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Steve Irwin Dead
mkosmo writes "News.com.au is reporting that Steve Irwin was killed in a freak accident while filming one of his well known documentaries. Surprisingly it wasn't a crocodile, it was a sting-ray."
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I feel for his kids. These poor kids are going to grow up with a father. All they are going to really know about him is going to be what they see on TV.
Mod me down with all of your hatred and your journey towards the dark side will be complete!
Steve should be commended for his efforts over the years. His enthusiasm was infectious.
Unfortunately, while he stood as a model environmentalist, he now stands as an example of the dangers of directly interacting with wild animals.
Jim
http://www.runfatboy.net/ - Exercise for the rest of us.
I always thought he would die of cancer, or heart attack at age 90. Who knew that chasing wild animals to pin them down could be so dangerous?
Does this sig remind you of Agatha Christie?
what did he do to cause a stingray to kill him? TFA says it was a freak accident. but was it really? what were the stingray's intentions?
It's best to admire nature from afar... like on TV. People think we're just lazy fat hermits but you don't see us getting ate by bears!
Dedicated Cthulhu Cultist since 4523 BC.
Was it Troy Tempest, Phones, or even Marina??
I only live 30 minutes from his Australia Zoo at Beerwah and have watched him perform the croc stuff a couple of times and it was very entertaining.
I remember trying to take a photograph of my kid at the petting zoo while his kid was in there and I was politely asked not to. Mind you, it was just after the whole 'dangling the baby in front of the baby eating crocodile' incident, I can understand the paranoia at the time.
Task Mangler
Poor old Steve - but at least went out was doing what he loved, as opposed to getting hit by a bus or something.
I met him briefly once or twice - he was a friend of a friend - and while he used to ham it up for the cameras, he was a nice guy and very passionate about wildlife.
*sigh*
He will be missed.
You are in a twisty maze of processor lines, all alike.
There is a lot of hype here.
This is the fastest I've ever seen news hit the front page on slashdot.
In fact since this news broke an hour ago I've received 1 phone call, 4 SMS's and 6 e-mails about it. A coworker came running to tell me about it and 88+ news items about it have appeared so far on Google News. Just goes to show that people really care about Steve Irwin.
With that kind of influence it makes you wonder what he might have achieved if he hadn't died.
Australian running a company that does C# / C++ / Java / SQL / Python / Mathematica
I heard about this a couple of hours ago while talking online on a MUD I used to code for. The first thought I had was that the world was a lesser place without him, just like the world was reduced when Fred Rogers passed. This was a Grade-A human being, and in an odd way very important to me. Let's just say my dog's name is Bindi.
Good luck, Steve.
Our intelligent designer has never created an animal that we couldn't improve by strapping a bomb to it.
You know that Mister Irwin has already reproduced successfully, right? And that he will leave quite a bit of money to his offspring? I'll lay 10-to-1 odds that his offspring will be more successfull than any of ours. They'll have their father's wealth, outstanding physical health, and at least a shred of his fame.
.. it's sad to see him go. As an Australian it was always a bit embarassing the way he perpetuated that particular stereotype but he did a lot of good for the country, not just for tourism but for conservation as well. A fair chunk of his money went straight back to buying up tracts of land for conservation.
I am a little appalled by the reaction of many /.ers. This was a guy with a family. You have no idea whether he was responsible and careful with animals, not being animal trainers yourselves. All you have is your uninformed opinion about it. Have a little respect for the guy, if only because he was more than just a TV star.
~ I am logged on, therefore I am.
The way his character was built though, he became a living legend, you sort of just expected him to live and keep doing what he did.
A lot of people I have spoken to feel the same way, much like when Princess Di died, its just almost inconceivable.
He was a controversial Australian hero and I hope he will be remembered for all the good things he did and not just the bad.
It'll be posted again in a week.
Like him or think he's a tool, he's entertained millions for years, and he's done his bit to help the environment, both through education and monetary contributions. Take a moment to reflect on that, THEN post yer jokes. ;)
I am suddenly reminded of that FedEx commercial he was in. The one where he gets bit by the snake, and he says "That's no problem, we have a shipment of antivenom arriving via FedEx", then an off-camera voice says: "Uh, we didn't use FedEx this time..."
*You* may have not liked the guy; maybe you hated him. His style, his 'in your face attitude' about "Outback" animals might have been a little bit too 'kooky' for what most mainstream Americans are used to. But anyway...
I met him once while on a flight out to LA (I think he was doing the Late Show /w Leno) and honestly I've never met anyone who had such a zest for life. Seriously, the guy was so upbeat about EVERYTHING, it was hard to ignore him.
People like him are so special. I'll never forget him, and I hope you all won't either.
I like big butts and I cannot lie.
I admire Steve's courage, his enthusiasm, his zest for life and for letting us all share a little bit of the wondererous life he lived. Many of us can only hope to be so lucky as to live a life that isn't mundane, tedious and predictable. Steve's been to more places, witnessed more beautiful and fascinating cultures and people and animals than most of us would if we had 3 lives to live. He knew the risks and chose to live his life the way he wanted to live it. Not many people can say that. We're all gonna die. Might as well go out while living life to the fullest.
Steve Irwin mustered more humanity for the lowest lizard on one of his documentaries than /. seems to be able to muster for him. "reproduced successfully" "offspring" These are not words which one generally uses with regards to people, and certainly not when a family is currently grieving the loss of their father.
Help poke pirates in the eyepatch, arr.
All jokes aside, like most people in dangerous professions, he knew the risks and died doing what he loved to do. Given a choice of ways to go, that's not so bad.
To the making of books there is no end, so let's get started
Steve Irwin was the real deal. He really cared about the environment he worked in. It was revealed earlier this year that he successfully lobbied the Federal Government to oppose plans for the creation of a crocodile 'game hunting' tourist industry in the Northern Territory. He did it privately and quietly - it was only reported after it came to light through freedom of information requests.
link
My hat goes off to you Steve, and my condolences to your family.
If by "someone who is the epitome of everything that geeks are not" you mean he had a tan from actually being out in sunlight, then yeah he was the opposite of a geek. But I define geeks as people who are dedicated to their passions. It maybe an esoteric passion, but a passion nonetheless. Some geeks are passionate about Star Trek and finding security flaws in the Linux kernel, while others are passionate about music and art. Steve Irwin's passion for living creatures makes him a geek in my book.
Does this sig remind you of Agatha Christie?
..there's a very good chance his death was captured on video. How long till it hits the net?
The first time I saw Steve Irwin, I cringed horribly (I'm Australian), but he got to me. I can honestly say I've never seen a happier person, with so much energy & such a good, innocent heart. I was mocking him a few years ago, mercilessly. Now, I'm feeling kind of weepy. RIP Steve, and my heart goes out to the Irwin family & friends. Thanks on behalf of the animals :)
For your unending enthusiasm, commitment and teamwork (how many people to catch a croc!) in bringing folk a little nearer to those wonderful animals.
You'll be missed by both the many who never met you, and by those who loved you.
To your family, may your God comfort you and protect you during these days of mourning.
RIP.
The first thought I had was that the world was a lesser place without him,...
Even after reading the story, I smiled when I saw him in character. This guy was an amazing educator and entertainer.
First thing that crossed my mind was "With all what's going on, this world needs more Steve Irwin's, not less".
R.I.P. Croc' Hunter
Based on upvotes, Ageism is the only "-ism" Slashdotters care about and think isn't SJW
As an American, I can only wish people identified my nationality with someone as sincerely pleasant and frank as Steve Irwin. You could do a lot worse.
This is true. Americans, even from our own media, are labelled obese, violent, culturally insensitive lackwits. We're identified with a jingoist leader that 50% of us opposed. Even those of us who challenge the stereotypes and work to change things (though I am a fatass, so I guess one strike) get to deal with the constant barrage of negative images.
Of course, living in the wealthiest center of power in the western world certainly has advantages, so I can't complain, but I've never really found it possible to take pride in my country the same way others do. I wouldn't be upset at all if we were identified with a loveably corny and passionate conservationist and educator. I know Steve Irwin represented a stereotype, but I've never thought of it as a particularly negative one.
Jeremy Logan's Website.
He was a real animal lover and worked for the preservation of many species.
Rest in peace, friend.
I have always had the impression that Steve got slightly too close to the dangerous animals. Sure, he was better at this than I am, and he probably "knew what he was doing" most of the time.....
But still.... If at one point in time you decide to do something dangerous that has a 1/1000 chance of getting you killed, there is a better than 99% chance (99.9% in fact) that you'll survive. If this happens a couple of times during your lifetime. Fine. If 1000 people live similarly dangerously as you, some get killed. Fact of life.
Because Steve did this kind of dangerous stuff on a dayly basis, his chances of survival drop significantly. Statistics.
In practise it's worse than what theoretical statistics predict: after surviving 99 dangerous (say 1/1000) situations humans think they have things under control, and will start to engage in even more dangerous behaviour (say 1/100). Pushing the limits.
Freak accident? No. Statistics caught up with him.
when I was a kid in australiaa I was smacked black and blue by my dad when he caught me playing with a stingray.
His logic was that he'd rather I not do it because he hit me then not do it because I was dead. I get his point now, as an adult, but as a kid it just worked, I didn't know why.
Details?
"The more intelligent, more healthy person will likely have more healthy intelligent children"
Yes, that's the theory, but in reality it seems to be the less intelligent people who are having all the kids while smarter professional couples have less or no children...
It might be interesting to note that the Wikipedia article on stingrays has already been locked due to vandalism, only hours after the news hit the Web. Mr Irwin's death has had a much greater impact online than I originally anticipated.
While details are still muddled of his death it would not surprise me if he tried to touch one from above and accidentally triggered the stingray's automatic defence to flick the barb straight into his chest. You can't jump back, or dodge, or do anything in water if an animals reacts. As such you'd think the rules of engagement (even for Steve) in the water would be far stricter than on land.
so long and thanks for all the fish !
What a load of crap. Absolute drivel. The kids were with their mother in Tasmania. Anyone who knew anything about Steve and his family could never say such a thing. Their children are there passion. There was hardly a sentence out of Steve's mouth that didn't mention his children. They would do anything for them. If people would show have as much passion for their children as the Irwin's did, the world would be a far better place.
Don't tailgate - the end is near!
I think he probably landed on the bottom without checking the sand first. This is something I've seen him do more than once in underwater documentaries and it makes me cringe every time. He wouldn't go wading in murky water he knew has crocodiles in it so why does he scuba dive onto sandy bottoms containing hidden crabs, stingrays, stone fish, stargazers, flounder, sand worms and other sea life? Some of these critters can inflict a lot of damage.
I read his heart got pierced by the barb (fatal injury) - so he either landed on the stingray, chest first, or he was trying to ride it.
-- it must be true, it's on the internet.
Black humour is natural, even healthy. Once you've finished your holier-than-thou anti-religion bullshit, go and smack yourself over the head with a reality stick. Hard. Please. For the good of humanity.
All your rant has done is show that you're a sanctimonious prick with nothing better to do than preach to the rest of us. Get back to your hole and get some experience in dealing with death, then return and tell us how horribly insenstive you are. Better still, go hang out with some fire fighters for a few shifts. Reckon you've got the testicular fortitude to tell them off for "crispy critter" jokes after a fatal fire? No, didn't think so.
"God, root, what is difference?" - Pitr, userfriendly
I always preferred Sir David Attenborough. That is someone who truly loves and respects nature.
I agree about Sir David Attenborough greatness, but the difference is how thay handled reptiles. After watching Sir David Attenborough, if I found a snake in the back yard I would still chop off its head with a hoe. After watching Steve Irwin, I would think twice and maybe call someone to take it away. Steve changed the image of reptiles from nasty creatures that you kill on sight to animals that should be respected the same as the furry cute ones.
contrary to some opinions expressed above, death by sting-ray is not so improbable. Here is report of another case in Italy.
We're identified with a jingoist leader that 50% of us opposed.
Argh. Look, can we please keep the politics out of non-political topics? You don't like Bush, fine. You're perfectly entitled to your opinion. If this was an article about the Patriot Act or somesuch, that opinion would be relevant, and I might even agree with you. But why does it have to pop up in a discussion about the death of an Australian naturalist/celebrity?
I know I'm ranting out of proportion to your specific post, and I apologize. It's just that this seems to be happening all the freaking time lately, no matter how tenous the connection to the topic is, and it's driving me batty. It's like playing one of those word assocation games at a party, but somehow it always steers itself to "Bush." I'm waiting for it to happen in "LDAP Authentication in Linux" or "Rethinking the Thinkpad" or maybe the "Favorite Sweetener" poll.
"The Greens lynched a hacker in Chicago. Last month, but I think the body's still hanging from the old Water Tower."
they should get a good chomp or poke back at him.
Did you ever actually watch his shows? He was always getting chomped and poked by various dangerous animals. But I don't class getting pierced through the heart with a venomous spear "a good chomp". If that's the sort of thing that makes you "Glad" you are a seriously f*cked up individual.
How is this a freak accident? He got into the water, and put his chest in the sting-ray's possible-whip-path. What happened was a known risk.
:(
If he had been walking down the street and gotten stabed in the chest by a sting-ray's stinger, THAT would've been a freak accident.
Anyway, RIP Steve, and my condolences to his family
Just a quick note to wish his family much love and regret for their loss.
Having been to Australia Zoo a number of times and seeing first hand the number of risks Steve took it was a toal suprise that it was something so unexpected that a docile animal would be the one who was his undoing.
One example I witness first hand was when he and a dozen blokes were moving a giant salty, he always was more concerned with the crocs health and safety than he was his own, and to see his face right next to the crocs snout really did blow me away, there wasnt anything false about Steve, what you see on TV was the guy in real life, he gave his all for the safety of the animals in his care and also wild out in their domain.
The main point of Steve and Terri's life was conservation and about making the world a better place to which they were born, in this he will be very sorely missed here in australia as no doubt all over the world.
Goodbye Mate.
I'm going to Hell for this:
So Steve Irwin walks into a barb.
... will be completely crushed. Steve Irwin was to our kids as Wild Kindom was for people my age. I can't imagine how many young minds were directed to the natural sciences by Irwin's work.
Which seems a pretty good legacy, when you think about it. But our thoughts turn to his wife and young family.
It's true that Irwin died doing what hew loved. It would have been better if he were 80, though. What a sad thing.
This is my post. There are many others like it. If you don't like what you read here, go try one of the others.
It's unfortunate that a good person had to DIE to help make the self-evident and well-known points you mention.
Am I part of the core demographic for Swedish Fish?
Time to get our own back. Bring on Rex Hunt.
Isn't this hilarious! omg... CRIKEY! I'm DEAD... CRIKEY!! GET IT? LOLLOL
/. competition to be the 'uber nerd', to show that you're too cool to care (especially when people might expect you to care), but I would just like to show some 'weakness' and say that I find this part of todays news to be kind of sad.
I'm sure I'll be instantly reprimanded, reminded of the place of black humour, and told how much of a wuss I am being. In fact I'm sure there are armies of nerds just waiting to pounce on anyone who is silly enough to object to the clammering for "funny" mod points before the story gets old. Black humour does have it's place, and I did expect there to be a lot here, but when the entire top half of this page is filled with these comments modded "+5 funny", something about it is just a bit disheartening, quite frankly.
So anyway, I'm not sure who won this round of the perpetual
He could be annoying, embarassing, he courted danger (and eventually paid the price)... but he was so exuberant and positive, and niave in a way. No one can accuse him of being fake or caring about himself more than the environment so many of us neglect as matter of mere convenience. Something about his positive outlook and naive manner in contrast with his early death just seems sad to me. Poor bloke
what did he do to cause a stingray to kill him? TFA says it was a freak accident. but was it really? what were the stingray's intentions?
Steve Irwin was just TOO CLOSE to a secret, I'm sure. I'm not sure what that secret IS, because they killed him with a sting-ray wearing a laser. Very, very, very clever, since everyone is always expecting the whole shark-with-a-laser thing.
It's a shame that Mr. Irwin never had a chance to do anything with that whole Snakes on a Plane thing. Because that would've been funny. He really lived through so many life-threatening situations that I think he came out fairly well.
[/funny]
He was a really neat fellow, from what I could tell. I wish the best to hist wife and children, and may his soul find its way to reptile heaven.
Please stop stalking me, bro.
Over the years I've very much enjoyed watching Steve Irwin. I was shocked this morning to hear of his accident and my heart goes out to his family and friends.
Having said that, I can't say I'm totally surprised. I know something about snakes, including venomous species, having been fascinated by them from a very early age on. That's why I was so astonished when I saw Steve's program for the first time and how he handled snakes. The crocodiles are one thing; reptile wranglers and herpetologists since Ross Allen have employed much the same methods -- there's really no other good way to do it. But, the snakes! When I first saw how he went about "tailing" Australia's highly dangerous elapids, I thought he was nuts! I still think he was nuts for doing that -- in literature, such methods are never recommended. It simply involves risks that are better -- and easy -- to avoid. How can I say it: people in the same business just tend to live longer when they don't take such risks.
However, we got used to seeing him do those kind of things. It was obvious that Steve had a gift. Only someone who has been around reptiles all of his life and knows instinctively how they behave and react could have done those things and make it look so easy. Indeed, get away with it for so long! It was great for TV, that's for sure! But, I guess that same risk-taking mentality finally got the better of him when he strayed too far from his usual environment. I don't know, but he just seemed a little out of his own element whenever he strapped on a scuba tank over his normal work clothes. Unfortunately, he took that same risk-taking mentality into the water with him and ended up getting stabbed to death by a stingray. How unfortunate. A freak accident? Perhaps, but he was obviously too close and probably doing something most experts would not recommend. But then again, he was Steve Irwin, so what could we expect?
Was he crazy to do what he did? Maybe, maybe not. But, what he did do was use his talent to show the world that the creatures that he loved, the ones that give so many people nightmares, are actually fascinating. That they're not intrinsicly evil, but animals like any others, with important roles to play in the world's ecosystems. Except that they deserve a little more respect. On the whole, from an educational point of view, I think that what Steve did was good. Yes, he often took risks and seemed overly dramatic, but that also got a lot of people to watch his shows and learn things they otherwise would not have. That can only have been a good thing.
He will be sorely missed.
Was probably cardiac tamponade. The heart has a little baggy/sack around it called the pericardium. With penetrating injuries to the heart, sime blood leaks out with each beat and gets into the bag, thusdepriving the heart of room to expand. The heart is then basically "choked", and it can't pump blood, unless someone withdraws the fluid from the sack and plugs the hole. The pericardium only holds about 40 cc of fluid or so - not much.
..........FULL STOP.
This is showbiz news, not science news!
Steve Irwin was a respectd scientist, his field was ecological conservationism.
He completed surveys and took blood samples, he gathered data, and he made documentaries to educate the public about misunderstood "monsters".
You can't take the sky from me...
You mean we should all die coding?
Given the typical geek's hobbies, diet, and idea of what constitutes a regular exercise program, a heart attack while wanking off to downloaded pr0n seems more likely.
Now if you'll excuse me, I have a batch script to modify.
//Information does not want to be free; it wants to breed.
Stingrays normally flee at the first sign of trouble. There are two exceptions: if they are cornered or accidentally stepped on.
h ave-been-agony/2006/09/04/1157222070815.html
Irwin's chest wound led some experts to speculate that he might have provoked the creature. "Unfortunately he may have contributed to his death because he got too close and the animal felt threatened," Dr Fry said.
Wildlife filmmaker David Ireland said if a stingray barb hit any vital organs "it's as deadly as a bayonet".
http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/end-would-
Contrary to popular belief, Unix is user friendly. It just happens to be particular about who it makes friends with.
I was doing a presentation for my daughter's fifth grade class on "What's inside a computer?"
Halfway through, one of the kids asked a question: "Do you know you're bleeding?" I'd sliced myself on the case.
Fascism starts when the efficiency of the government becomes more important than the rights of the people.
Well I've met my fair share of Americans and I can say that they come across as a little self-absorbed. I have met some great ones, and some of the best travel buddies I have made were American, but in general the view that they are concerned only with their own gratification and possess a smug sense of superiority seems to be the general view held by Australians. Perhaps its rooted in general ignorance of issues outside the US border, or perhaps its that attitude of "we're the best nation on Earth" or perhaps its even a little jealousy that America gets all the limelight.
While I believe American foreign policy is at the root of many of the world's social ills, and is long overdue for a hard, honest review, I don't hate Americans. I find them to be loud at times, but generally friendly people who are easy to get along with, if one is willing to put up some eccentricies.
I hate printers.
Which, amusingly enough, sounds very similar to how most Americans view Australians. :)
You are in a maze of twisty little relative jumps, all alike.
Well, I have this amazing revelation to give to you, which is that every society on earth comes across as a little self-absorbed. We're all loud eccentrics; it's called being human.
"Sufferin' succotash."
What a crybaby. I Digg this guy down!
Horns are really just a broken halo.
One of the lighter sides out this tragedy is the fact that he not only leaves the image of international wildlife conservation much higher in regard to millions of people across the world, but that he was also successful enough to enlarge his zoo using over $16 million in profits from his shows along with buying a lot more land than that for conservation use. His family and young children who have been left without a father are also financially secure and have a much better father figure to look up to when they grow up than most people ever will. Rest In Peace Steve, you were a great man.
Business Voyeur
Bless Steve Irwin and Family
This is a loss.
For example, the "AIDS drugs to Africa" campaign involved getting the US DoT to first shut down Brasilian companies which were already doing a fine job of shipping the same medications to Africa.
And so on, across the board.
Bill's idea of "philanthropy" seems to have a very stiff controlling aspect. Steve's philanthropy was/is more intersting & genuine.
Got time? Spend some of it coding or testing
"And now I'm going to jam my thumb up his butthole.. CRICKEY YEA THAT REALLY PISSED HIM OFF!"