# Steve Irwin (the "Crocodile Man") reported dead in a marine accident **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** celebrity-death\ **Created:** [September 4, 2006, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steve-irwin-the-crocodile-man-reported-dead-in-a-marine-accident/371369 "2006-09-04T04:36:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2006, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steve-irwin-the-crocodile-man-reported-dead-in-a-marine-accident/371369/21 "2006-09-04T06:49:19Z")
Although Internet vandalism is no laughing matter, especially in a time of tragedy such as this, I couldn’t help but chuckle at a vandalism of Steve Irwin’s Wikipedia article. The paragraph of his death had as a final sentence (quickly removed), “His last words were ‘I’ve had it with these motherfucking snakes in motherfucking Australia, mate!’” ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2006, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steve-irwin-the-crocodile-man-reported-dead-in-a-marine-accident/371369/22 "2006-09-04T06:56:31Z")
Jeez. I try to take a break from homework, and find this on my news page… ☹ I really liked that guy; he did an amazing job raising awareness about some of the less cuddly creatures on the planet. My thoughts are with his family. Poor kids. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2006, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steve-irwin-the-crocodile-man-reported-dead-in-a-marine-accident/371369/23 "2006-09-04T06:58:21Z")
Wow! Steve Irwin killed by a wild animal! What were the odds against that? Seriously, one couldn’t help but like the guy. The quintessential Aussie; we shall not look upon his like again. Good on yer, mate! ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2006, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steve-irwin-the-crocodile-man-reported-dead-in-a-marine-accident/371369/24 "2006-09-04T06:59:39Z")
Almost the first thing I thought of was the FedEx(?) commercial he did, where he was bitten by a snake bite, and because his people had chosen the wrong shipping company to send the antidote, he didn’t get the injection and keeled over and died. I would say that was prophetic, but I’m not sure it counts as a prophecy when you live in such a way that the odds are bound to catch up with you. My sympathies are with his family, and it’s a shame that he couldn’t have continued to beat the odds, as, say, Thor Heyerdahl\* did, but at least he died doing what he loved. \*Yeah, Heyerdahl had cancer. But he died on **his** terms. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2006, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steve-irwin-the-crocodile-man-reported-dead-in-a-marine-accident/371369/25 "2006-09-04T07:03:10Z")
RIP Steve. I wonder if he had life insurance… (and what kind of premiums he was paying) ---
**Author:** ![DataZak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ea666f/32.png) [@DataZak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DataZak)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2006, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steve-irwin-the-crocodile-man-reported-dead-in-a-marine-accident/371369/26 "2006-09-04T07:17:01Z")
Damn. Not really surprised but still… Gonna miss him. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2006, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steve-irwin-the-crocodile-man-reported-dead-in-a-marine-accident/371369/27 "2006-09-04T07:29:12Z")
[QUOTE=Rilchiam] Almost the first thing I thought of was the FedEx(?) commercial he did, where he was bitten by a snake bite, and because his people had chosen the wrong shipping company to send the antidote, he didn’t get the injection and keeled over and died. I would say that was prophetic, but I’m not sure it counts as a prophecy when you live in such a way that the odds are bound to catch up with you. My sympathies are with his family, and it’s a shame that he couldn’t have continued to beat the odds, as, say, Thor Heyerdahl\* did, but at least he died doing what he loved. \*Yeah, Heyerdahl had cancer. But he died on **his** terms. [/QUOTE] Actually, I’d say that Irwin died on his own terms. He went doing what he loved, which is all any of us could ask for. It certainly beats dying in a retirement home or getting hit by a milk truck while crossing the street. I suppose I’m going to hell for this, but I can’t help but wonder if his last words were, “Crickey! That hurt!” ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2006, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steve-irwin-the-crocodile-man-reported-dead-in-a-marine-accident/371369/28 "2006-09-04T07:42:18Z")
No, I know Irwin died on his own terms. About Heyerdahl, I meant that when he was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor, he stopped eating, rather than linger and suffer. Should have included a link. ---
**Author:** ![mamboman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecb155/32.png) [@mamboman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mamboman)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2006, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steve-irwin-the-crocodile-man-reported-dead-in-a-marine-accident/371369/29 "2006-09-04T07:45:50Z")
You know, he’s only the third person ever to be reported killed by a stingray in Australia (my cite is Fox News). We’re all very sad. He’s a local hero. mm ---
**Author:** ![lisacurl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/41988e/32.png) [@lisacurl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisacurl)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2006, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steve-irwin-the-crocodile-man-reported-dead-in-a-marine-accident/371369/30 "2006-09-04T07:47:03Z")
[QUOTE=Tuckerfan] Actually, I’d say that Irwin died on his own terms. He went doing what he loved, which is all any of us could ask for. It certainly beats dying in a retirement home or getting hit by a milk truck while crossing the street. [/QUOTE] I hope that’s some comfort to his 8- and 3-year-old children who will grow up without him. ---
**Author:** ![KGS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90ced4/32.png) [@KGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGS)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2006, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steve-irwin-the-crocodile-man-reported-dead-in-a-marine-accident/371369/31 "2006-09-04T08:12:37Z")
[QUOTE=lisacurl] I hope that’s some comfort to his 8- and 3-year-old children who will grow up without him. [/QUOTE] I’m positive it will be. How likely is it to die from a stingray, anyway? Is their venom really that toxic, or could someone die from the trauma of the wound itself? ---
**Author:** ![Sierra\_Indigo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f0a364/32.png) [@Sierra\_Indigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sierra_Indigo)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2006, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steve-irwin-the-crocodile-man-reported-dead-in-a-marine-accident/371369/32 "2006-09-04T08:23:25Z")
I don’t know how venomous a stingray is when you’re stung on, say, the arm or the foot but the reports are saying he was stung in the chest. If it didnt’ hit his heart it would have been damned close, and I’d say that’s what did it for him. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2006, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steve-irwin-the-crocodile-man-reported-dead-in-a-marine-accident/371369/33 "2006-09-04T08:33:40Z")
What I’ve been reading is that the barb pierced his heart. Sting ray barbs are kind of like daggers: slender, tapering from both sides, and several inches long. One could pierce a person’s heart easily if the right kind of circumstance should occur. A few pics can be found [here](http://www.google.com/images?svnum=10&hl=en&safe=off&sa=X&oi=spell&resnum=0&ct=result&cd=1&q=stingray+%22barb%22&spell=1). ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2006, 8:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steve-irwin-the-crocodile-man-reported-dead-in-a-marine-accident/371369/34 "2006-09-04T08:36:56Z")
Apparently from the interview I heard with his producer the barb actually pierced his heart. According to the cameraman Irwin was swimming above the ray and the cameraman diudn’t know anything had happened until he saw the blood in the water. For Aussie viewers Denton has rejigged _Enough Rope_ tonight to reshow his interview from a couple of years ago. ---
**Author:** ![AngelicGemma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/439d5e/32.png) [@AngelicGemma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AngelicGemma)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2006, 8:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steve-irwin-the-crocodile-man-reported-dead-in-a-marine-accident/371369/35 "2006-09-04T08:54:46Z")
Well shit. His poor wife and kids. I thought the guy was great. How sad. ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2006, 8:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steve-irwin-the-crocodile-man-reported-dead-in-a-marine-accident/371369/36 "2006-09-04T08:58:12Z")
[QUOTE=don’t ask] For Aussie viewers Denton has rejigged _Enough Rope_ tonight to reshow his interview from a couple of years ago. [/QUOTE] Thanks for that **don’t ask**. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Fugazi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f08c70/32.png) [@Fugazi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fugazi)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2006, 9:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steve-irwin-the-crocodile-man-reported-dead-in-a-marine-accident/371369/37 "2006-09-04T09:17:23Z")
I keep thinking of the ESPN Sports Center commercial where he was in front of the elevator with one of the ESPN announcers when the Florida Gators mascot walks up. They wind up wrestling on the floor. It was hilarious. ---
**Author:** ![Operation\_Ripper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/34f0e0/32.png) [@Operation\_Ripper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Operation_Ripper)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2006, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steve-irwin-the-crocodile-man-reported-dead-in-a-marine-accident/371369/38 "2006-09-04T10:09:19Z")
First the Grizzly Man, now the Crocodile Hunter. Who’d a thought? :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Terrifel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c68b51/32.png) [@Terrifel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terrifel)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2006, 10:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steve-irwin-the-crocodile-man-reported-dead-in-a-marine-accident/371369/39 "2006-09-04T10:17:04Z")
I have to say, of all the animals on the planet that I would have expected to take that guy out, a stingray would have been near the very bottom of the list. Whatever else can be said about him, he died as he lived: unconventionally. Thanks for the ride, Mr. Irwin. You were one of a kind, ya great Aussie goofball. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2006, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steve-irwin-the-crocodile-man-reported-dead-in-a-marine-accident/371369/40 "2006-09-04T10:46:30Z")
This link details an account of a guy who got one through the heart: [http://www.nswseakayaker.asn.au/mag/47/stingrays.html](http://www.nswseakayaker.asn.au/mag/47/stingrays.html) > [@](#): > > SURVIVOR OF STINGRAY INJURY TO THE HEART > MJA 2001; 175: 33-34 - Beatrix Weiss MBBS FRACS & Hugh Wolfenden MBBS FRACS > Injuries to the extremities from stingray barbs are not uncommon along the Australian seaboard. Cardiac injuries from Stingray barbs are rare, even worldwide, and all but one have been fatal. We report a survivor of a cardiac injury caused by a stingray barb. Penetration of a body cavity by a stingray barb requires early surgical referral and management. > > Australian coastal waters contain many species of stingrays, and injuries to the extremities caused by the barb or barbs on a stingray’s tail are not uncommon. These wounds are painful, and may develop necrosis and secondary infection. Penetration of a body cavity by a stingray barb may cause major morbidity and even death, particularly with cardiac injury, and requires early surgical referral and management. > > CLINICAL RECORD > A 33 year old man was snorkeling at Coogee, a popular Sydney swimming beach, when he was noticed to be in distress. He was rescued by lifeguards, and found to be unconscious, not breathing, and had an increased heart rate (150 beats/min). After a short period of expired air resuscitation performed on the beach, he regained consciousness and said he had been struck by the tail of a stingray. He complained of difficulty breathing and severe, left-sided chest pain where the tail had struck. > When paramedics arrived he was cyanosed, with a systolic blood pressure of 75 mmHg (usually 110 to 140) and sinus tachycardia (heart rate 150 beats/min), but with normal level of consciousness. He was given fluid resuscitation on the way to hospital with no improvement in blood pressure. > > On arrival at the emergency department, he remained in cardiogenic shock with a low blood pressure and high heart rate, hypothermia (temperature of 31C), poor peripheral perfusion and central cyanosis. He had a 2 cm laceration over the lower left chest next to the sternum. His Glasgow coma score (level of consciousness; 15 normal, 3 dead) had deteriorated to 10. He was intubated and manually ventilated. Invasive monitoring catheters were inserted and cardiac support commenced with adrenaline. > > Echocardiography revealed a cardiac tamponade, fluid trapped in the sac around the heart causing restriction to cardiac function. A needle drainage was performed and 150 ml of blood was aspirated from the pericardial sac. This resulted in prompt restoration of blood pressure to 170/80 mmHg, and reduction in heart rate to 100 beats/min. > > Because of the possibility of foreign material in the pericardial space and the known necrotic effects of stingray venom, the patient was transferred to the operating theatre, where the chest was opened the pericardial space and left pleural cavity were explored. A puncture wound that had spontaneously sealed over was found in one of the coronary arteries. There was no injury to the cardiac muscle. No foreign material was found. The area was copiously irrigated to remove all potential venom. Intravenous antibiotics were commenced and continued for five days. > > His recovery was uncomplicated. He was discharged home on the sixth day after the operation and was well at the two month follow up. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steve-irwin-the-crocodile-man-reported-dead-in-a-marine-accident/371369.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steve-irwin-the-crocodile-man-reported-dead-in-a-marine-accident/371369.md?page=3)