Crocodile Hunter....

Damocles

Accedo!
Staff member
Stever Erwin has died...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/5311982.stm

With his trademark khaki shorts, chirpy manner and an obvious love of wildlife, Steve Irwin was known to television viewers around the world simply as "the crocodile hunter".
But Steve Irwin's popular image, wrestling crocs and other creatures, belied the fact that he was implacably opposed to the hunting, not just of crocodiles, but of any animal.

A natural showman as well as a conservationist and zoo owner, Irwin was committed to educating people about wildlife.

more at link...
 
He was always a bit of a mentalist, but in a good way.

I think that most people had, at the back of their mind, that he'd end up being eaten by a crocodile or bitten by an irate snake. I don't know what the odds are of being speared by a stingray are but its got to be a hell of a long shot.

You don't see many people with that much enthusiasm for what they do and anyone who makes it onto South Park must be "any good".
 
It's a damned shame: he was a great man in his way.

In a few days I'll be making jokes about how now Terri Irwin's (*ahem*) available and how that can't be a bad thing. Today, though, that's just too tacky even for me.
 
Talk about your sad news. I heard this at work this morning and could not believe it! After all the dangerous things he has done,it didn't seem he would ever get hurt. Seems kind of unreal.


RIP Steve.
 
His death is sad, but to me only in thae same way hundreds of accidental deaths are each day. Ath least his family are fixed well finiancially unlike many of the others that die daily.
 
His death is sad, but to me only in thae same way hundreds of accidental deaths are each day. Ath least his family are fixed well finiancially unlike many of the others that die daily.
The last recorded death by a stingray in Australia was 1945. It is ironic that he was done in by one of the most peaceful animals in the ocean...
 
Of course it was ironic and unexpected Damo.
In other Irony the copilot of the airplane crash in Lexington KY, is the only survivor and should have been one of the ones to catch the error of taking off on the wrong runway. Bty there have been about 10 or so people killed in small plane crashes in KY since the Comair crash, but I think none of them got national attention....
 
I never have any idea which ones get national attention... We have had a few in CO, one of them landed in one of my "nieghbor's" fields.
 
I was so sad to hear of this. Steve's ebullient enthusiasm was contagious, and I think that he brought this to people in such a way that many who otherwise wouldn't have cared about animals gained a new appreciation for them. What a loss to us all.

Damo, I found this bit about sting rays; they're a creature about which most of us know very little.

STINGRAY FACTS
Marine fish related to the shark
Wingspan in different species ranges from 10 inches to 7 feet
Barb can be up to 12 inches
Lie buried in sand, and normally very shy and non-aggressive
Eat worms, mollusks and other invertebrates
Possess flexible tails armed, in most species, with saw-edged, venomous spines
Uses barb in self-defense when startled, threatened or cornered; venom causes excruciating pain, and serrated barb damages tissue when pulled out; large rays can exert enough force to drive their tail spines into a wooden boat
Most stings occur in shallow, coastal waters when swimmers step on a stingray
Fatal stings extremely rare, with only 17 recorded stingray deaths in Australia since 1969

If stingrays are near:
Shuffle feet in sand to scare stingrays away
If stung, soak affected area in extremely hot water to destroy venom
Seek medical attention immediately

Sources: Encyclopedia Britannica, Georgia Aquarium, infoplease.com, Surf Life Saving Queensland
 
I remember once 5 different stingrays came up to me on the beach whenever I was a child. Everyone was staring at me and speechless. I didn't know what was going on. They made a circle around me, sort of, but just glided on by.
 
I remember once 5 different stingrays came up to me on the beach whenever I was a child. Everyone was staring at me and speechless. I didn't know what was going on. They made a circle around me, sort of, but just glided on by.

Behold...a confession.

True diabolism from the mouth, or rather the nimble fingers, of Satan's little wizard himself.

BURN THE WITCH. BURN HIM, I SAY!
 
With that avatar, Damo, i have my own suspicions that you too are similar in weight to a duck.
 
My adolescent years analyzing a host of low-budget 'Hammer' films, on the off-chance of catching sight of lady bosoms was not wasted.

I smell a coven.

And let me assure you, covens do not smell nice. Unless they're wearing a strong anti-perspirant, or some nice perfume and that.
 
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