Steve Irwin was truly one of a kind. Loved by almost everyone who watched him, this charismatic Australian dedicated his life to helping animals and educating and entertaining us along the way.
His tragic death at the age of 44 in 2006 shocked the world, despite his dangerous job. This was a man who wrestled crocodiles, swam with sharks, and handled venomous snakes regularly. Yet, it was a stingray that ended his life – something no one expected.
Irwin’s death led to a flood of tributes from his fans all over the world. Even though it was a sad event, there was a bit of comfort in knowing he died doing what he loved.
Steve was so committed to his work that he had a rule: the cameras should never stop rolling, even if he was in serious danger. According to his IMDb biographer Tommy Donovan, “He tells his camera crew to always be filming.
If he needs help, he will ask for it. Even if he is eaten by a shark or croc, the main thing he wants is for it to be filmed. If he died, he would be sad if no one got it on tape.”
So, on September 4, 2006, when the tragic incident happened near Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, it was all recorded. Filming for Irwin’s show Ocean’s Deadliest had been postponed due to bad weather, so Steve decided to film a segment involving stingrays for his daughter Bindi’s show, Bindi the Jungle Girl.
John Stainton, a director and close friend of Steve’s, recalled how he, Steve, and cameraman Justin Lyons were bored at their hotel and decided to head out on a small boat to Batt Reef.
Stainton explained, “Suddenly, he expressed interest in encountering some typically harmless stingrays. It should have been an innocuous encounter for a children’s program.”
They found a 220-pound stingray resting on the ocean floor, and Steve and Justin waded into the chest-deep water, thinking the stingray would swim away. But as Steve passed over it, the ray struck with its tail, delivering “hundreds of strikes in a few seconds.” The cameras kept rolling as Justin helped Steve back onto the boat, and they rushed back to their main vessel, Croc One.
“He was struggling to breathe,” Justin recalled. “Even if we had reached an emergency ward immediately, it’s likely we couldn’t have saved him due to the extensive damage to his heart.”
According to the Mirror, Steve’s crew begged him to hold on, reminding him of his children while doing their best to stop the bleeding. Steve, knowing how serious his injuries were, whispered his last words: “I’m dying.”
When they got back to Croc One, Justin performed mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on Steve for an hour. Sadly, when paramedics arrived, Steve Irwin, the beloved zookeeper known for his exuberance, humor, and daring wildlife adventures, was declared dead.
The entire tragedy, from the stingray attack to Steve’s final moments, was all caught on camera. The footage still exists today. John Stainton said of the footage, “I mean, it should be destroyed. Once it’s released [by the coroner], it should never see the light of day. Never. Never. I’ve seen it, but I don’t want to see it again.”
In 2007, authorities revealed that all copies of the film, except one, had been destroyed. The remaining copy was given to Terri Irwin, Steve’s widow, who said in 2018, “I’ve never watched the actual footage. Why would I? I know the circumstances of my husband’s passing.” Reports say there is still a copy of the film in a police vault.
I, for one, greatly miss Steve Irwin and his wonderful shows. He was an inspirational figure to the very end, and the fact that his legacy lives on today is a testament to the enormous popularity he had earned.
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