Steve Irwin was a unique kind of person. The charming Australian, who was well-liked by almost everyone who saw his work, devoted his life to enhancing animal care worldwide and providing entertainment and education for the rest of us in the process.
Despite his frequently dangerous line of work, his unfortunate death in 2006 at the age of 44 came as a shock. This was a man who frequently handled poisonous snakes, swam with sharks, and wrestled crocodiles; however, the stingray encounter that killed him was completely unanticipated.
It goes without saying that Irwin’s sudden death inspired a flood of condolences from his devoted fan base worldwide. However, there was a tiny comfort in knowing that the animal hero passed away while doing what he loved.
In fact, he was reportedly so dedicated to his work that he instituted a rule stating that the cameras would always record, even if he was in imminent danger.
Irwin’s IMDb biography Tommy Donovan once told the Daily Mirror that Irwin instructs his camera team to never stop recording. He is going to ask for aid if he needs it. His major desire is for it to be filmed, even if it means he gets devoured by a shark or croc. He would be disappointed if no one recorded it if he passed away.
That is how the deadly incident that occurred on September 4, 2006, in the vicinity of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef came to be known. According to the account, severe weather forced Irwin to postpone production for his show Ocean’s Deadliest. As a result, the naturalist chose to record a stingray-related piece for his daughter Bindi’s show, Bindi the Jungle Girl.
A close friend of Irwin’s, filmmaker John Stainton recalled that fatal day, describing how he, Steve, and cameraman Justin Lyons were bored at their hotel and decided to take a small boat to Batt Reef.
“All of a sudden, he showed interest in getting up close and personal with some harmless stingrays,” Stainton clarified. For a children’s program, it ought to have been a harmless interaction.
Irwin and Lyons waded into the chest-deep water, hoping the 220lb ray would swim away from them when they chanced across it resting on the ocean floor.
However, the ray lifted its tail to strike as Steve flew past it, unleashing “hundreds of strikes in a few seconds.” As the cameras continued to record, Justin assisted Steve in getting back onto the boat, and they quickly returned to their primary 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.”
As per the Mirror, Irwin’s crew begged him to hold on, reminding him of his children while doing their best to staunch his wound. That’s when Steve, apparently aware of the severity of his injuries, whispered his last known words: “I’m dying.”
When they arrived back to Croc One, Justin performed mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on Steve for an hour. When paramedics finally arrived, however, the beloved zookeeper known all over the world for his exuberance, humor, and daring feats performed in the name of wildlife conservation, was declared dead.
Somewhat morbidly, the entire tragedy, from Irwin getting stung to his last moments alive, were all caught on camera – the footage is said to still exist somewhere today.
John Stainton said of the footage in the days after his friend’s death: “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.”
SAN FRANCISCO – JUNE 26: EXCLUSIVE “The Crocodile Hunter”, Steve Irwin, poses with a three foot long alligator at the San Francisco Zoo on June 26, 2002 in San Francisco, California. Irwin is on a 3-week tour to promote the release of his first feature film, “The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course”, due in theaters July 12th. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
In 2007, authorities revealed that they had destroyed all existing copies of the film except one. That one was entrusted to Terri Irwin, Steve’s widow, who revealed in 2018: “I’ve never watched the actual footage. Why would I? I know the circumstances of my husband’s passing.”
As per reports, Terri also said that there remains 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 testament to the enormous popularity he had earned.
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