"Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin Killed by Stingray in Australia

Just about everyone in the world knows who’s being talked about when the name "The Crocodile Hunter" is mentioned. Australia’s colorful, energetic wild animal wrangler Steve Irwin has long been a hit in the United States and around the world with his entertaining shows and specials on the Discovery Channel and Animal Planet cable networks.

The world was shocked Monday morning to hear that Irwin, 44, had been killed by a stingray as he was filming an underwater documentary on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. According to Irwin’s friend and producer, John Stainton, "He came on top of the stingray and the stingray’s barb went up and into his chest and put a hole into his heart."

Irwin had been a major factor in drawing tourists to Australia, and his zoo has won a national expert award. The Australian tourism industry honored him for many projects associated with it, including a week-long promotion last winter in California called "G’Day LA 2006." He was famous around the world for his playful, enthusiastic enjoyment of wildlife and his excited utterance of the word "Crikey!"

Australia’s Prime Minister, John Howard, said that he was saddened by Irwin’s "sudden, untimely, and freakish" death. He added that Irwin was "a passionate environmentalist" who, with his enthusiastic and educational exploits, regularly brought "joy and entertainment and excitement to millions of people."

The barb of a stingray is serrated and loaded with toxins, and is located on the top of their tail. It can be up to ten inches long, and flexes whenever a stingray is frightened or feels threatened. It’s not easy to be injured by a stingray and even rarer to be killed by one, according to marine experts in Australia. Neuroscientist Shaun Collin at the University of Queensland told reporters that Irwin most likely died only because the stingray’s barb pierced beneath his ribcage and directly into his heart. Collin added that stings usually occur when people step on or swim too close to a stingray. Only one other person is known to have died in Australia from a stingray attack, at St Kilda, Melbourne in 1945.

Irwin’s friend Stainton, who was on board Irwin’s boat when the attack occurred, issued a statement saying, "The world has lost a great wildlife icon, a passionate conservationist and one of the proudest dads on the planet. He died doing what he loves best and left this world in a happy and peaceful state of mind."

Irwin is survived by his American-born wife, Terri, an 8-year-old daughter, and a son who will turn 3 in December. The world has lost a true believer in the wonder and excitement of God’s creatures, and he will be sorely missed.