Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - September 5, 2006, Winnipeg, Manitoba top news Winnipeg free press tuesday september 5, 2006 a5 Steve Irwin loved animals took chances naturalist killed by Stingray Barb by Alex Strachan h is Energy was boundless. His Joy was infectious. He was his generation a Jacques Cousteau its Marlon Perkins. His love and appreciation for critters most people were terrified of and repelled by was obvious to anyone who tuned in his programs the Crocodile Hunter the Croc files new Breed vets and Crocodile Hunter diaries. He took chances ? those in the know about such things say foolish crazy chances ? not just because it made Good television which it did but because he enjoyed it. He seemed invincible some How. No matter How tense chaotic and nerve wracking the scene May have been behind the camera on camera it seemed As if he would to get so much As a scratch. When Steve Irwin was killed by a Stingray Barb through the heart yesterday while its All filming an underwater documentary off aus about Thalia a great Barrier perceived reef the initial reaction was Surprise. Danger within hours of word ? Steve spreading through the Irwin in 2004 International Media another reaction began to take hold a sense that this outcome As tragic and sudden As it seemed was inevitable. In the age of the music video the 500?channel universe and the nanosecond attention Span Irwin needed a bit a gag something that would separate him from the countless other wildlife documentary filmmakers traversing the Globe in search of that great natural moment. That bit would be his willingness to take chances on screen coupled with a winning personality and disarming humility that made you want to invite him into your Home. Whether it was chasing a Black Mamba from a hut in Kenya a maa Sailand or gingerly handling a Tarantula in the deserts of new mexi co Irwin a affection for the natural world was palpable. That innate Lik Abil Ity coupled with his genuine fondness for All things wild ? especially the Crea Tures most hated and maligned ? Sepa rated him from the crowd of wildlife documentary filmmakers and animal wranglers. Irwin came by his enthusiasms Hon Estly ? he was the son of naturalists Bob and Lyn Irwin and he grew up around wild animals at Australia a Queensland reptile and Fauna Park. By the time he was nine his father had taught him How to jump into the water and catch crocodiles in the Rivers in his native North Queensland. Long before he became involved in his to program he was a fixture at the family owned Australia zoo in Beerah North of Bris Bane where the father and son team could boast that the Parks More than 150 crocodiles were either caught with their own hands or born and raised at the zoo. To his detractors Irwin was a fool and a Buffoon. I think he a a bloody idiot he a addicted to the attention an australian Crocodile farm owner Keith Cook told Australia a courier mail news paper in 2004, shortly after a controversial incident in which Irwin fed a Crocodile while holding his month old son in his other Arm. Irwin defended his seeming risk Tak ing by saying that the risks he took were exaggerated for the cameras. Its All about perceived danger he told a 2004 news conference in the Wake of the baby incident. I was in Complete off screen Irwin had a rarely seen More professional Side he was Active in the Queensland governments relocation program for rogue crocodiles in which he successfully captured and relocated dozens of crocodiles judged a threat to local people and livestock without injury to either himself or the crocodiles. The irony of course is that while Irwin survived tussles with giant pythons poisonous snakes and countless crocodiles his death came at the hands of a sea creature not known for being lethal. A Marine expert with Atlanta a Georgia aquarium told can yesterday that hundreds of snorkelers and divers swim near stingrays every Day. The castaways in the original survivor filmed off the coast of Borneo a province were surrounded by stingrays whenever they ventured into the shallows. A Stingray sting is painful but rarely fatal. Irwin 44, is survived by his wife Terri Irwin a veterinarian and wildlife rehabilitation officer from Eugene Oregon whom he married in 1992, and their Chil Dren Bindi sue Irwin 8, and Robert Bob Clarence Irwin 3. In the frenzy Over Irwin a life and death it is All too easy to forget that he was a tireless advocate for the worlds animals and wild places. He took the Nat ural and simple and made it interesting exciting even for a generation of View ers raised on a steady diet of mtg and 30-second commercial and spots. I have no fear of losing my life he once told the times of London newspaper. Crikey mate. You re far safer Deal ing with crocodiles and Western Diamond rattlesnakes than the executives and producers and All those Sharks in hol Lywood if that caused you to smile even a Little then you understand. Irwin a legacy May prove to be fleeting but for a Brief moment there it was profound. ? can West news service Stingray Only a danger if frightened stingrays Are strange looking but normally shy creatures whose defences include poisonous serrated barbs in their tails. At least 35 species of Stingray swim in the tropical Waters of Australia a great Barrier reef where television personality Steve Irwin died yesterday when he was stabbed in the heart by a rays Barb. Experts called it a Freak occurrence. They said the triangular shaped rays Are usually gliding through the water rummaging on the sea Bottom for food or burrowing into the Sand. But when stepped on or otherwise frightened they deploy spines up to 10 inches Long with bread knife like Serrations. If its spooked by someone stepping on it or swimming too closely Over it the Tail raises involuntarily said Victoria brims a Marine life expert at Ocean world in Sydney Australia. The spines Emit toxins that can kill Many Small creatures and that cause excruciating pain in humans. Few people die from the Poison but the spines can badly tear flesh and wounds Are prone to infections including tetanus. Simon Pierce of Queensland univer sity a school of biological sciences said there Are no exact records of Stingray deaths but estimated there had been about 30 worldwide in recent years. Wit Nesses said Irwin was struck directly in the heart. It was extraordinarily bad Luck said Shaun Collin a University of Queens land Marine neuroscientist. Its not easy to get spine by a Stingray and to be killed by one is very ? associated press ;