Steve Irwin "Crocodile Hunter" is now dead. Tragic loss.

[C1ay]

There is a tribute to Steve at the Australia Zoo website where contributions can be made to the Wildlife Warriors Worldwide. He is someone I will deeply miss.

 

:D Not intending to be morbid, but something about the way Irwin was stung must have been very unusual. Ordinarily, a ray’s long barbed tail slaps against a victims flesh edgewise, causing several small, shallow punctures. The impression I’ve gotten from reports of Steve’s death is that he received a deep puncture from the point of the tail.

From what I understand he was swimming and came over a ray that was buried in the sand. Normally a ray startled like this would just swim off but as it reacted there was a cameraman in the way so it felt boxed in. It instinctively stung Steve overhead and turned to swim off away from the cameraman. It was a very coincidental set of circumstances.

[Turtle]

:QuestionM Not intending to be morbid, but something about the way Irwin was stung must have been very unusual. Ordinarily, a ray’s long barbed tail slaps against a victims flesh edgewise, causing several small, shallow punctures. The impression I’ve gotten from reports of Steve’s death is that he received a deep puncture from the point of the tail.

Answer: The bard lies at the base of the tail, not the tip, and is normally held down & parallel to the tail; when aroused the barb is raised. Besides having double edged serations along the length, the barb carries a toxin. (The particulars vary among species; I haven't heard the species named that got Steve)

 

The 'sting' which gives these fishes their common name is a modified dermal denticle mounted near the base of the tail, about one-third along its total length. The sting consists of a blade-like barb with serrations along both edges and a venom gland at the base. The serrae point toward the base of the spine, making removal difficult and very painful. The venom is a fairly powerful nerve toxin which affects the heart in complex and dangerous ways.

http://www.elasmo-research.org/education/topics/lh_stingray_city.htm

 

Last night on Coast To Coast AM radio show, host George Noory replayed an interview he did with Steve. Steve clarified the snake bite issue saying that he was bitten by many reptiles including snakes, but never bitten by a venomous snake.

 

By crikey, I'm gonna miss the bloke! So much enthusiasm & dedication. Crikey Steve; g'donya for your work.:angel:

[zee]

loved the way he explained things. it is a tragic loss .

[Michaelangelica]

On the Central Coast of NSW, Australia is one of, if not the, the oldest reptile parks in the country. It was started by Eric Warrel many, many years ago to harvest venom for the CSIRO to develop anti-venom.

Some years ago they had a tragic fire. Steve Irwin and other reptile parks helped them re-stock and re-locate. It is now better than ever.

To advertise the park there is a full, life size brontosaurus (I know its not called that anymore!- pedant!), bright yellow in colour, near the main Nth.Sth. Expressway about 80k north of Sydney. The locals affectionately call it "Ploddy."

 

As I drove past it the other day, I noticed that it had a large black "arm'/leg" band.:hihi:

[Mohit Pandey]

Does any:confused: one knows in which city did Steve Irwin "Crocodile Hunter" was born?

[CraigD]

Does any:confused: one knows in which city did Steve Irwin "Crocodile Hunter" was born?

According to his wikipedia entry, Melbourne, Victoria.

 

PS: as you may have notices from the many links hypographers make to it that wikipedia.org is an excellent reference source, able to answer most simple biographical questions about well-known people.

[matrixscarface]

im sorry to see him go. he seemed like a very nice man. and he stood up for a worthy cause. and its also sad his daughter will grow up without a father. thats hard on anyone. :beer:

[Michaelangelica]

Typically (for Australians) lots of Steve Irwin Jokes about at the moment

I liked

Steve meets St. Peter at The Pearly Gates

St. Peter says "What kept you?"

 

2

Steve says to St. Peter

Peter!!! I said I needed a CROk not BROck !!!!??

(You may need to be Australian for that one.)

[Michaelangelica]

One of Steve's favourite charities:-

http://cgi3.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewUserPage&userid=freethebearsfundinc

http://www.freethebears.org.au/