QUOTE
The Associated Press
Published: September 4, 2006
He stalked lions. He faced off with poisonous snakes. He wrestled with crocodiles. When the end came for television's beloved "Crocodile Hunter," it was in an encounter with a stingray and its venomous tail barb.
Perhaps it wasn't surprising. Steve Irwin died doing what he loved best, getting too close to one of the dangerous animals he dedicated his life to protecting with an irrepressible, effervescent personality that propelled him to global fame.
The 44-year-old Irwin's heart was pierced by the serrated, poisonous spine of a stingray as he swam with the creature Monday while shooting a new TV show on the Great Barrier Reef, his manager and producer John Stainton said.
Marine experts called the death a freak accident. They said rays reflexively deploy a sharp spine in their tails when frightened, but the venom coating the barb usually just causes a very painful sting for humans.
This post has been edited by palindroem: Sep 5 2006, 04:52 AM