Crocodile Hunter Killed By Stingray

Hey.Hazim here...again. This is really weird, but sad (I guess) news. Steve Irwin aka 'The Crocodile Hunter' has been killed by a stingray.Here's the full story:

-- Australian television star Steve Irwin, known as the ``Crocodile Hunter,'' died after a stingray's barb pierced his heart during the filming of a documentary, police said.

The 44-year-old collapsed and attempts to revive him were unsuccessful. He was filming at Batt Reef, near Port Douglas, a popular tourist resort, when the incident occurred about 11 a.m. today, the Queensland Police Service said in an e-mailed statement.

``He died doing what he loves best,'' Irwin's friend and producer John Stainton said in a statement from Australia Zoo, Irwin's reptile and wildlife park. He ``left this world in a happy and peaceful state of mind. Crocs rule!''

Irwin shot to fame after his first wildlife documentary, ``The Crocodile Hunter,'' became a global hit. He went on to film 53 episodes of the Emmy award-nominated ``Croc Files'' and ``The Crocodile Hunter Diaries'' which chronicled his day-to-day life working at Australia Zoo.

Irwin also appeared on ``The Oprah Winfrey Show'' and ``The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,'' and collaborated with Australian children's entertainers the Wiggles, to film ``The Wiggles: Wiggly Safari.''

Prime Minister John Howard today paid tribute to Irwin as a ``passionate environmentalist.''

``Steve used his television programs and his award-winning Australia Zoo to promote a serious conservation message,'' Howard said in a statement. ``He made an extraordinary contribution to creating a widespread appreciation of the value and uniqueness of Australian wildlife.''

Crikey!

The attack would have been ``like being stabbed in the heart,'' Geoff Isbister, a clinical toxinologist at Newcastle's Mater hospital said in a statement distributed by the Australian Science Media Centre.

``It has little to do with the venom and all to do with the trauma caused by the barb,'' he said.

Stingrays aren't aggressive and sting only when threatened, said Bryan Fry, deputy director of the Australian Venom Research Unit at the University of Melbourne. ``It didn't sting out of aggression, it stung out of fear.''

Using his catch-cry of `Crikey,' Irwin promoted Australian tourism and appeared in television advertisements extolling the country's quarantine services.

Irwin began catching crocodiles as a nine-year-old, learning from his father who started the reptile park that would become Australia Zoo.

He created a furor in 2004 when he was shown holding his one-month-old son near a feeding crocodile.

In 2003, he told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. that he was perceived as ``a little bit embarrassing'' by Australians.

``They kind of cringe, you know, 'cause I'm coming out with `Crikey' and `Look at this beauty,' he said at the time. ``I'm fair dinkum, like kangaroos and Land Cruisers, winged keels and bloody flies. I think we've lost all that. I think we've become very, sort of, money people,'' the ABC reported on its Web site.

Irwin is survived by his wife Terri and two children, son Bob and daughter Bindi.

Hmmm....it's kinda sad. He DID stay true to his personality even though I always cringed whenever I saw him on the screen.I know a lot of kids who admired him.Hazim.Out.