Crikey is as crikey does
Shooting a segment for a series called Ocean's Deadliest, Steve Irwin, the 'Crocodile Hunter', was "stung in the chest by a stingray" in Northern Australia and died.
According to University of Queensland marine neuroscientist Shaun Collin, stingrays have a serrated, toxin-loaded barb, or spine, up to 25 centimeters (10 inches) long on top of their tails. The barb flexes reflexively if a ray is frightened, and a sting to a person is usually excruciatingly painful but not deadly. Collin said he suspected Irwin died because the barb pierced under his ribcage and stabbed directly into his heart. "It was extraordinarily bad luck. It's not easy to get spined by a stingray, and to be killed by one is very rare," Collin said.
Underwater at 0200 in the morning, playing with deadly sea animals, fifty miles offshore and hours from a hospital in Cairns. Was Irwin's death extraordinarily bad luck, extraordinarily bad judgement, or just plain hubris?
According to University of Queensland marine neuroscientist Shaun Collin, stingrays have a serrated, toxin-loaded barb, or spine, up to 25 centimeters (10 inches) long on top of their tails. The barb flexes reflexively if a ray is frightened, and a sting to a person is usually excruciatingly painful but not deadly. Collin said he suspected Irwin died because the barb pierced under his ribcage and stabbed directly into his heart. "It was extraordinarily bad luck. It's not easy to get spined by a stingray, and to be killed by one is very rare," Collin said.
Underwater at 0200 in the morning, playing with deadly sea animals, fifty miles offshore and hours from a hospital in Cairns. Was Irwin's death extraordinarily bad luck, extraordinarily bad judgement, or just plain hubris?
posted by Rico at 11:11
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