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Apparently he was killed by a stingray today in Cairns

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,20349890-1702,00.html

Without sounding like a heartless cow, my first thought was along the lines of "oh, well it was really a matter of time". Felt bad for thinking it, but its true

My second thought was for his family. His wife is trekking Cradle Mountain and has yet to be informed.

For animals, the entire universe has been neatly divided into things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run away from, and (d) rocks. - Terry Pratchett

I was actually thinking the same thing, Callatya.

Isn't his daughter going to start her own television series soon (directed towards kids, obviously)? I wonder if that's still going on.

That's pretty messed up that his wife doesn't even know yet. What about his kids?

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I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

Total American here, but I am so sad. We loved this guy and his dedication to crocs and now he's gone? I'm really depressed over this....

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~~Melissa~~
"Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder."

After all the species he's dealt with, and he got finished off by one that you really wouldn't expect to be deadly (painful but not generally deadly right?)

well, the one consolation in all this is that he seems to have gone out doing something that he loved to do.

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"That's the trouble with political jokes in this country... they get elected!" -- Dave Lippman

Calla, unfortunately that's the first thing that came to my mind too. He was the modern day Gerald Durrel and this is just so sad. We are crazy about him here in India as well, and I found out about this on the Indian Aquarium website that I visit.

May his soul rest in peace

Not sure about the kids. Seems some family was in Brisbane and they are flying out tonight to FNQ to collect him.

Yeah, rays aren't normally deadly, but I'd bet it was a rather large one and he probably isn't like your ordinary diver either.

For animals, the entire universe has been neatly divided into things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run away from, and (d) rocks. - Terry Pratchett

It is always a very sad thing when someone dies who leaves children behind, no matter if the person is famous or not. In his case, I think most people either loved him or hated him, he didn't leave much middle ground there (that's what I call a person with character).

As goofy as he was, and as outrageous his contact with animals was, I think he did a lot for animals and in particular for the Australian Zoo, at least that is how we perceive it here in the US.

Let's hope that he is now in a place with loads of animals, I am sure that would make him happy.

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

I guess he did play with danger, but you'd have thought maybe a croc or snake, rather than a ray.

At least he went doing something he loved & I agree with Ingo, that you either loved or hated him.

Very sad for his wife & young family, who are left behind.



Cheers
TW

Wow. He was a big help for wildlife awareness. I used to love watching his show when I was little, and my sister loves it too.

From the sound of it, the barb hit near his heart.

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

Yes sirbooks, what we are hearing here on our news reports is that the barb pierced near his heart & then this caused cardiac arrest.

Cheers
TW

Just caught this.

Some of us may well have watched him in action and wondered how he lived to tell the tale after some of his escapades, but the fact that he did on those many occasions tells me at least that he knew something of what he was doing. one tends not to walk away from encounters of the kind he had with salt water crocodiles without some knowledge and skill to back up the apparent risk taking.

That willingness to put his neck on the line helped in waking a lot of people up to the natural world, and the need to treat it with decency and respect. A legacy I am sure he would be happy to have left, given the choice.

He was, needless to say, aware that in this day and age, a certain flair for showmanship and the dramatic is needed to command an audience. He certainly possessed that flair in spades, but likewise, that flair for the dramatic was in all probability backed up by hard physical and intellectual spadework of the kind that isn't picked up by channel hopping between MTV and Nickelodeon. He was, yes, a showman, but a showman with a brain, and one with a heart too - it's impossible to watch his television programmes without his passion for his work literally leaping out of the screen at the viewer. While his antics looked dangerous to the ill informed, he managed to walk that tightrope with flair for a very long time, providing a spectacle while delivering a message that, if we are to be honset, needs people like him to deliver it - people for whom the wonders around us become a passion.

If we are honest, quite a few of us would have loved the opportunity to get 'up close and personal' as he did. I know I would. Whether I'd show the same skill of course is moot, but he made us want to be out there with him, staring the natural world straight in the eye.

We've lost someone special today.


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

According to a talking head on tv that my mother heard he had supposedly finished filming his segment, and had been shooting footage for a special that his daughter was aparently going to be hosting.

I hope that the networks are smart enough to pull the show.

For all of us it's really just a matter of time. I'd want to go doing something that I loved or that made a difference...a few of you know my dream job after all.

Carpe Diem

^_^

It is a sad day. I do agree with Calla that he was toying with death to a certain extent, and this day would come sooner or later. But still, he was a man who contributed much to the exploration, conservation and care for wildlife. I am hoping that his efforts would not be ignored or gone to waste.

I have seen the "making of" footages of some of his shows, and apparently some of his snake's or lizard's "findings" are placed on the dirt trail by hand, and not found by chance. Well, in whichever form his animal confrontations are, he still has my respect and I wish that there'd be more like him to take that seat.

Bleeder's Forum
http://silentlucidity.s10.forumsplace.com

i was heartbroken, and i felt the same way as crazyred does.

I was so sad when I heard this yesterday. Working in the Brisbane tourism industry, we've had quite a few dealings with Australia Zoo (never with Steve himself, but with his wife). It definitely was a shock. I think he did great things for wildlife conservation in this country, no matter how mad some of his antics appeared.

I feel just awful for his wife and children, of course. I know exactly how painful it is to lose a father, but I can only imagine how much worse it may be for them, given their youth and the fact that their dad was so famous - they won't be able to turn on a TV for quite a while without seeing him right there, or walk aound the zoo for that matter.

The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it. - Oscar Wilde

I just heard about this earlier, and it made me think of FishProfiles. It's too bad, I really enjoyed all his shows; but it seemed like it was bound to happen sooner or later. The world has lost a good human being.

-Keith

http://www.ozarkgames.com

According to a lot of things I've read, apprently he pulled the stinger out of his chest and was semi-conscious for a minute or two before he finally went into cardiac arrest. I bet most people would have died instantaneously.

That's pretty hardcore... Like death Rasputin-style.

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I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

I wish...

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I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.