Crikey.... Steve Irwin killed by stingray

sad news. thought it was a joke 1st...i mean...how can a croc guy get killed by a 'ray? anyways, RIP, and he died doing what he liked the best. my prayers and thoughts go for his young family

 

the guy was awesome. I once was lucky enough to meet him at a benefit and he was one of the most genuine people ive ever met. Although, people gave him alot of crap for being cooky, crazy, etc, he honestly was just trying to help the best way he knew how. You can ever blame a guy for that. He will be missed.

 

News reports from this morning say that the stingray barb pierced his heart. Quirky way to go. I feel sorry for his wife and kids.

 

Really sad news... as he seemed to be a great guy. I feel for his wife and small children.

Apparently the fatal attack was caught on tape and the footage is now with the police.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,20355112-601,00.html

"FOOTAGE of Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin being fatally attacked by a stingray on the Great Barrier Reef has been handed to Queensland police as fans worldwide come to grips with the "freak" death."

 

Are you sure about that?

"What you see is what you get" is an expression that doesn’t always apply. This is true of the stingray that seemingly has no visible barb stinger. But don’t be deceived! According to Dr. Bob Shipp, Ph.D. professor of the University of Alabama and authority on fishes of the Gulf of Mexico, the barb may be concealed within a sheathlike tail wrapping, depending on its size and species. The barb, or spine, according to Dr. Shipp, can grow back if broken off, and is actually a modified scale, armored with recurved serrations that are as sharp as razors. The stingray has the ability to whip its tail up over its back and strike a victim. During the strike the tail sheath covering instantly moves back to expose the barb, located about one third the way down its tail (bluntnose and Atlantic species). In some instances it can whip its tail around a victim to exert a more powerful blow.

Never underestimate the penetrating ability of a stingray’s barb, even on the smallest of stingrays. The stingray’s barb is designed to penetrate virtually all sorts of dense materials, including wood and leather. And as unbelievable as it may seem, it’s been documented that large stingrays are able to drive a barb through a boat’s wooden planks or completely through a persons arm or leg.

 

it dont take long does it
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So true. This is REALLY not how I thought he would go. R.I.P.

 

Nope.
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I couldn't have said this better..........RIP

 

Out of all his adventures, this was pretty bad luck. I have to think if he was stung anywhere else on his body he's still be with us. RIP

 

I didn't think he'd make it this far actually.........I was expecting him to get chomped by a croc.........

RIP

 

I'm trying to get onto my scuba board where better info can be had on the accident and the nature of the stingray, but cant. Must be flooded.

 

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i agree, i swam with them in grand cayman, they're incredibly friendly, i can't wait til i go swim with them again, of course with steve in mind...

 

I have swam and fed stingrays while diving as well. Docile animals, very curious and seemingly of little risk. The diver master however did point out to be extremely careful with the ocean floor as a singray hidden under the sand is hard to spot and if startled thats when they are dangerous.

I could see how such a thing could happen. If the stingray were laying on the ocean floor still and you swam directly over it barely off the ocean floor, it could be startled and in the process of raising up to swim its tail and barb would be thrust upward with force. If you were in the way.....

Sad thing no doubt, Steve as a great entertainer. My kids loved his shows.




Terry

 

First, my condolences to the family.

Now that we have that out of the way...

Just out of curiosity (hang on, my morbid sense of humor is coming out), is there an Aussie equivalent of "hey y'all, watch this"?

 

Very sad. He will surely be missed by many.

 

Tragic!! I am soooooooooo sad over this

Atleast it seem to have been quick.

 

Stung in the heart! That really sux. I give my prayers to his poor family. RIP.

 

That's very sad...

 

RIP Easy Target. You had a big heart.

 

i wonder what his chances of survival would have been had he of been stung anywhere but the heart?

 

I think very very good.......

What are the odds of getting hit and then getting it in the heart.

 

This is very sad......

I feel bad for his friends and especially his family.

I thought he was doing a very good job of creating animal awareness. Some of you may be old enough to remember Mutual of Omahas Wild Kindom or the many Jacques Cousteau specials. It's been awhile someone like Steve has taken such a public interest in educating the future generations.

I hope his efforts will not be lost.

RIP

 

Lots of localized coverage here:
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/

Fatal stingray attack quick and rare
Hedley Thomas and Nico Hines
September 05, 2006

STEVE Irwin's death may have been mercifully quick, such is the power of a stingray's barb.

Irwin became only the second certain Australian fatality from a stingray attack, the other being a boy who died 18 years ago near Innisfail, in north Queensland.

Peter Fenner, a Mackay-based authority on sea creatures who studies stingray injuries, told The Australian the stingray would have unleashed its powerful barb - up to 20cm long, serrated, made of strong cartilage and wrapped in a venomous sheath - in a whipping action.

"The flaps of the stingray would have been stimulated in some way - he may have been too close to it," he said yesterday.

"Its tail has come forward and the barb in it has gone into his chest. It has probably punctured the aorta, the major vessel.

"The effect would be like cutting it with a knife. Within a few seconds, almost all the body's blood volume would have pumped out into the chest cavity.

"The blood loss would have caused death quickly after unconsciousness. He would have known what had happened but he'd be blacking out fast.

"It would have been very quick, exactly the same as if he had been stabbed in the heart."

Dr Fenner said the creatures were not naturally aggressive and had been responsible for fewer than 20 deaths around the world.

The barb's venom is not lethal but severe infections, ulcers and sores are not uncommon.

Phil Burke, a former commercial diver and colleague of Irwin's, has also been struck by a stingray. Its barb snapped off in his thigh.

The wound became so badly infected from the venom inside his leg he could not work for 16 months and needed a skin graft.

"I was unfortunate enough to be stung. It's a very nasty injury to have," Mr Burke told ABC Radio in Brisbane yesterday.

"It pierced through my wetsuit and into my thigh as the ray travelled past. The barb came down through my wetsuit and snapped off in my thigh."

National marine stinger adviser Lisa-ann Gershwin stressed the rarity of attacks by rays. "It's just an absolute fluke, it's not the sort of thing that happens normally," Dr Gershwin said yesterday. Dr Fenner said it was highly probable Irwin would have lived if the barb had not pierced his chest.

In March 1988, a 12-year-old boy in a dinghy travelling across Mourilyan Harbour, off Innisfail, was struck by a large stingray after it leapt out of the water.

He received a puncture "the size of a .22 bullet hole right through his left nipple" and died six days later, Dr Fenner said.

A post mortem examination revealed a puncture wound in the boy's heart's right ventricle, surrounded by tissue that had been breaking down since the injury occurred.

Dr Fenner said that was the only other confirmed Australian stingray fatality, but a man who dived into a seawater bath in Victoria in the 1930s died after suffering what was suspected as a chest injury from a ray's barb.