I wasn't in my office for more than 15 minutes when I opened Internet Explorer to find that Australian naturalist and wildlife expert, Steve "The Crocodile Hunter" Irwin, died yesterday from a stingray barb wound that he suffered during a dive for a documentary. I will certainly edit this post later today with more detail, but I wanted to get something up early as it's a very sad day for all those in the animal kingdom. RIP, Steve. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Now that more news is available on this tragedy, I thought I would update the story. It seems that poor Steve's luck finally ran out. Stingrays are very gentle creatures until you piss them off (aren't we all?) and Steve just happened to come up behind one that was burrowed in the sand and was apparently quite annoyed that his nap was interrupted. Steve sadly took a barb in the chest - one of only two places on the human body that a ray bite has the ability to cause death (the other being the abdomen). According to what his poor camera man witnessed, Steve was able to remove the barb, but the poison had already reached his heart - killing him within minutes.
Australia is currently arranging for a state funeral, should the Irwin family wish for that to occur. My thoughts and sympathies go out to his entire family - his wife, children, and his family at the Australia Zoo in Queensland. He will be deeply missed by all he touched - including the many animal species he dedicated his life to protecting and saving in the Australian Outback, and beyond. I know that the conservation organization that Steve and his wife Terri created - Wildlife Warriors Worldwide - will continue to work towards one of the many goals Steve Irwin set forth to do: ensure that all creatures great and small were granted every opportunity to thrive. Thanks, Steve. You will be missed.
1 comment:
I know, it's so, so sad!
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