Monday, September 04, 2006

Steve Irwin, RIP

From The Sydney Morning Herald:

Television personality and environmentalist Steve Irwin has died from a stingray wound while filming off north Queensland.

Friends believe he may have died instantly when struck by a stingray as he filmed a sequence for his eight-year-old daughter Bindi's new TV series..

Irwin's friend of 20 years, Ferre De Deyne said Irwin had been struck by the stingray while filming. "The stingray just happened to be swimming around and out of the blue whacked his tail at him," he said.

"It is absolutely tragic. I have dived so many times with stingrays and they are usually very placid things," he said.

Known worldwide as the Crocodile Hunter, 44-year-old Irwin was famous for his enthusiasm for wildlife and his catchcry "Crikey!"

There are worse ways to die than doing what you love.