Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin killed by Stingray
PostPosted:Tue Sep 05, 2006 3:26 pm
Shortly after 11:00 a.m. local time (01:00 UTC) on 4 September 2006, Irwin was fatally pierced in the chest by a short-tail stingray barb whilst snorkeling in Batt Reef, which is part of the Great Barrier Reef, off the coast of Port Douglas in Queensland. Irwin was in the area filming his own documentary, to be called The Ocean's Deadliest, but weather had stalled filming. Irwin decided to take the opportunity to film some shallow water shots for a segment in the television program his daughter Bindi was hosting,[29] when, according to his friend and colleague John Stainton, he swam too close to one of the animals. "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 the Croc One.
The events were caught on camera, and the footage was handed to the Queensland Police.[30] After reviewing the footage of the incident and speaking to the cameraman who recorded it, marine documentary filmmaker and former spearfisherman Ben Cropp speculated that the stingray "felt threatened because Steve was alongside and there was the cameraman ahead." In such a case, the stingray responds by automatically flexing the serrated barb on its tail up to a maximum of 25 cm (10 in) of length. Cropp said Irwin had accidentally boxed the animal in. "It stopped and twisted and threw up its tail with the spike, and it caught him in the chest. It's a defensive thing." The stinging of Irwin by the bull ray was "a one-in-a-million thing," Cropp told Time magazine. "I have swum with many rays, and I have only had one do that to me."[31] Some reports have claimed that after the incident, Irwin was shown on tape pulling the barb out, before losing consciousness, but this was both confirmed and denied by his colleague John Stainton in different sources.[32][33][34] It is thought, in the absence of a coroner's report, a combination of the toxins and the puncture wound from the barb caused Irwin to die of an apparent cardiac arrest[35] or that he died quickly as a result of a punctured aorta.[36]
Crew members aboard his boat called the emergency services in the nearest city of Cairns and administered CPR as they rushed the boat to nearby Lowe Isle to meet a rescue helicopter. Medical staff pronounced Irwin dead when they arrived a short time later.[29] According to Dr. Ed O'Loughlin, who treated Irwin, "it became clear fairly soon that he had non-survivable injuries." "He had a penetrating injury to the left front of his chest. He had lost his pulse and wasn't breathing."[37]
Irwin's body was flown to a morgue in Cairns. His wife was on a walking tour in Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park in Tasmania at the time, and returned via a private plane from Devonport to the Sunshine Coast with their two children.[29]
This was only the third known Australian fatality from a stingray, and the first since 1945.[38] As of 1996, only seventeen worldwide fatalities had been recorded,[39] and it is believed to be the only fatality from a stingray ever captured on film.[40]
Reaction
The Queensland Police released a statement for the media concerning his death after notifying his family.[41] News of his death prompted a public outpouring expressing shock and loss. Australian Prime Minister John Howard expressed his "shock and distress" at the death, saying that "Australia has lost a wonderful and colourful son."[42] Queensland Premier Peter Beattie extended the offer of a state funeral to Irwin's family, commenting in a Channel Seven television interview that Irwin "will be remembered as not just a great Queenslander, but a great Australian".[43] Beattie also stated a permanent memorial might be constructed in honour of Irwin, though the details of the structure would depend on Irwin's wife.[44] He also suggested that an award or national park may be named after him.[45] Several Australian news websites went down because of high web traffic[46] and for the first time the top 10 list of most viewed stories for Fairfax Digital news sites were swept by one topic.[47] Talk-back radio experienced a high volume of callers expressing their grief.[48]
The U.S. feed of the Animal Planet cable television channel aired a special tribute to Steve Irwin which started at 6:00pm EST on Monday, 4 September 2006. The tribute will continue with the Animal Planet channel showing highlights of Irwin's more than 200 appearances on Discovery networks shows.[49] The president of the Discovery Network, Billy Campbell, released a statement, saying:[50]
Our entire company is deeply saddened by the tragic and sudden loss of Steve Irwin, the Crocodile Hunter. Steve was beloved by millions of fans and animal lovers around the world and was one of our planet's most passionate conservationists. He has graced our air since October 1996 and was essential in building Animal Planet into a global brand.
Animal Planet will rename the garden space in front of Discovery's world headquarters in Silver Spring, Montgomery County, Maryland, to the "Steve Irwin Memorial Sensory Garden."[50] They are also looking at the creation of the Steve Irwin Crocodile Hunter Fund, which they will call "The Crikey Fund" which will "allow people from across the globe to make contributions in Irwin's honour to support wildlife protection, education and conservation."[50]
Amid the outpouring of public grief, Germaine Greer launched an attack on her compatriot, declaring "the animal world has finally taken its revenge". She wrote in her column in the Guardian newspaper that the wildlife warrior displayed the "sort of self-delusion it takes to be a real Aussie larrikin". [1] The Australian media reacted with distaste to this solitary attack amid the praise heaped on Irwin. [2]
On the evening of his death, Enough Rope re-broadcast an interview between Irwin and Andrew Denton originally broadcast in 2003. CNN showed a repeat of his interview on Larry King Live, originally recorded in 2004. The Australian federal parliament opened on 5 September 2006 with condolence speeches by both the Prime Minister John Howard and the Leader of the Opposition Kim Beazley. The Seven Network aired a television memorial show as a tribute to Irwin. [citation needed]
Hundreds of people visited Australia Zoo to pay tribute to the deceased entertainer and conservationist. The day after his death, the volume of people visiting the zoo to pay their respects had affected traffic so much that police had to reduce the speed limit around the Glass House Mountains Road and told motorists to expect delays.[3]
-Wikipedia
The events were caught on camera, and the footage was handed to the Queensland Police.[30] After reviewing the footage of the incident and speaking to the cameraman who recorded it, marine documentary filmmaker and former spearfisherman Ben Cropp speculated that the stingray "felt threatened because Steve was alongside and there was the cameraman ahead." In such a case, the stingray responds by automatically flexing the serrated barb on its tail up to a maximum of 25 cm (10 in) of length. Cropp said Irwin had accidentally boxed the animal in. "It stopped and twisted and threw up its tail with the spike, and it caught him in the chest. It's a defensive thing." The stinging of Irwin by the bull ray was "a one-in-a-million thing," Cropp told Time magazine. "I have swum with many rays, and I have only had one do that to me."[31] Some reports have claimed that after the incident, Irwin was shown on tape pulling the barb out, before losing consciousness, but this was both confirmed and denied by his colleague John Stainton in different sources.[32][33][34] It is thought, in the absence of a coroner's report, a combination of the toxins and the puncture wound from the barb caused Irwin to die of an apparent cardiac arrest[35] or that he died quickly as a result of a punctured aorta.[36]
Crew members aboard his boat called the emergency services in the nearest city of Cairns and administered CPR as they rushed the boat to nearby Lowe Isle to meet a rescue helicopter. Medical staff pronounced Irwin dead when they arrived a short time later.[29] According to Dr. Ed O'Loughlin, who treated Irwin, "it became clear fairly soon that he had non-survivable injuries." "He had a penetrating injury to the left front of his chest. He had lost his pulse and wasn't breathing."[37]
Irwin's body was flown to a morgue in Cairns. His wife was on a walking tour in Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park in Tasmania at the time, and returned via a private plane from Devonport to the Sunshine Coast with their two children.[29]
This was only the third known Australian fatality from a stingray, and the first since 1945.[38] As of 1996, only seventeen worldwide fatalities had been recorded,[39] and it is believed to be the only fatality from a stingray ever captured on film.[40]
Reaction
The Queensland Police released a statement for the media concerning his death after notifying his family.[41] News of his death prompted a public outpouring expressing shock and loss. Australian Prime Minister John Howard expressed his "shock and distress" at the death, saying that "Australia has lost a wonderful and colourful son."[42] Queensland Premier Peter Beattie extended the offer of a state funeral to Irwin's family, commenting in a Channel Seven television interview that Irwin "will be remembered as not just a great Queenslander, but a great Australian".[43] Beattie also stated a permanent memorial might be constructed in honour of Irwin, though the details of the structure would depend on Irwin's wife.[44] He also suggested that an award or national park may be named after him.[45] Several Australian news websites went down because of high web traffic[46] and for the first time the top 10 list of most viewed stories for Fairfax Digital news sites were swept by one topic.[47] Talk-back radio experienced a high volume of callers expressing their grief.[48]
The U.S. feed of the Animal Planet cable television channel aired a special tribute to Steve Irwin which started at 6:00pm EST on Monday, 4 September 2006. The tribute will continue with the Animal Planet channel showing highlights of Irwin's more than 200 appearances on Discovery networks shows.[49] The president of the Discovery Network, Billy Campbell, released a statement, saying:[50]
Our entire company is deeply saddened by the tragic and sudden loss of Steve Irwin, the Crocodile Hunter. Steve was beloved by millions of fans and animal lovers around the world and was one of our planet's most passionate conservationists. He has graced our air since October 1996 and was essential in building Animal Planet into a global brand.
Animal Planet will rename the garden space in front of Discovery's world headquarters in Silver Spring, Montgomery County, Maryland, to the "Steve Irwin Memorial Sensory Garden."[50] They are also looking at the creation of the Steve Irwin Crocodile Hunter Fund, which they will call "The Crikey Fund" which will "allow people from across the globe to make contributions in Irwin's honour to support wildlife protection, education and conservation."[50]
Amid the outpouring of public grief, Germaine Greer launched an attack on her compatriot, declaring "the animal world has finally taken its revenge". She wrote in her column in the Guardian newspaper that the wildlife warrior displayed the "sort of self-delusion it takes to be a real Aussie larrikin". [1] The Australian media reacted with distaste to this solitary attack amid the praise heaped on Irwin. [2]
On the evening of his death, Enough Rope re-broadcast an interview between Irwin and Andrew Denton originally broadcast in 2003. CNN showed a repeat of his interview on Larry King Live, originally recorded in 2004. The Australian federal parliament opened on 5 September 2006 with condolence speeches by both the Prime Minister John Howard and the Leader of the Opposition Kim Beazley. The Seven Network aired a television memorial show as a tribute to Irwin. [citation needed]
Hundreds of people visited Australia Zoo to pay tribute to the deceased entertainer and conservationist. The day after his death, the volume of people visiting the zoo to pay their respects had affected traffic so much that police had to reduce the speed limit around the Glass House Mountains Road and told motorists to expect delays.[3]
-Wikipedia