Seriously, a stingray? They're about as "deadly" as a house cat.
That is only true IF you dont stand or sit on top of them. They have a reflex action in there tail which comes up to stab what ever is on top of them. It use to be thought that the pins on the tails were poisen, but acuallywhat happens is part of the pins come off and rot inside the wound. You would usually die from and infection because of dead sting ray tail inside of you.
they still stab you. So even if you heal up from that youve still have the pins inside you. Most cases occur when people stand on them because they hide in shallow water areas under and ontop of the sand.
See I was reading Kez, who says there really isn't any poison and ... well I was confused.
Found this information about Stingrays, thought it would help clear things up a bit. If this is what happened, poor guy wouldn't have had much of a chance I don't think.
"Never underestimate the penetrating ability of a stingray’s barb, even on the smallest of stingrays. The stingray’s barb is designed to penetrate virtually all sorts of dense materials, including wood and leather. And as unbelievable as it may seem, it’s been documented that large stingrays are able to drive a barb through a boat’s wooden planks or completely through a persons arm or leg.
When a stingray strikes, it either removes its barb entirely, or breaks it off inside of the victim. When this occurs, doctors must probe the wound to make sure all particles have been removed, so the injury will not result in gangrene. In cases where the barb deeply penetrated, the wound must be enlarged to make sure it is properly cleaned.
Aside from the pain and serious laceration caused by the razor-sharp barb, which can sever arteries and possibly an Achilles tendon, a poison is released that can produce a drastic decrease in blood pressure, increased pulse, dizziness and possible shock."
See I was reading Kez, who says there really isn't any poison and ... well I was confused.
Found this information about Stingrays, thought it would help clear things up a bit. If this is what happened, poor guy wouldn't have had much of a chance I don't think.
"Never underestimate the penetrating ability of a stingray’s barb, even on the smallest of stingrays. The stingray’s barb is designed to penetrate virtually all sorts of dense materials, including wood and leather. And as unbelievable as it may seem, it’s been documented that large stingrays are able to drive a barb through a boat’s wooden planks or completely through a persons arm or leg.
When a stingray strikes, it either removes its barb entirely, or breaks it off inside of the victim. When this occurs, doctors must probe the wound to make sure all particles have been removed, so the injury will not result in gangrene. In cases where the barb deeply penetrated, the wound must be enlarged to make sure it is properly cleaned.
Aside from the pain and serious laceration caused by the razor-sharp barb, which can sever arteries and possibly an Achilles tendon, a poison is released that can produce a drastic decrease in blood pressure, increased pulse, dizziness and possible shock."
I bet "Elrohir" is now tucked, rocking in a corner, reliving his stingray experience and wondering how else it could have "went down".
Shame about his death though. Just goes to prove that we can go at any time so live an amazing life, whatever you deem "amazing".
a poison is released that can produce a drastic decrease in blood pressure, increased pulse, dizziness and possible shock."
Interesting i didnt know there was a poisen involved. I always thought they got a poisen confused with the break up. o well :S ty for correction.
I didn't know there was a poison either. Still, they called it a "freak accident" for a reason.
I bet "Elrohir" is now tucked, rocking in a corner, reliving his stingray experience and wondering how else it could have "went down".
Absolutely not. Being surrounded by hundreds of these things, petting them, feeding them, having them swim around my legs was one of the most rewarding experiences I've ever had. Seriously, it was like being in a room full of house cats and they were all rubbing against your legs.
They have one barb (or in very rare cases, two). They don't grow another. So, they only sting when they feel an extreme threat. I can only guess what Steve was doing.
Well people say never to swim over one, their eyes are on top of their heads so when they see a shadow they sense threat. Since Irwin was doing an Underwater documentary, i guess this could be what happened.
And its a freak accident because Ray attacks are VERY rare.
They have one barb (or in very rare cases, two). They don't grow another. So, they only sting when they feel an extreme threat. I can only guess what Steve was doing.
Probably jammin' 'is fingah up its ********. (Cookie for the person who know where that's from, it's an easy one, so no chocolate chips).
R.I.P. Steve, I enjoyed watching your show. Hope there's a lot of crocs to wrestle with wherever you are now :-)
Stuck his finger up one too many cloacas. Seriously though, it's a shame he's dead. He did some good work promoting nature conservation and stuff, even if he did dance a bit close to the fire. He definitely wasn't a sissy.
agree, he was ******, definitely not a sissy. I just cant forget this south park episode with him... :p
people can do very stupid things to be famous and rich...
btw... no offence :)
Shame about his death though. Just goes to prove that we can go at any time so live an amazing life, whatever you deem "amazing".
Not really.. I don't think there's anyone that didn't anticipate him dieing to an animal.
They have one barb (or in very rare cases, two). They don't grow another. So, they only sting when they feel an extreme threat. I can only guess what Steve was doing.
Kinda like bublebees! One of my class mates (in elementary school) actually petted one while we were walking home from school. I was terrified (was always terrified of insects, especially those that sting).
agree, he was ******, definitely not a sissy. I just cant forget this south park episode with him... :p
people can do very stupid things to be famous and rich...
btw... no offence :)
A "barb" is a triangle shaped hook vs a piercing stinger. The barb sinks through the skin and catches like a fish hook on removal. This makes it easy to go in, but difficult to come out. So when a barbed stinger gets "stuck" in you, it tears out of the bee and kills it. A non-barbed stinger stabs and then retracts to the bee again, meaning it can sting over and over like a yellow-jacket.
Barbed or unbarbed.. I realyl dont think it would have mattered.. I think the deciding factor was deffinately the "spear thru the heart" part.. wouldnt you all agree?
Actually it seems there were a lot of Australians that didn't like him, because he turned them into stereotypes with all the crikey-ing and such. He's mostly popular in America.
EDIT: In response to:
How much you wanna bet that...
1)Australia will have a National Steve Irwin Memorial Day.
2)Discovery Channel will have some kind of day long special on the poor bastard.
3)That everyone here, whether they are in Australia or not, or if they don't usually watch the Discovery Channel, will be part of both 1 and 2.
Actually it seems there were a lot of Australians that didn't like him, because he turned them into stereotypes with all the crikey-ing and such. He's mostly popular in America.
yeah ill agree with that
most of my friends considered him a joke since we dont actually know any australians that behave in that way
that being said he was a credit for australian wildlife and tourism
definately a big loss
They are giving his family the option of a state funeral.
His antics where part of what made him so popular.
When the death of someone who was basically the operator of a zoo and an animal documentarian get this much attention and feelings of sadness from virtually every corner of this planet.
You know he was more the simply that funny guy on TV. He was something special.
It is a shame that he died. Stingrays are beautiful creatures and very friendly if you dont step on them or do something to threaten them. SirE I am jealous of your cayman experience at Stingray city. I myself want to go there so badly. My experience with stingrays came from when I volunteered at an aquarium and did feeding shows. They are very majestic creatures and I hope all this doesnt give them a bad name like Jaws did to sharks.
Steve Irwin was a brave guy. Dont know about you but I am not so sure I would jump on a 20 foot salt water crocodile. That guy could say "Crikey" all he wanted to after seeing all he does. It is a loss to lose someone who was a champion of nature. He brought all of nature to us and showed us even animals we view as dangerous are beautiful in thier own right. He will be missed.
It is a shame that he died. Stingrays are beautiful creatures and very friendly if you dont step on them or do something to threaten them. SirE I am jealous of your cayman experience at Stingray city. I myself want to go there so badly. My experience with stingrays came from when I volunteered at an aquarium and did feeding shows. They are very majestic creatures and I hope all this doesnt give them a bad name like Jaws did to sharks.
Steve Irwin was a brave guy. Dont know about you but I am not so sure I would jump on a 20 foot salt water crocodile. That guy could say "Crikey" all he wanted to after seeing all he does. It is a loss to lose someone who was a champion of nature. He brought all of nature to us and showed us even animals we view as dangerous are beautiful in thier own right. He will be missed.
being australian, i agree he was somewhat of an embarrassment, i get no end of steve irwin impressions and jokes when ppl find out i am australian.
But that being said he did an awfull lot for tourism and wildlife as im sure was mentioned before and done a lot to put australia in the sights of the rest of the world
Steve Irwin was a brave guy. Dont know about you but I am not so sure I would jump on a 20 foot salt water crocodile. That guy could say "Crikey" all he wanted to after seeing all he does. It is a loss to lose someone who was a champion of nature. He brought all of nature to us and showed us even animals we view as dangerous are beautiful in thier own right. He will be missed.
Couldn't have said it better myself.
We'll miss you Steve, rest in piece and all my heart goes out to his family.
I would never tell anyone how to live their life but I have to wonder about his choice to continue to do dangerous things after starting a family. Sure, his kids will never have a day's worry about money but now they don't have their father. He died doing something fairly mundane but my point still stands. I just feel that once you start a family, it is your duty to try, as best as possible, to sa***uard your own life.
Still, I don't have a tiny fraction of the cajones that guy had...
I think he has secured his family more than you realize. His children have a LOT to live up to. They will be remembered as the spawn of the man that tried his ****edest to spread conservation, and the man that would rather wrestle a crocodile into submission than tranquilize it.
I gotta say that if my dad did that I'd be one proud bastard.
I have a perfect idea of how set his family is (I even said that already).
Here's an example. My brother-in-law has 3 little girls. He works very hard so his wife can stay home and run the household. He also has a passion for motorcycles (going back to his early teens). He has something like a million dollar life insurance policy on him. However, ask his wife and girls which they'd rather have, the money or the man. His wife would never tell him he can't go riding anymore. But she does insist that he wears a helmet.
I'm not saying you give up everything you love because it's "risky". I'm saying your responsibilities change when it is no longer just yourself that you're living for.
I would never tell anyone how to live their life but I have to wonder about his choice to continue to do dangerous things after starting a family. Sure, his kids will never have a day's worry about money but now they don't have their father. He died doing something fairly mundane but my point still stands. I just feel that once you start a family, it is your duty to try, as best as possible, to sa***uard your own life.
Still, I don't have a tiny fraction of the cajones that guy had...
Actually, I bet you stand better odds of dying in a car during 15 yrs. He could also have died the next day from a heart attack ... or cancer. Who knows? Teaching your kids to pursue their dreams no matter how anyone judges you, and to look at the facts...instead of fear, sounds like a good dad. GW can't seem to teach his daughters that alcoholism is bad. Being there, and being something are two different things.
I'm saying your responsibilities change when it is no longer just yourself that you're living for.
I truly believe that is 100% true. When you have a family, you have a "FAMILY". That is the priority.
A lot of people don't realize that. This is not to say that every family has to be run the same way or have different values, but being in a family is about the group. One part of that falls and it becomes weak.
It all depends on what you define as "risk." They are obviously financially taken care of, and he seemed like a kind respected man...so I bet they gained plenty of love and confidence. They also get to see daddy show that it is important to live your dreams and touch the world by showing them nature isn't something to fear...it is apart of our lives and should be embraced and respected.
Are you really trying to make a point or justify sitting on the couch yourself? You went white water rafting...people die doing that...are you a bad dad? People die playing ice hockey...should I give that up? Seriously, do we have to trash the man as a father simply because he had a career?
That's a typical arguement - but the question is the same with risk as when shopping: Do I really need that?
If his answer was yes, then I suppose that's good for him. I don't know his family, so I can't judge that - but if it were me, I'd look for a more safe occupation if I had family.
The thing is, I don't see his familty feeling aprehensive about his choice of life. They, as far as I know, loved it and loved being with him. I see that as better parenting than switching to a more docile career.
He had fun, the family had fun. Isn't that what life is?
When you have a family their are many responsibilites that you take on. However life doesnt stop. Instead of focusing on what will happen if I die how about focusing on how your life was led. Their are only two things certain in life.....death and taxes.
If everyone stopped living because it was dangerous then the world would be carebear (omg I just used a game term to describe life.) Danger is a part of life you can only try to mitigate the risk. I have a dangerous job by definition. However my family would never ask me to stop doing it they only ask me to be as safe as I can. This is done through training and experience. Both of which Steve Irwin had.
This whole debate is wrong. You are focusing on the wrong things here. Life is meant to be led and who can deny that Irwin had a great life? Sure his children will miss him, but they will always have the memories of him and know the legacy he left to the world. You cant determine when you are going to pass on. You can only determine how am I going to live today!
I agree... to a point. However, someone that "flies" helicopters has intelligence issues to begin with. :p
I guess I was thinking in a more esoteric way. Not just giving up everything that might cause injury; that's just silly. I was thinking more along the lines of "is what I'm doing going to hurt my family, even though it's fun or what I want to do?"
I doubt many would say for you to quit flying helicopters. One would hope that you might take an extra few minutes now, with a family to consider, to make sure that it is air-worthy...
I guess I was thinking in a more esoteric way. Not just giving up everything that might cause injury; that's just silly. I was thinking more along the lines of "is what I'm doing going to hurt my family, even though it's fun or what I want to do?"
I doubt many would say for you to quit flying helicopters. One would hope that you might take an extra few minutes now, with a family to consider, to make sure that it is air-worthy...
This also is more to my type of thinking.
You can't change who you are and what you love. But if one has a family one might make sure that they are taken care of should anything go wrong. One might also monitor how the family feels about Mommy or Daddy doing things that consistently put them in danger.
True you have to be yourself, but the idea of having a family is that that IS part of yourself. It should be as equal a priority, not just "something that happened" because you thought that was what you were supposed to do after you got married.
The family is a unit. Sometimes you have to moderate what the members do for the good of the whole. Or, be clear before you get married that you: shoot guns, go spelunking, jump out of airplanes, Bounty Hunt, Play Football (or Hockey ;) ) juggle knives, compose music, Wrestle Bears, Hang Glide.
Or any other such dangerous and life threatening action :p
I learned everything I know about helicopters from Airwolf, Blue Thunder and Apocalypse Now. Oh, and M.A.S.H.
Apparently, when flying over Korea, and carrying a wounded soldier on one side, you need a counterweight.
Having a "dummy" soldier that you can put on the other side helps with that balance. It also helps to give him a kitchy or memorable name, such as Little Mack.
This morning on the radio I heard that there are reports of people so outraged by Steve Irwin's death that they are going around cutting off the tails of stingrays. Its crazy how much that guy meant to some people.
This morning on the radio I heard that there are reports of people so outraged by Steve Irwin's death that they are going around cutting off the tails of stingrays. Its crazy how much that guy meant to some people.
That's sick. I hate people like that. I'm sure Mr. Irwin would be horrified.