World | Australia
Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin killed by stingray
Steve Irwin, the renowned television personality and naturalist known as the Crocodile Hunter, was killed on Monday by a stingray barb during a diving expedition.
- Agencies
- Published: 00:00 September 4, 2006
- Image Credit: AP
- Irwin, 44, was filming an underwater documentary on the Great Barrier Reef in northeastern Queensland state on Monday when he was killed bya stingray barb.
Cairns, Australia: Steve Irwin, the ebullient Australian TV personality and naturalist known as the
Crocodile Hunter, was killed on Monday by a stingray barb to the heart during a diving expedition, police and his wildlife park said.
Irwin, 44, was filming an underwater sequence for a television series on remote Batt Reef off the far northeast coast of Australia when he encountered the ray and was stung about 11 am (0100 GMT), Australia Zoo, Irwin's park, said in a statement.
Crew members aboard Irwin's boat, Croc One, called emergency services in the nearest city, Cairns, and administered cardio pulmonary resuscitation techniques as they rushed the boat to nearby Low Isle to meet a rescue helicopter.
Medical staff pronounced Irwin dead at about midday, the statement said. Queensland state police said Irwin's family had been notified of his death.
Irwin is survived by his US-born wife Terri, from Oregon, their daughter Bindi Sue, 8, and son Bob, who will turn 3 in December.
Personality
Irwin is famous for his enthusiasm for wildlife and his catchcry "Crikey!" in his television programme, Crocodile Hunter, which was first broadcast in Australia in 1992 before it was picked up by the Discovery channel, catapulting him to international celebrity.
Irwin, who made a trademark of hovering dangerously close to untethered crocodiles, often leaping on their backs talked mile-a-minute in a thick Australian drawl and was almost never seen without his uniform of khaki shorts and shirt and heavy boots.
His ebullience was infectious and Australian officials sought him out for photo opportunities and to promote Australia internationally.
Irwin was among guests hand-picked by Prime Minister John Howard to attend a barbecue to honour US President George W. Bush when he visited Canberra, the national capital, in 2003.
Controversies:
- Irwin's public image was dented when during a public show on January 2, 2004, he triggered an uproar by holding his baby in one arm while feeding large crocodiles inside a zoo pen. The infant was close to the crocodile, and comparisons were made in the press with Michael Jackson's dangling of his son outside a German apartment window. Irwin claimed at the time there was no danger to his son, and authorities declined to charge Irwin with violating safety regulations.
- Later that year, he was accused of getting too close to penguins, a seal and humpback whales in Antarctica while making a documentary. Irwin denied any wrongdoing, and an Australian Environment Department investigation recommended no action be taken against him.
Reactions
"The world has lost a great wildlife icon, a passionate conservationist and one of the proudest dads on the planet," John Stainton, Irwin's friend and producer who was on board Croc One said.
"He died doing what he loves best and left this world in a happy and peaceful state of mind," he said. "Crocs Rule!"
Foreign Minister Alexander Downer, who used a photograph of his family at Australia Zoo for his official Christmas card last year, hailed Irwin for his work in promoting Australia through projects such as the "G'Day LA" tourism and trade promotion in Los Angeles in January.
"The minister knew him, was fond of him and was very, very appreciative of all the work he'd done to promote Australia overseas," Downer's spokesman Tony Parkinson said.
Biography
• Stephen Robert "Steve" Irwin was born on February 22,1962, in Essendon, a Melbourne, suburb. He was an international celebrity best known for his television franchise The Crocodile Hunter, an unconventional wildlife documentary series which he hosted with his wife Terri Irwin, whom he married in 1992He also owned and operated the Australia Zoo at Beerwah in Queensland.
• His parents, Bob and Lyn, ran the small Queensland Reptile and Fauna Park, where Steve grew up around crocodiles and other reptiles. He became a crocodile trapper, removing crocodiles from near populated areas, performing the service for free with the quid pro quo that he kept them for the park.
• In 1991, Steve took over the running of the park, now renamed the "Australia Zoo", and in 1992 met and married Terri. The footage of their crocodile-trapping honeymoon became the first episode of The Crocodile Hunter, which became wildly successful in America. Irwin went on to star in other Animal Planet documentaries, including The Croc Files, The Crocodile Hunter Diaries, and New Breed Vets.
• In 2001, Steve appeared in a cameo role in the Eddie Murphy film Dr. Dolittle 2. In 2002, his first feature film, The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course, was released.
• Steve Irwin was active in politics and was a supporter of the conservative Liberal Party of Australia. In particular, he strongly supported the incumbent Prime Minister John Howard.
- Compiled from Agencies and Wikipedia
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