September | 2006 | skatiedoodles's Xanga Site

<a href="http://www.myspace.com/sarie005" target="_blank"><img
src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v472/skatiedoodles/SteveIrwin.png"
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href="http://www.myspace.com/sarie005" target="_blank"><img
src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v472/skatiedoodles/Crikey.png"
border="0"> CAIRNS, Australia (AP) --
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. ------ On the
Net: http://www.crocodilehunter.com

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Month: September 2006

Crikey mate, Steve Irwin [famous Crocodile Hunter] is dead!!

skatiedoodles