Crocodile Hunter' Steve Irwin was as fearless as he was entertaining. The Australian, who popularised the word 'crikey', gained international fame as a wildlife expert on his popular 'Animal Planet' series. Irwin was killed in a freak accident on Monday, while taping an underwater documentary off the Australian Coast. He
leaves behind his wife, Teri, and two young children.
For many Australians, it just doesn't seem real . . . the man who built a global reputation wrestling crocodiles and playing with deadly snakes . . who courted death with enthusiasm and a broad smile, seemed invincible.
Even harder for many was the way he died. Swimming in shallow waters on the Great Barrier Reef, not far from the resort of Port Douglas in Northern Queensland, he was filming a segment for a children's TV show he was making with his eight year old daughter, Bindy (she wasn't with him at the time). But those who were there said Irwin was killed by a stingray, normally a defensive animal, which rarely attacks.
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. It's likely he died instantly when the barb hit him. Local writer Trevor Rowe wrote this poem which was aired on the radio today to commemorate Steve's life.
To Steve Irwin...
By Trevor Rowe
That Crocodile Hunter
Was an Aussie - through and through
It's not only what he said
It's what that bloke could do. We'll miss his Aussie daring To outwit the crocodile power. Believe it or not
What you see - is what you got. He lived life - at a 1000 miles an hour
What a man - what a life - what a tragedy
Like our own Peter Blake, he is gone. They went to their rest, doing what they loved best
But their deeds will forever live on.
