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R/£ QUIRKY AUSSIE sTEVE IRwIN CHEATED DEATH MANY TIMES - UNTIL TODAY
September 04, 2006 Edition 4
Reuters and Sapa
Steve Irwin, TV's quirky Crocodile Hunter, was killed by a stingray barb through the chest today while diving.
The 44-year-old Australian was filming an underwater documentary off Port Douglas in northern Queensland when the strike occurred.
Crew members on Irwin's boat, Croc One, administered cardio-pulmonary resuscitation techniques as they rushed the boat to nearby Low Isle to meet a rescue helicopter.
A helicopter flew paramedics to the site, but Irwin was dead before they arrived.
"He probably died from a cardiac arrest from the injury," Edmondson said.
Irwin cheated death many times as he stalked and played with some of the world's deadliest animals.
But in the end the animal kingdom proved too dangerous.
Wearing his trademark khaki shirt and shorts on his show, Irwin would crawl on his belly or knees as he approached deadly animals like crocodiles, pythons and spiders in the wild.
He would whisper to his audience that the creature he was approaching was dangerous but also majestic and worth protecting.
Whenever he got too close to the jaws of a crocodile or escaped the tightening grip of a full-grown python, Irwin would call out "Crikey" - Australian slang expressing surprise.
Wildlife filmmaker David Ireland said he was shocked by Irwin's death, adding that a stingray's barb could be deadly.
"They have one or two barbs in the tails which are not only coated in toxic material but are also like a bayonet, like a bayonet on a rifle," he said.
Irwin's antics made him an global icon and won him a devoted international audience of 200-million for The Crocodile Hunter, the name of his nature documentary series.
Irwin made almost 50 documentaries for the channel Animal Planet.
He became a virtual global industry, generating books, interactive games and toys.
Born on February 22 1962 in Melbourne, Irwin moved to tropical Queensland where his parents ran a small reptile and fauna park.
He grew up near crocodiles, trapping and removing them from populated areas and releasing them in his parent's park. He took over the park in 1991 and renamed it the "Australia Zoo".
He met his US-born wife Terri at the zoo and the footage of their honeymoon - which they spent trapping crocodiles - formed the basis of his first Crocodile Hunter documentary.
The couple had two children, Bindi Sue and Bob Clarence.
Irwin triggered outrage in 2004 by holding his then month-old son while feeding a snapping crocodile at his zoo.
The Crocodile Hunter series ended after he was criticised for the incident and also for allegedly disturbing whales, seals and penguins while filming in Antarctica.
Irwin boasted that he had never been bitten by a venomous snake or seriously bitten by a crocodile, although he admitted his worst injuries had been inflicted by parrots.
John Stainton, Irwin's producer, said: "He died doing what he loves best and left this world in a happy and peaceful state of mind. Crocs rule!"
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