# Has it been officially confirmed what exactly killed Steve Irwin?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-it-been-officially-confirmed-what-exactly-killed-steve-irwin/371655>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [September 6, 2006, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-it-been-officially-confirmed-what-exactly-killed-steve-irwin/371655 "2006-09-06T16:44:33Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\
**Post date:** [September 6, 2006, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-it-been-officially-confirmed-what-exactly-killed-steve-irwin/371655/1 "2006-09-06T16:44:33Z")

</div>

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.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\
**Post date:** [September 6, 2006, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-it-been-officially-confirmed-what-exactly-killed-steve-irwin/371655/2 "2006-09-06T16:54:46Z")

</div>

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.)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\
**Post date:** [September 6, 2006, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-it-been-officially-confirmed-what-exactly-killed-steve-irwin/371655/3 "2006-09-06T16:56:36Z")

</div>

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

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\
**Post date:** [September 6, 2006, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-it-been-officially-confirmed-what-exactly-killed-steve-irwin/371655/4 "2006-09-06T19:33:52Z")

</div>

[QUOTE=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.)  
[/QUOTE]

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

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![anson2995](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@anson2995](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anson2995)\
**Post date:** [September 6, 2006, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-it-been-officially-confirmed-what-exactly-killed-steve-irwin/371655/5 "2006-09-06T22:24:06Z")

</div>

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

From [this story](http://www.bangkokpost.com/breaking_news/breakingnews.php?id=112711):

> [@](#):
>
> 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](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/05/AR2006090500020.html) 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](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=387008), it’s possible that the wound was fatal regardless of whether the barb was removed.