Has it been officially confirmed what exactly killed Steve Irwin?

[Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker]

I think the two leading candidates are a) damage to the heart muscle/pericardium as the result of the being pierced by the stinger (then being pulled out), or b) a “direct injection” of poison into the heart.

[friedo]

I hadn’t heard that there was any doubt that it was the stab wound that did him in. Stingray venom usually isn’t fatal. (It hurts like a mofo though.)

[BobLibDem]

Just curious- if he hadn’t pulled it out, could he have lived?

[ouryL]

@friedo

I hadn’t heard that there was any doubt that it was the stab wound that did him in. Stingray venom usually isn’t fatal. (It hurts like a mofo though.)

A 9volt battery won’t electrocute you either but 9 volts is all it takes to stop your heart! :eek:

[anson2995]

Answer to the OP’s question is A, damage to the heart, as opposed to B, poison.

From this story:

An autopsy on the famed Crocodile Hunter showed the cause of death was the injury to his heart, inflicted by the 20-centimetre-long spike, but did not establish whether it was blood loss, a heart attack or organ damage that took the life of the khaki-clad showman and millionaire zookeeper.

This Washington Post article says more about the lethal physical trauma that occurred:

Marine experts say stingrays can deliver horrific, agonizing injuries from the toxin-laden barbs, which can measure up to 20 cm (8 in) in length and cause injuries like a knife or bayonet.

“The strongly serrated barb is capable of tearing and rendering flesh,” said Dr Bryan Fry, deputy director of the Australian Venom Research Unit.

“It’s not the going in that causes the damage, it’s the coming out where those deep serrations kind of pull on the flesh, and you end up with a very jagged tear which is quite a pronounced injury,” Fry said.

That last line seems to address **BobLibDem’**s question. However, as they’ve been discussing over in this thread, it’s possible that the wound was fatal regardless of whether the barb was removed.