Steve Irwin dies at age 44

[INTRIGUED]

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200609/s1732439.htm


Quite the insane way to die if you ask me. How did you die? Well I was stung through the heart by a stingray. Incredible to say the least.

[tpunx99GSX]

thats crazy... poor guy

[Boostin_dreams]

Dambn that sucks. That guy was fucken crazy. But it was fun to watch his show.

[JET]

Absolutely insane. I didn't even know a stingray could penetrate the skin that far, especially through a wet suit!

[A//// Guy]

I couldnt believe it at first, wow thats just nuts.

[1ViciousGSX]

Holy stingray mate!

[scheides]

That sucks, but the guy did play around with the most deadly creatures in the world. He was very professional about it, but looks like he met his match.

[Jana]

Very sad news. :(

[Matt D.]

At first I thought it was the sprint car driver, Steve Irwin. But man, this is sad news.

Rays can get pretty big, and if you think about how narrow our chest cavity is compared to that big fish there's no doubt that their stinger could penetrate the heart.

A little blurb from Wikipedia:
Dasyatids generally do not attack aggressively, or even actively defend themselves. When threatened their primary reaction is to swim away. However, when they are attacked by predators or stepped on, the barbed stinger in their tail is mechanically whipped up. This attack is normally ineffective against their main predator-- sharks. Humans are usually stung in the foot; it is also possible, although less likely, to be stung by brushing against the stinger. Contact with the stinger causes local trauma (from the cut itself), pain and swelling from the venom, and possible infection from parts of the stinger left in the wound, as well as from seawater entering the wound. Injuries to humans include, but are not limited to, venomization, punctures, severed arteries and possible death though extremely unlikely. Fatal stings, such as that which killed Australian naturalist and TV-personality Steve Irwin, are extremely rare (as of 1996, worldwide known deaths from stingray barb injuries numbered 17), but can occur if a sting punctures the heart or chest, causing complications due to both the sting's location and the poison in the barbs.

[NOT THE BLUE LAMPSHADE]

Absolutely insane. I didn't even know a stingray could penetrate the skin that far, especially through a wet suit!

Yea, some of the bigger ones can even put their tails through a wooden boat:eek: