Animal lover, crocodile hunter and Australian icon, Steve Irwin, has died at the age of 44, impaled by an angry stingray. The incident occurred while Irwin was filming an underwater documentary off the Low Isles at Port Douglas in Northern Queensland. He was apparently swimming above the stingray when it struck out with its barb and speared Irwin through the heart. His team pulled him back aboard Croc One, his research vessel, but the reptile wrestler was pronounced dead at the scene.
It’s a sad end for a man who lived his life promoting the animal kingdom and acting as Australia’s unofficial ambassador to the world at large. Irwin is survived by his wife and two children.