Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin is dead

[Bob Warner]

Here is the CNN story:

SYDNEY, Australia (CNN) -- Steve Irwin, the TV presenter known as the "Crocodile Hunter," has died after being stung by a stingray in a marine accident off Australia's north coast.

Media reports say Irwin was snorkeling at Batt Reef, a part of the Great Barrier Reef about 9 miles (about 15 kilometers) from the town of Port Douglas, when the incident happened on Monday morning.

Irwin, 44, was killed by a stingray barb that pierced his chest, according to Cairns police sources.

Irwin was in the area to film pieces for a show called "Ocean's Deadliest" with Phillippe Cousteau, grandson of Jacques, Irwin's manager and friend John Stainton told CNN's "American Morning." But weather had prevented the crew from doing work for that program, said Stainton, so Irwin decided to do some softer features for a new children's TV show he was doing with his daughter, Bindi.

"He came over the top of a stingray that was buried in the sand, and the barb came up and hit him in the chest," said Stainton.

Wildlife documentary maker Ben Cropp, citing a colleague who saw footage of the attack, told TIME that Irwin had accidently boxed the animal in, causing it to attack. "It stopped and twisted and threw up its tail with the spike, and it caught him in the chest," said Cropp. "It's a defensive thing. It's like being stabbed with a dirty dagger." (Read the TIME.com obituary.external link)

Ambulance officers confirmed they attended a reef fatality Monday morning off Port Douglas, according to Australian media. (Gallery: The life of the "Crocodile Hunter")

Queensland Police Services also confirmed Irwin's death and said his family had been notified. Irwin was director of the Australia Zoo in Queensland. He is survived by his American-born wife Terri and their two children, Bindi Sue, born 1998, and Robert (Bob), born December 2003.

"The world has lost a great wildlife icon, a passionate conservationist and one of the proudest dads on the planet," Stainton told reporters in Cairns, according to The Associated Press. "He died doing what he loved best and left this world in a happy and peaceful state of mind. He would have said, 'Crocs Rule!' " (Watch a remembrance of Steve Irwin -- 1:58)

Australia Prime Minister John Howard said he was "shocked and distressed at Steve Irwin's sudden, untimely and freakish death," according to AP. "It's a huge loss to Australia."

Irwin became a popular figure on Australian and international television through Irwin's close handling of wildlife, most notably the capture and relocation of crocodiles.

Irwin's enthusiastic approach to nature conservation and the environment won him a global following. He was known for his exuberance and use of the catch phrase "Crikey!" (E-mail us: How will you remember Steve Irwin?)

"His message is really about conservation: He really wants to leave the world a better place for everybody," Animal Planet's Maureen Smith told CNN.com in April.

"It's unbelievable, really," Jack Hanna, the host of "Jack Hanna's Animal Adventure" and director emeritus of the Columbus (Ohio) Zoo, told CNN. "You think about Steve Irwin and you think of people who are invincible."

Hanna, a friend of Irwin's, noted that Irwin's persona of the Crocodile Hunter was no act. Irwin grew up around crocodiles, snakes and other animals at his parents' Queensland Reptile and Fauna Park and had been handling such creatures since he was a child.

"Steve really knew what he was doing. He was one of the finest reptile people in the world. He knew more about reptiles than anybody did. He was raised that way," said Hanna.

Though stingrays can be threatening, their sting -- usually prompted by self-defense -- is not often fatal. The bull ray that apparently stung Irwin was "a one-in-a-million thing," Cropp told TIME. "I have swum with many rays, and I have only had one do that to me."

"A wild animal is like a loaded gun -- it can go off at any time," Hanna told CNN. "You have to be careful of that." But, he added, it's not the animals who are inherently dangerous, but the way they may react around humans. "People use the word 'dangerous,' and that sometimes is a word that's not fair to that animal, because that animal is only using the defenses that God gave it," said Hanna.

[Andrew Garrett]

We should all be fortunate enough to go out doing what we love, with all our faculties intact.

I'm just sad for his family.

[rhrocker]

His enthusiasm for wildlife always intriged me. I hate that this happened, I always looked forward to watching anything new that he filmed. It just occured to me that some animals defend themselves with sharp, deadly things that they themselves produce. Sound familiar?

[Brett Holmes]

on the news last night they said he's only the second person in australia to be killed by a stingray, i always thought a croc wuld get him.
brett

[TexasJack]

Heard on the radio that there are only 17 recorded deaths from stingrays, worldwide. Those barbs are really vicious, but normally people only get hit in the ankles. Irwin got hit right in the heart. Sad thing was that his 8 year old daughter was with him.

[hammerdownnow]

Steve was a positive Ozzie icon and became a beloved part of our American culture. He will be missed. Sad day.

[Brett Holmes]

i thought his daughter was in tasmania. he was filmig for her show though.
brett