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| 'CROCODILE HUNTER' STEVE IRWIN KILLED BY STINGRAY POPULAR AUSTRALIAN ENVIRONMENTALIST DIED IN ACCIDENT WHILE FILMING, AFTER STINGRAY BARB PUNCTURED CHEST 4 September 2006 Steve Irwin, world-renowned conservationist and television personality, has died in a rare accident involving a puncture wound from a large stingray's barbed tail. Stingrays are not generally aggressive animals and use their barbs only in self-defense, meaning Irwin should not have been in any immediate peril. The incident occurred while filming documentary footage for an episode of his 8-year-old daughter's new program, off Port Douglas, in northern Queensland. Irwin was filming an underwater documentary, when in conditions that are still not clear, a stingray apparently acted in a defensive manner and struck the conservationist in the chest. Medical personnel involved in the case said he likely died instantly, but not from the venom. The venom of the stingray, which is known to cause severe pain, is normally not lethal, and in this case, the barb was large enough and forceful enough that it penetrated his chest cavity and likely stopped his heart. Irwin was known as a leader in bringing the message of conservation to world audiences and to political leaders, and tributes for his work have been swiftly published all around the world. A spokesperson for the WWF told the press: "Steve Irwin made an enormous contribution to conservation both in Australia and around the world and brought crucial conservation issues into the homes of millions of people". The accident that took the life of the renowned environmentalist is only the third known death from stingray contact in Australian waters, according to a shark and stingray expert quoted by The Age. Ben Cropp, a marine documentary film-maker who spoke with one of Irwin's team, said the strike apparently occurred when Irwin swam above the animal at close range, while a cameraman filmed from the front, possibly causing the ray to feel "cornered" and act defensively. Irwin was swimming in a position which allowed the stingray's barb to penetrate his chest and rupture his heart. Australian prime minister John Howard told the press, "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". Bryan Fry, an expert from the University of Melbourne, has said that stingrays only sting in self-defense, and described the animal capable of causing such a wound as being at least 2.5 meters in diameter or "wingspan" and having a jagged 20 centimeter barbed tail. Fry explained that the severe damage comes when the animal withdraws the barb from the wound, tearing flesh and leaving a severe injury that can't heal and bleeds profusely. Steve Irwin had graduated, in some senses, from being a documentary film icon to director of the the Australia Zoo for wildlife conservation, an institution founded by his parents and which he ran with enthusiasm and professionalism purported to be equal to his renowned documentary programs. Some warned he took too many risks with dangerous animals, but his friend and manager, John Stainton, has said "He didn't have a fear of death at all", and he believed it was important to the wellbeing of the planet as a whole that people be introduced to the value and personality of even such dangerous animals. His contribution to the medium of wildlife information and entertainment and to the movement to preserve endangered species, and to understand an protect even those animals that appear to be a threat to human life, is hard to compare to anyone else's. Irwin was an entirely unique individual in his field and a personality whose passion and charisma helped bring his message of respect for nature and for living things to a global audience. [s]
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