyone tried absolutely tirelessly to revive him to keep him alive, we cut
dinghies loose and made it post haste to Low Isle where we knew the chopper
would be able to get in, but I think it's possible he probably died at 11am."
Diver Pete West was on a nearby boat and believed Mr Irwin may have been alive
when pulled from the water.
"He was doing what he did best and unfortunately today he wasn't quick enough,"
he told the Seven Network.
University of Melbourne expert Bryan Fry said stingrays only sting in defence.
"They're not aggressive animals so the animal must have felt threatened. It
didn't sting out of aggression, it stung out of fear," said Dr Fry, deputy
director of the Australian Venom Research.
He said the stingray would have been up to 2.5 metres across, with a
"formidable" jagged barb up to 20cm long, capable of tearing flesh.
"It's not the going in, it's the coming out," Dr Fry said of the serrated barb.
But the stingray's venom would not have been a factor.
Mr Irwin was comfortable around animals, no matter how dangerous, and some
wildlife experts warned he took too many risks.
His enthusiasm and daring made him famous.
The Melbourne-born father of two's Crocodile Hunter program was first broadcast
in 1992 and has been shown around the world on cable network Discovery.
He also starred in movies and helped develop the Australia Zoo wildlife park,
north of Brisbane, which was started by his parents Bob and Lyn Irwin.
He grew up near crocodiles, trapping and removing them from populated areas and
releasing them in his parents' park, which he took over in 1991.
Bob was involved in a controversial incident in January 2004, when his father
held his infant son in one arm as he fed a dead chicken to a crocodile at
Australia Zoo.
Child welfare and animal rights groups criticised his actions as irresponsible
and tantamount to child abuse.
Mr Irwin said any danger to his son was only a perceived danger and that he was
in complete control of the situation.
In June 2004, Mr Irwin came under fire again when it was alleged he came too
close to and disturbed some whales, seals and penguins while filming a
documentary in Antarctica.
Mr Irwin was also a tourism ambassador and was heavily involved in last year's
"G'Day LA" tourism campaign.
Queensland Premier Peter Beattie said Mr Irwin was an "extraordinary man".
"He has made an enormous difference to his state and his country," he said.


http://www.theage.com.au/news/National/Daredevil-Irwin-dies-doing-what-he-loved/2006/09/04/1157222051588.html



Allen Salzberg
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