Mr. Crocodile Hunter, rest in peace

i can't believe mr. hypr croc hunter is gone.. my friend kathy sent me an email this morning that he was stabbed by a stingray's barb while swimming on top of it. it went thru his chest and straight to his heart. he was filming while this happened.. a little something about STEVE IRWIN

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Steve Irwin is the best-known wildlife crusader in the world today. As the Crocodile Hunter, Steve has become a household name and his television adventures are seen by more than 200 million viewers in 120 countries around the globe. He's starred in his first movie for the big screen, The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course, and has also appeared on such popular television talk shows as Regis and Kelly, Conan O'Brien, The Tonight Show, Larry King Live and Oprah. Despite his high international profile, Steve's commitment to wildlife remains paramount.

His passion to protect the world's most endangered and threatened species can be traced back to his parents, conservationists and animal lovers Bob and Lyn Irwin, the founders of Australia Zoo. As a young boy, Steve helped Bob rescue and relocate crocodiles in the rivers of North Queensland. The father-and-son team are proud to say that over 100 crocodiles living at Australia Zoo were either caught by them or bred and raised in the zoo.

In his 20s, Steve volunteered his services to the Queensland government's rogue crocodile relocation program, for years living alone in the mosquito-infested creeks, rivers and mangroves of North Queensland, apprehending huge troublesome crocodiles single-handedly and achieving a staggeringly successful catch rate.

In 1992, Steve and his friend, television producer John Stainton, created a distinctive new style of wildlife documentary. That one-hour program, The Crocodile Hunter, featured Steve, his new wife, American wildlife caretaker Terri Raines, and the animals of Far North Queensland. Steve's boisterous charm, unconventional style and extraordinary daring, combined with Terri's wit and composure in dangerous situations and their amazingly close encounters with such potentially deadly creatures as crocodiles, venomous snakes and spiders, have seen The Crocodile Hunter became a worldwide hit.

In addition to The Crocodile Hunter series, Steve and Terri have filmed 53 episodes of the Emmy Award-nominated Croc Files, various one-off specials for NBC and an intimate new series, The Crocodile Hunter Diaries, a behind-the-scenes look at Steve's daily life at Australia Zoo.

As testimony to their commitment to conservation and the environment, Steve and Terri have purchased over 60,000 acres of wildlife-sensitive land and are working towards the rehabilitation and breeding of some of the world's most endangered animals. At Australia Zoo, they have established a breeding program to help such endangered species as the southern cassowary, koala, giant land tortoise, Fijian crested iguana and Komodo dragon, to name just a few. The zoo, a dedicated conservation area covering over 250 acres, earned Australia's most prestigious tourism award as "Major Tourist Attraction" for 2003.

Steve was recently awarded the title "2004 Queensland Australian of the Year."

lifted from http://animal.discovery.com/fansites/crochunter/meet/steve.html