Tape of Steve Irwin's Death

Steve Irwin's , Bob Irwin, making the family's first public comments since the Crocodile Hunter's death, said Wednesday that he has lost "my best mate ever." Irwin, 44, was fatally injured when a stingray pierced his chest with its poisonous barbed tail, while filming a documentary in Australia's Great Barrier Reef yesterday (04.09.06).

"Steve and I weren't like father and son, we never were. We were good mates," the elder Irwin told reporters outside the animal park north of Brisbane made famous on his son's Animal Planet series. "I'm a lucky, lucky guy. I've had the opportunity to have a son like Steve.

"There's never been anybody else that I know of that had the personality Steve had and the strength and the conviction of what he believed in, and his message was conservation."

Steve Irwin's manager has now that video footage
capturing the wildlife experts dying was "shocking".
John Stainton said the film - a copy of which was given to the
state coroner investigating the incident - made for painful watching.
He said at a press conference today (05.09.06): "It shows that Steve came
over the top of the ray and the tail came up, and spiked him here in the
chest.
"He pulled it out and the next minute he's gone. The cameraman had to shut
down.
"He always pushed himself to the very limits but I thought he was
invulnerable and I think he did too. It's a very hard thing to watch because
you're actually witnessing somebody die... it's terrible."
Tributes have been flooding in for the world-famous animal lover, who left
behind 42-year-old wife Terri, and two children - eight-year-old daughter
Bindi and son Bob, two.

Terri Irwin was traveling in Tasmania when tragedy struck reports People.com. On Tuesday, The Age reports, she personally addressed the staff at the Australia Zoo. "It was about five o'clock yesterday afternoon," Michael Hornby, executive manager of Wildlife Warriors, a conservation charity set up by Steve, told the paper. "Terri just made an announcement on the internal radio system across the zoo to say how grateful she was for support from the staff and that was about it. Obviously, she was very distraught when she made that message."

Australian Prime Minister John Howard interrupted parliament to pay
his respects.
He said: "He was a genuine, one-off remarkable Australian individual and I
am distressed at his death."
Fellow Australian, actor Russell Crowe described Irwin as the "ultimate
wildlife warrior".
He added: "He was the Australian we all aspire to. He touched my heart."
Stingrays, nicknamed the "pussycats of the sea", are usually placid
creatures and only attack in self-defence, Irwin was only the third known
stingray death in Australian waters.
The Queensland government is considering a state funeral for Irwin.