Stingray kills 'Crocodile Hunter'

[Welshcookie 17]

wow....he was a crazy guy....I feel for his wife and children

[I'm Gone 60]

I guess it shows when it's your time to go. Gets killed by something that's not normally deadly after all the deadly animals he had handled. Like Evil Kneivel getting killed riding down the street on a moped.

Edited September 4, 2006 by mdyoung

[matako 0]

I think he commited suicide by letting the animal sting him, apparently because his wife sent his I-129F for a K-3 visa to CSC and it was taking too long before he could see his family.

I wish his family sues USCIS!!!!!

[Welshcookie 17]

[matako 0]

I think he commited suicide by letting the animal sting him, apparently because his wife sent his I-129F for a K-3 visa to CSC and it was taking too long before he could see his family.

I wish his family sues USCIS!!!!!

[Veiled Princess 1]

It's sad, but honestly was only a matter of time IMO.

Yeah but it surprised me because I always expected him to be eaten by a croc or bitten by a poisonous snake or something big and scary....not a sting ray

I'm sad too, I liked him a lot and me and my kids loved watching him on TV.

[Jamaica to CT 0]

True to a point- interference is not necessarily a good thing. However, when looking at the pro's and con's of his work, Steve pumped A LOT of money into conservation efforts- the money he earnt went towards protecting the creatures he loved.

A whole bunch of people interfere- indirectly every single one of us- and do MUCH more harm than this guy ever did.

RIP Steve

RIP

[fish_oinc 0]

This really is too bad, mainly because he leaves a wife and 2 young children to mourn him.

Hard to believe it was a sting ray. I caught one just 2 weeks ago. I always remove their stingers before I release them. They grow back.

[ChasUK 0]

Although a lot of people were irritated by Steve's hyper enthusiasm, it was that same attitude that made him such a public figure. Because of that the conservation work he did had more effect in so far as it brought it clearly to the attention of the public that would not normally get to know about the issues he covered. Whatsmore, anyone who knows Steve's principles knows that whenever he dealt with animals, he did it in such a way as to put the animal through the least possible distress. His concern was with the welfare of the animal, not sensationalism. It is only sensational to us who know a lot less.

Regarding the attitude of people who say it was just a matter of time, I baulk a bit. I can only paraphrase Steve himself. The situations we saw him in seemed crazy and unneccessarily dangerous. This is because we do not fully understand the nature of the animals he dealt with, where-as he was ALWAYS fully in control and knew exactly how to deal with the animals. It was his job, his life and his love. He was a professional. The contraversial incident with him feeding crocs whilst holding his baby is only contraversial because we would not do it with our babies. He was in total control and neither he nor his baby was in any danger simply because he knew what he was doing.

Under normal circumstances he was not in any danger with the bull ray that killed him. The venom on their barbs is not particularly life threatening. Humans normally get stung in the foot or leg because they step on them. This will cause nausea and a lot of pain but treated with anti biotics settles down in 48 hours or so. What killed Steve was more likely the simple fact that the barb hit him in the chest and would therefore be more likened to a stabbing. The fact that the ray did this is extremely unusual. Rays do not attack aggressively and even in defense from a potential predator normally just swim away.

Bottom line, Steve was a human and would not put himself into a situation that would have a high risk. This was nothing more than an accident that even a knowledgable expert would not have anticipated because of the freak nature of the accident. Personally I will only give credance to an expert who knows all the facts and if that expert can prove to me that Steve was stupid, careless or underinformed about the situation he was in with that Bull Ray then I will get off my soap box.

This world needs more people like Steve. Perhaps we would all get along with each other better if we had Steve's dedication and enthusiasm to life itself. I will miss him. I'm just glad that he leaves a legacy in Australia Park and more people have attached themselves to his way of thinking regarding animal conservation.

Rest in peace Steve. My thoughts go out to Terri and the kids.

[UmmSqueakster 54]

One would think he would go out in a spectacular fashion. According the BBC, only one person has died of a stingray sting in australia.

[Fuzzness 2]

Steve was one of my heroes because of the work he did for wildlife conservation. May his soul rest for eternity.

[ChasUK 0]

.................. I'm just glad that he leaves a legacy in Australia Park .................

Just to correct myself, Australia Zoo, not Park.

[Nizzy 1]

I don't get why people are joking and saying "it's about time"...that's so mean. This was his job and something he loved to do and something he thought was right. I NEVER saw it coming no matter how many times I saw him and thought he was out of his mind. I hope his wife and kids are okay. It's so sad.

[Fandango 1,439]

Regardless of who he is and what he did for a living, it's a tragedy that he's gone. May he rest in peace, and may his family somehow get thru this fcking awful horrible horrific tragedy...

[Lizzy 0]

I feel sad, sad for his wife, sad for his children.

Thats such a shame.

I think he commited suicide by letting the animal sting him, apparently because his wife sent his I-129F for a K-3 visa to CSC and it was taking too long before he could see his family.

I wish his family sues USCIS!!!!!

You are a fool amoungst fools for saying such #######.