Crocodile Hunter Killed by Stingray Stinger to the Heart

Steve Irwin felled by a stingray? This is a guy who wrestled with crocodiles. Think about that, he wrestled with crocodiles. Crocodiles kill hundreds of people a year; only 17 worldwide fatalities have taken place as a result of stingrays in the past 10 years. Then again, perhaps I am being too quick to judge. I mean just because he risked his own life and quite possibly his infant's tickling crocs for the camera doesn't mean that he is invincible or should have gone down in some herculean feat of mythological proportions. When you think about it, this is really just a run-of-the-mill mundane headline not unlike Pelican Decapitates Elderly Woman or 30 Piranhas Devour a Baby. You see stuff like this everyday.

According to wikipedia.org, the events were caught on camera and the footage is now in the possession of Queensland Police. Steve Irwin was in the area filming his own documentary, to be called The Ocean's Deadliest, but weather had stalled filming. Irwin decided to take the opportunity to film some shallow water shots for a segment in the television program his daughter Bindi was hosting, when, according to his friend and colleague John Stainton, he swam too close to one of the animals. "He came on top of the stingray and the stingray's barb went up and into his chest and put a hole into his heart," said Stainton, who was on board Irwin's boat at the time.

This footage is going to be on youtube before you know it.