posted September 04, 2006 02:15 AM         

Irwin was filming an underwater documentary on the Great Barrier Reef in northeastern Queensland state when the accident occurred, Sydney's The Daily Telegraph newspaper reported on its Web site.

The Australian Broadcasting Corp. said Irwin was diving near Low Isles Reef near the resort town of Port Douglas, about 1,260 miles north of the state capital of Brisbane.

Queensland ambulance service spokesman Bob Hamil confirmed that a diver had been killed by a stingray off Lowe Isles Reef but refused to say who the victim was until relatives had been notified.

A rescue helicopter was sent from the nearby city of Cairns, and paramedics from it confirmed the diver's death.

"The probable cause of death is stingray strike to the chest," Hamil said.

Staff at Australia Zoo, Irwin's zoo in southern Queensland, said they had heard the reports but could not comment.

Irwin is famous for his enthusiasm for wildlife and his catchcry "Crikey!" in his television program "Crocodile Hunter," which was first broadcast in Australia in 1992 and has aired around the world on the Discovery channel.

He rode his image into a feature film, and developed the Australia Zoo as a tourist attraction.

Irwin had received some negative publicity in recent years. In January 2004, he stunned onlookers at the Australia Zoo reptile park by carrying his 1-year-old son into a crocodile pen during a wildlife show. He tucked the infant under one arm while tossing the 13-foot reptile a piece of meat with the other.

Authorities declined to charge Irwin for violating safety regulations.

Later that year, he was accused of getting too close to penguins, a seal and humpback whales in Antarctica while making a documentary. Irwin denied any wrongdoing, and an Australian Environment Department investigation recommended no action be taken.

Irwin was also seen as a vocal critic of wildlife hunts in Australia. The federal government recently dropped plans to allow crocodile safaris for wealthy tourists in the Northern Territory following his vehement objections.

Irwin told the Australian television program "A Current Affair" that "killing one of our beautiful animals in the name of trophy hunting will have a very negative impact on tourism, which scares the living daylights out of me."

He is survived by his American wife Terri, from Oregon, and their daughter Bindi Sue, 8, and son Bob, who will turn 3 in December.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060904/ap_on_en_tv/obit_irwin

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posted September 05, 2006 03:33 PM         

My sweet Animal Planet Icon! No WAY!!!!

I will never get over this.

It makes absolutely NO SENSE to end his life. Universe, what WERE you thinking?!

posted September 07, 2006 08:31 PM         

Steve: “The most important thing in Bindi’s life is that she’s grown up in a zoo. Crikey, we’re all over the crocs, the snakes, the birds, the turtles, the kangaroos and the koalas. Bindi’s passionate about animals, but she’s also into singing, dancing and dress-ups, like any other little girl. We were up in Cape York Peninsula catching crocodiles and this particular croc that I’d caught was over four metres and he was scary! Bindi walks down from the camp to find me hanging off this crocodile and says, ‘Excuse me, Daddy, when you’re finished here could you please come back to the camp and play with Barbie?’ So when I’d finished with the croc, I went back to the camp and played with the Barbie dolls. I’d do anything to spend time with my daughter.”

Bindi: “I love that he’s funny, he’s entertaining and he’s always there when I need him most. I’m proud to have a dad like that, who takes on conservation issues around the world. I love him very, very much.”

Source: Australian Marie Claire, September 2006, pg 54 (their Father's Day issue)