Steve Irwin, the hugely popular Australian television personality and environmentalist known as the “Crocodile Hunter“, was killed Monday by a stingray during a diving expedition. He was 44.
Steve Irwin was filming an underwater documentary on the Great Barrier Reef in northeastern Queensland state when he was stung, Sydney’s The Daily Telegraph newspaper reported on its Web site.
He collapsed at Batt Reef, near Low Isle and the resort town of Port Douglas, Queensland state police said in a statement. Port Douglas is about 1,260 miles north of Brisbane, the state capital.
A rescue helicopter rushed to the scene but Steve Irwin had died, the statement said. Queensland ambulance service spokesman Bob Hamil confirmed that a diver had been killed by a stingray off Lowe Isles Reef and said cause of death appeared to be a “stingray strike to the chest.”
Steve Irwin was famous for his enthusiasm for wildlife and his catchword “Crikey!” in his television program “Crocodile Hunter,” which was first broadcast in Australia in 1992 and has aired around the world on the Discovery channel.
I wish all the best for his wife Terri Irwin, daughter Bindi Sue Irwin and son Bob Irwin in these hard times to come.

…I put my life on the line to save animals…