This is so sad to me also!  I loved to watch him on his show, but it made me so nervous.  I sure hate it for his wife,Terri and 2 kids also

I watched him on Jay Leno a couple of years back and Leno was asking him about his wife, and he had tears in his eyes when he was explaining how much she meant to him.  It was so sweet ~ and you could tell that he wasn't acting, he really felt it.  I think the world has lost one of the good guys with this one

I was sorry to hear that news too.  What a likable guy.  I'm sure he wouldn't blame the stingray for behaving like a wild animal.  You have to admire a guy who lived life 100%.  I feel especially sad for his family.  Losing a parent at any age stinks, and his kids are only 8 and 3.

What a terrible tragedy. He was so young and full of life, and did a lot of good for wildlife. I feel for his family, especially his two young children I always knew that one of these days his luck would run out, but not in such a freakish way. He seemed like a good person--what a loss. I understand that there's a videotape of his death out there and it will probably be all over the news and internet---I certainly will avoid it and I hope others do, too. There's something wrong with the morbid fascination of people who want to watch someone die on video, over and over, especially when you know who he is...what does this say about us? Let's all find a better way to honor his memory, like trying to help the animals he so loved to survive in a world that doesn't make enough room for them.

Discovery Channel links
http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2006/09/04/irwin2_hum.html?category=human&guid=20060904163030&dcitc=w19-502-ak-0000&clik=news_main
Sept. 5, 2006 —Remembrances of Steve Irwin, Discovery Networks' beloved "Crocodile Hunter," poured in from all corners of the world in response to Irwin's tragic death during a filming expedition on the Great Barrier Reef.

Irwin was just 44 years old. While an official postmortem report is pending, Irwin is believed to have suffered cardiac failure when he swam over a stingray whose barb pierced Irwin's chest, tearing a hole in his heart. Since Irwin was filming a segment at the time, the incident was caught on tape.

The video shows Irwin pulling a poisonous stingray barb from his chest in his final moments, officials told reporters on Tuesday. Police who reviewed the tape said there was nothing suspicious about Irwin's death and no evidence that he provoked the animal.

He is survived by wife Terri and two young children: Bindi, aged 8 and Robert, aged 2. Police and ambulance officials at the site near Port Douglas, which is 1,260 miles north of Brisbane, indicated the family was immediately informed of his death.

Friends, fans and colleagues worldwide are mourning the sudden loss.

"Steve was a larger than life force," said John Hendricks, founder and chairman of Discovery Communications, Inc. (DCI).

"He brought joy and learning about the natural world to millions and millions of people across the globe. He was a true friend to all of us at Discovery Communications. We extend our thoughts and prayers to Terri, Bindi and Bob Irwin as well as to the incredible staff and many friends Steve leaves behind," said Hendricks.

Billy Campbell, president of Discovery Networks, U.S., added, "Our entire company is deeply saddened by the tragic and sudden loss of Steve Irwin, the Crocodile Hunter. Steve was beloved by millions of fans and animal lovers around the world and was one of our planet's most passionate conservationists."

Plans are already underway to create a "Steve Irwin Memorial Sensory Garden" in front of Discovery's headquarters in Silver Spring, Md.

A full day of programming to honor Steve will air around the globe in the upcoming week.

"The entire Animal Planet family is devastated but determined, now more than ever, to see that Steve Irwin's legacy lives on," said Maureen Smith, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Animal Planet.

DCI is planning to create the Steve Irwin Crocodile Hunter Fund, which it expects to affectionately call "The Crikey Fund."

The Fund is expected to provide a way for people to make contributions in Steve's honor to support wildlife protection, education and conservation. The Fund will provide support to Irwin's Australia Zoo in Beerwah, Australia, as well as educational support for his children.

On Sept. 15, the Queensland, Australia town of St. George, near where Irwin established a conservation center and where he often vacationed, will discuss plans for erecting a memorial to the popular television star and conservationist.

He used to come out here to get away from things and it was very low-key," said St. George's mayor Robert Buchan. "He would shop around town and minded his own business and most of the people out here respected that."

The animal welfare organization RSPCA in Australia also expressed admiration for Irwin.

"He was a modern-day Noah and should be acknowledged as such," said RSPCA Queensland chief executive Mark Townend.

British naturalist David Bellamy told the Telegraph newspaper in London that he cried when he learned of Irwin's death, and added that few people could mix accurate science reporting with show business charisma as well as Irwin did.

Australia's prime minister John Howard was also distressed by today's news. In a statement to the press, Howard said, "It's a huge loss to Australia."

Irwin often took time out of his hectic schedule to acknowledge his many fans, who will never forget his charisma and passion for educating others about animals.

Anne Bostwick, who enjoys watching the Crocodile Hunter with her family in Seattle, Washington, expressed what many fans have been feeling.

"Reading this news this morning tore me up," Bostwick told Discovery News. "He was so very young and so absolutely full of life. And with two young children. What a tragedy."

http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2006/09/05/irwinvideo_hum.html?category=animals&guid=20060905110000
Video Reveals Irwin's Final Moments
Brian Cassey, Associated Press
Sept. 5, 2006 — Steve Irwin was videotaped pulling a poisonous stingray barb from his chest in his last moments of life, officials said Tuesday, as tributes poured in for TV's "Crocodile Hunter."

Police said there was nothing suspicious about Irwin's death and no evidence he provoked the animal. Irwin, 44, was stabbed through the heart on Monday while snorkeling with a stingray during filming of a new TV program on Australia's Great Barrier Reef.

John Stainton, Irwin's manager who was among the crew on the reef, said the fatal blow was caught on videotape, and described viewing the footage as having the "terrible" experience of watching a friend die

It shows that Steve came over the top of the ray and the tail came up, and spiked him here (in the chest), and he pulled it out and the next minute he's gone," Stainton told reporters in Cairns, where Irwin's body was taken for an autopsy.

Queensland state police were holding the tape as evidence for a coroner's inquiry — a standard procedure in high-profile deaths or those caused by other than natural causes.

Experts have said the stingray may have felt trapped between the cameraman and the TV star. Irwin, the popular host of "Crocodile Hunter," rose to fame by getting dangerously close to crocodiles, snakes and other beasts.

But Queensland Police Superintendent Michael Keating said there was no evidence Irwin threatened or intimidated the stingray, a normally placid species that only deploys its poisonous tail spines as a defense.

Stainton said Irwin was in his element in the Outback, but that he and Irwin had talked about the sea posing threats the star wasn't used to.

"If ever he was going to go, we always said it was going to be the ocean," Stainton said. "On land he was agile, quick-thinking, quick-moving and the ocean puts another element there that you have no control over."

Parliament took a break from the business of running the country to pay tribute to Irwin, whose body was being flown home Tuesday from Cairns. No funeral plans were announced but state Premier Peter Beattie said Irwin would be afforded a state funeral if his family agreed.

Irwin's American wife Terri, Bindi and their son Bob, almost 3, returned late Monday from a trekking vacation in Tasmania to Australia Zoo, the wildlife park where the family lived at Beerwah in Queensland's southeast.

At the park, hundreds of people filed past the entrance laying floral bouquets and handwritten condolence messages. Khaki shirts — a trademark of Irwin — were laid out for people to sign.

"Mate, you made the world a better place," read one poster left at the gate. "Steve, our hero, our legend, our wildlife warrior," read another. "I thought you were immortal. How I wish that was true," said a third.

The park opened Tuesday because it was what Irwin would have wanted, said Gail Gipp, an animal health employee.

Parliament interrupted its normal schedule so lawmakers could pay tribute to Irwin, whose body was flown home Tuesday from Cairns. No funeral plans were announced but state Premier Peter Beattie said Irwin would be afforded a state funeral if his family agreed.

"He was a genuine, one-off, remarkable Australian individual and I am distressed at his death," Prime Minister John Howard said.

Irwin was propelled to global fame after his TV shows, in which he regularly wrestled with crocodiles and went face-to-face with poisonous snakes and other wild animals, were shown around world on the Discovery Channel.

The network announced plans for a marathon screening of Irwin's work and a wildlife fund in his name.

"Rarely has the world embraced an animal enthusiast and conservationist as they did Steve Irwin," Discovery Networks International President Dawn McCall said in a statement.