Tuesday, September 5, 2006

The Crocodile Hunter



Many prayers for Steve Irwin's family and friends.

"He died doing what he loved -- filming life in the wild."
- Irwin's manager and friend John Stainton


Stingray Facts:
*Marine fish related to the shark
*Wingspan in different species ranges from 10 inches to 7 feet
*Barb can be up to 12 inches
*Lie buried in sand, and normally very shy and non-aggressive
*Eat worms, mollusks and other invertebrates
*Possess flexible tails armed, in most species, with saw-edged, venomous spines
*Uses barb in self-defense when startled, threatened or cornered; venom causes excruciating pain, and serrated barb damages tissue when pulled out; large rays can exert enough force to drive their tail spines into a wooden boat
*Most stings occur in shallow, coastal waters when swimmers step on a stingray
*Fatal stings extremely rare, with only 17 recorded stingray deaths in Australia since 1969

2 comments:

Renee said...

This saddened me too. I feel so bad for his family. We used to watch much 'Crocodile Hunter' when the girls were little and I was always in awe of the things that he did!

Carmen said...

Honestly, I can't believe something didn't get him sooner. Though I will miss his "crickey"s. :)

the photos are now up and working (I think). I can't wait to compare notes! Where are you staying again? My Thursday 13 this week will be about the trip. :)