*edit* It's confirmed.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200609/s1732439.htm
Stingray barb to the heart.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200609/s1732439.htm
Stingray barb to the heart.
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Steve Irwin has died...
- Thread starter Sobek
- Start date
Yeah...as much as I, and many others ridiculed him, he was a good man. He certainly did his part for raising awareness of wildlife endangerment, among other things.
As strange as it sounds, i'm really going to miss his Crikey shenanigans all around the world
*edit* This is what would have gone through his chest;
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Bummer, he was fun to watch.
This is sad. I know it might be a bit of a gross question, but were they filming while it happened?
That was one of the first things that popped into my head... "If they were filming, then this is all recorded somewhere".
Not that it'll/it'd ever see the light of day, but it's kind of a disturbing thought. I'm really sad right now
Bouncing Zabaglione Bros.
Legend
He certainly was a personality, and did a lot for raising awareness of wildlife conservation as well as many practical things on it's behalf. However, I do wonder if he was poking the stingray at the time while telling the camera how potentially dangerous it is to do this.
I wouldn't be at all surprised if he put himself in a very dangerous position while expecting his knowledge and experience to keep him safe, only to make a small mistake and get caught out by the unexpected.
I wouldn't be at all surprised if he put himself in a very dangerous position while expecting his knowledge and experience to keep him safe, only to make a small mistake and get caught out by the unexpected.
EXACTLY, it would be just typical Steve Erwin. I knew either something with lots of teeth or something very poisonous would get that guy in the end, you can only make so many save rolls before the dice turn up some unfortunate number...
Still, it's a damn shame IMO. Steve was a cool guy, cool as hell. Anyone who does as much as him about educating kids (and grownups I guess
) about nature deserves a great deal of respect. Even though he probably deserves a Darwin Award for leaving the earth the way he did, sorry Stevey but it's true. Hope there's lotsa snakes and spiders and crocs and scorpions and stuff to keep you company, wherever it is you went.
The Sydney Morning Herald reports that his friend along with him said the stingray lashed at him unexpectedly.
This kind of thing really depresses me. The death of Douglas Adams was the same. I think was the total lack of cynicism that these guys displayed. The world a better place with them in it.
This kind of thing really depresses me. The death of Douglas Adams was the same. I think was the total lack of cynicism that these guys displayed. The world a better place with them in it.
Bouncing Zabaglione Bros.
Legend
Apparently Irwin was swimming close over the top of the stingray in shallow water. Given that stingrays tend to reflexively sting upwards when they feel threatened and can't escape (swimming away is their preferred defence), it looks like Irwin just misjudged what the reaction of the crowded stingray would be.
Mind you, it's a pretty rare thing. They said on the news that only about three people have been killed by stingrays in Australia since records began, and only about 17 people worldwide. Irwin probably just didn't think there was anything intrinsicly dangerous in what he was doing, and that even if he was going to be stung, it certainly wouldn't be life threatening.
Sounds like very bad luck that he was stung through the side of his chest without the barb bouncing off his ribs, delivering venom and a puncture wound straight to his heart.
Mind you, it's a pretty rare thing. They said on the news that only about three people have been killed by stingrays in Australia since records began, and only about 17 people worldwide. Irwin probably just didn't think there was anything intrinsicly dangerous in what he was doing, and that even if he was going to be stung, it certainly wouldn't be life threatening.
Sounds like very bad luck that he was stung through the side of his chest without the barb bouncing off his ribs, delivering venom and a puncture wound straight to his heart.
I knew he had a daughter but didn't know he had a song (only 3) too. He made a video with The Wiggles that my daughter likes watching (because of the animals).
Ugh, just saw this pointed out on a different board: http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/asiapcf/auspac/01/02/australia.crocodileman/ I wondered what Rys was talking about. Makes you wonder if he and Michael Jackson were separated at birth because that's a pretty f'n stupid and irresponsible thing to do with a 1-month old baby.
Ugh, just saw this pointed out on a different board: http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/asiapcf/auspac/01/02/australia.crocodileman/ I wondered what Rys was talking about. Makes you wonder if he and Michael Jackson were separated at birth because that's a pretty f'n stupid and irresponsible thing to do with a 1-month old baby.
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mjtdevries
Newcomer
It might be the puncture in the heart that killed him that quickly.
Your heart pumps blood at 6 liters per minute. And since you only have about 7 liters blood in your body, you can imagine what happens when your heart is punctured...
Your heart pumps blood at 6 liters per minute. And since you only have about 7 liters blood in your body, you can imagine what happens when your heart is punctured...
Bouncing Zabaglione Bros.
Legend
Not really. It's not like some spiders/snake/scorpions where a bite on the end of your finger can kill you. The stingray barb is only considered serious if you get hit in the chest/abdomen, and even then rarely fatal in humans from the damage the venom causes. It seems you are more likely to get seriously hurt from the barbed tail stabbing through you than the venom.
In Irwin's case though, it was like getting stabbed in the heart with a venom coated blade, so not good regardless of how strong the venom was.
EasyRaider
Regular
Not completely unexpected, but that doesn't make it less sad.
Rest in peace, Steve Irwin.
Rest in peace, Steve Irwin.
CosmoKramer
Newcomer
Hmm? Have you actually read anything by Douglas Adams?
It somehow seems appropriate to reccomend Adams "Last Chance to See", just about here.
Damn shame about Irwin, as it always is to lose that kind of original with an obvious love of life and the world around him. I think we all knew he wasn't going to go out at a nursing home tho. . .
