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Tonya
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Tonya
Post Number: 541
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, September 04, 2006 - 07:22 pm: | 
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Times of Oman - International News (Tuesday, September 05, 2006)
Aussie crocodile hunter Steve Irwin killed in ‘freak’ stingray attack
SYDNEY — World-famous Australian ‘crocodile hunter’ and television environmentalist Steve Irwin was killed by a stingray blow to the chest yesterday while filming a documentary on the Great Barrier Reef.
The larger-than-life Irwin, 44, known for his fearlessly enthusiastic handling of even the deadliest of wildlife, was killed when a stingray barb punctured his heart during underwater filming off northeastern Australia.
“He came over the top of a stingray and the stingray’s barb went up and went into his chest and put a hole into his heart,” said the ebullient Irwin’s longtime producer John Stainton, who was with him at the time.
“It’s likely that he possibly died instantly when the barb hit him, and I don’t think that he ... felt any pain,” a tearful Stainton told reporters in the city of Cairns.
“He died doing what he loved the best.” Stingray is a relatively peaceful, flattish, diamond-shaped fish, which rarely attacks humans.
“They are normally not aggressive and use their long barbed tail to protect themselves from predators such as sharks and killer whales,” said Sean Connell, a marine ecologist at the University of Adelaide.
“They feed on tiny animals on the sea floor. I have never heard of an unprovoked attack from a stingray.” Despite their name, it is not the venom from the sting that is most dangerous, scientists say.
“What happened to Steve Irwin is like being stabbed in the heart,” said Geoff Isbister, a clinical toxicologist at the Mater Hospital in Newcastle on Australia’s east coast.
“It has little to do with the venom and all to do with the trauma caused by the barb of the stingray.” One other person was known to have died in Australia from a similar injury to the chest, but most stingray injuries resulted from people stepping on them in shallow water and getting a barb in the ankle, he said.
“Stingrays only sting in defence; they’re not aggressive animals so the animal must have felt threatened,” said Bryan Fry, director of the Australian Venom Research Unit at the University of Melbourne.
“It would have been a large ray with a disc size of up to eight feet.
“The stingray’s venom would not have been a factor. While extremely painful, stingray venom is rarely lethal.”
Police and officials at Irwin’s zoo confirmed his death in the freak incident that took place at about 11:00am (0100GMT) off the coast of Port Douglas in the northeastern Australian state of Queensland.
Irwin was brought to the surface unconscious and underwent cardio-pulmonary resuscitation, Stainton said.
He was evacuated from his research vessel by helicopter but ambulance service officials said he had suffered a puncture wound to the left side of his chest and was pronounced dead on the scene.
Stingrays have several sharp and venomous barbs on their tails that they use to defend themselves when they feel threatened, but Stainton insisted that Irwin had not provoked the creature while filming.
“I have never met a more professional person in my whole life nor a more passionate person in my whole life on wildlife issues,” Stainton said of the iconic Irwin, who was making a show about deadly sea-dwellers.
But experts stressed that stingrays were not usually vicious and rarely attacked and killed humans, unlike the range of deadly creatures Irwin had confronted in the past.
“You think about all the documentaries we’ve made and all the dangerous situations that we have been in, you always think ‘is this it, is this a day that maybe his demise?’,” he said, adding that nothing scared Irwin.
Australian wildlife filmmaker David Ireland said that the stingray’s tail was “like a bayonet on a rifle”.
“If it hits any vital organs it’s as deadly as a bayonet,” he said.
Police said Irwin’s US-born wife Terri had been informed of his death while hiking in Tasmania. The couple had two children aged eight and three.
The garrulous animal-lover’s rallying cry of “crikey” when faced with a crocodile, snake or ferocious-looking spider made him an Australian icon across the world.
His ‘Crocodile Hunter’ show, in which the tousle-haired adventurer appeared in his trademark khaki shorts and shirt, was first broadcast in 1992 and has been shown around the world on the Discovery cable network ever since.
His outspoken persona became so popular that he won a cameo role in a Hollywood movie, Dr Dolittle 2, starring US comic Eddie Murphy.
Australians mourned the loss of one of their most famous countrymen, with Prime Minister John Howard leading the public outpouring of grief over the death of a man whom he knew well.
“I really do feel Australia has lost a wonderful and colourful son,” Howard said.
“He took risks, he enjoyed life.
“He brought immense joy to millions of people, particularly to children, and it’s just such a terrible loss. He was one of those great quintessential Australian faces that people recognised everywhere,” added the grim-looking prime minister after parliament was told of his death.
Ordinary Australians called into their local radio and television stations expressing their shock and sadness at Irwin’s passing, while others flocked to the television star’s Australia Zoo in Beerwah, on the Sunshine coast of Queensland state, to lay flowers in his memory.
“We just thought he was a good guy for what he did for Australia. He put us on the map, I reckon,” said Rod Cameron at the zoo. Another mourner was more sanguine. “He died doing what he loved, didn’t he?” said tourist Glenn Batson.
The son of a plumber who launched his own reptile park, the young Irwin became a crocodile trapper, ridding residential areas of their reptilian threats before eventually taking over his parents’ park.
His fearless approach to the animal kingdom, however, provoked international outrage when he involved his infant son in one of his death-defying antics.
In early 2004, he fed a four-metre crocodile with one hand while clutching his baby son Bob in the other during a show at his Australia Zoo reptile park.
But Irwin was unrepentant when confronted about the incident in an interview.
“I will continue to educate my children and the children of the world so they don’t go into the water with crocs,” he said.
Irwin’s voice remained on the answering machine of his zoo yesterday, reminding callers with a whoop: “Remember, they rule,” referring to his dangerous documentary subjects. — AFP
http://www.timesofoman.com/newsdetails.asp?newsid=35003 |
Lil_ze
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Lil_ze
Post Number: 458
Registered: 01-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, September 04, 2006 - 07:50 pm: |
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you would think someone who knew so much about animals, would have been smart enough to wear a "chest protector". he had to have known that sting rays have a very sharp long body part. so why not wear a chest protector strong enough to not be pierced by the sting ray?
i love you tonya!!!!!! |
Tonya
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Tonya
Post Number: 542
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, September 04, 2006 - 07:53 pm: |
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Lawd. It was a fish. This man spent his whole life tackling alligators and he was killed by a fish??? C’mon now stop playing!!
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Ntfs_encryption
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Ntfs_encryption
Post Number: 657
Registered: 10-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, September 05, 2006 - 01:14 am: |
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It was just a matter of time. The man had serious brain problems. |
Mzuri
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Mzuri
Post Number: 1417
Registered: 01-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, September 05, 2006 - 01:40 am: |
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I agree with NTFS. One of those gators he was always wrestling with should have ate his behind a long time ago. I'm sorry he's dead, but he was playing with some serious fire. Stingrays, sharks and thangs ain't no joke. In light of the fact that he had a wife and young children, he should have paid "somebunny" else to take that dive. |
Abm
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Abm
Post Number: 6372
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, September 05, 2006 - 06:44 am: |
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Irwin's fame was due to his willingness to and enthusiam for taking chances. And you know the ol' saying: "You live by the sword. You DIE by the sword."
But it is ironic that Irwin was killed by an animal that doesn't really have much of a rep for knocking off human beings. |
Cynique
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Cynique
Post Number: 5086
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, September 05, 2006 - 09:48 am: |
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I always suspected that Irwin had a death wish. I agree with Ntfs that something was wrong with his brain - like it was wired to receive an adrenalin rush from taking dangerous risks. |
Sohra
Newbie Poster
Username: Sohra
Post Number: 5
Registered: 08-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, September 05, 2006 - 09:56 am: |
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Erwin is(was) a stupid with guy hou tought he was some kind of a african bushhh men.. |
Renata
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Renata
Post Number: 1260
Registered: 08-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, September 05, 2006 - 10:05 am: |
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I don't think it was a rush for him, per se. He grew up on a reptile conservatory. He just had a love for the animals.
He didn't grow up with stingrays, however....
But there are things you just DON'T DO when you have a family, no matter how used to it you may be. |
Abm
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Abm
Post Number: 6377
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, September 05, 2006 - 10:09 am: |
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Renata: "...there are things you just DON'T DO when you have a family, no matter how used to it you may be."
I tend to agree. But then, some men (and women) can't help being what they are. |
Chrishayden
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Chrishayden
Post Number: 2687
Registered: 03-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, September 05, 2006 - 06:38 pm: |
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The only thing that surprised me was that it took so long.
Those are wild animals. Wild and not domesticated. You can raise a wild animal from a cub. Keep it for years. If you do the wrong thing it will kill you.
Examples:
Guy here in St. Louis owned a leopard. Kept him in his back yard. Had it twenty years. No problem.
Among a number of things that you are not supposed to do to it is walk under it if it is sitting in a tree branch. This guy forgot. Walked under the branch,it jumped off and killed him.
They had a gorilla here named Phil. This keeper had raised him from a baby. One day the keeper forgets something--messed with his food or something, Phil pulled his arm out of the socket and gouged his face with his fangs.
Take your little puppy dog and try to mess with his food while he's eating and see what happens.
This idiot and others tried to make people think nature is harmless fuzzy cuddly Bambi. Something people knew for thousands of years these idiots are ignoring.
I wonder how many other people have been killed or maimed trying to mimic this chump. |
A_womon
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: A_womon
Post Number: 1404
Registered: 05-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, September 05, 2006 - 08:09 pm: |
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I don't think the man deserves such disrespect for doing what he loved to do. He never said what he did wasn't dangerous, and I don't recall him ever saying everyone needed to cuddle up to the creatures he tried to understand for ecology's sake.
I feel sorry for his daughter who loved her father VERY much from the clips they showed and also for his young son who will NEVER know his father.
Rest in peace... |
A_womon
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: A_womon
Post Number: 1405
Registered: 05-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, September 05, 2006 - 08:10 pm: |
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Crocodile Hunter |
Mzuri
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Mzuri
Post Number: 1420
Registered: 01-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, September 06, 2006 - 01:09 am: |
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Nobody here is being disrespectful Awoman, we're being real. We're saying that after 15-20-25 years of interacting with dangerous wild animals (or any other hazardous environment/activity), you've got to wake up one morning and realize that it's time to pursue other interests because your luck is eventually going to run out. Statistically the odds were against him because nothing untoward had happened to him until the stingray attack. He had other responsibilities that he failed to consider.
And no - I don't have sympathy for people who deliberately and willfully put themselves in harm's way. Remember Evil Knievel? I was supposed to feel sorry when he broke every bone in his body when he jumped his motorcycle over crazy obstacles??? Get real. Any of us could drop dead at any moment, why increase our chances of something adverse happening to us by engaging in foolishness? That's just common sense. |
Abm
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Abm
Post Number: 6394
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, September 06, 2006 - 05:41 am: |
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I heard via radio that worldwide there have ONLY been 18 reported killings from stingray in over ONE HUNDRED FORTY YEARS.
Either what Steve did was a FREAK incident. Or dude was doing some shyt he really had NO friggin' business doing. |
Chrishayden
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Chrishayden
Post Number: 2693
Registered: 03-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, September 06, 2006 - 10:15 am: |
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That asshole left his kids without a father and his wife a widow it was only a matter of time==
Awoman, the lover of children. You remember when that freak had his baby boy with him in that crocodile pen?
In a fairer universe he would have been charged with child abuse and relieved of custody.
But we have Awomen around here feeling sorry for him. I guess next you'll start up a foundation for the Relief of Families of Fools Who Play in Traffic.
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A_womon
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: A_womon
Post Number: 1409
Registered: 05-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, September 06, 2006 - 10:56 am: |
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chris,
You never answered my question about Door of Kush, so don't be trynna start no mess with me.
anyways, I STILL feel sorry for the kids--it was his job--and just like policemen firemen soldiers and others risk their lives for what they believe--Old Crock had a right to do the same...
I loved Crock Hunter and I'll miss him and who the HECK is some Evil kneivel???? |
Chrishayden
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Chrishayden
Post Number: 2696
Registered: 03-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, September 06, 2006 - 11:08 am: |
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Awoman:
You ain't MYwoman so that ain't ya bizness.
Shove off.
Re: The Craphunter RIP
I forgot:
Whenever a white man dies--no matter how far removed from me in space and time-- I am supposed to line up with the other coons and mammies, weeping and callin' on de lawd-- |
A_womon
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: A_womon
Post Number: 1410
Registered: 05-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, September 06, 2006 - 11:14 am: |
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AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH SHAAAAAAAAAAAdDDDDDDDDDDDUPPPPPP!!!!!
You didn't hesistate to shout out about the publishing company printin' your book--so why not spill your guts about whether or not your experience was good or bad??? AND it aint ABOUT me bein' ya womon or not! Don't start none...wont BE none! |
Abm
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Abm
Post Number: 6399
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, September 06, 2006 - 11:44 am: |
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A_womon,
Hey. Dude was entertaining to watch. But, come on now. Considering the kinds of shyt he was doing, he was BLESSED to have lived as long as he did.
I'm sure his wife and kids are well-taken care of. And maybe chick can find a man who's more of a father and husband much LESS of a dangerous thrillseeker. |
A_womon
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: A_womon
Post Number: 1411
Registered: 05-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, September 06, 2006 - 12:12 pm: |
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Can't I feel sorry for the kids if I want to? DANG! |
Mzuri
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Mzuri
Post Number: 1424
Registered: 01-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, September 06, 2006 - 08:32 pm: |
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We could argue damn near any subject right here. LOL! |
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