SYDNEY, Australia (CNN) -- Steve Irwin, the enthusiastic "Crocodile Hunter" who enthralled audiences around the world with his wildlife adventures, died Monday after being stung by a stingray while shooting a TV program off Australia's north coast.

Media reports say Irwin was snorkeling at Batt Reef, a part of the Great Barrier Reef about 9 miles (about 15 kilometers) from the town of Port Douglas, when the incident happened on Monday morning.

Irwin, 44, was killed by a stingray barb that pierced his chest, according to Cairns police sources.

Irwin was in the area to film pieces for a show called "The Ocean's Deadliest" with Philippe Cousteau, grandson of Jacques, Irwin's manager and friend John Stainton told CNN's "American Morning." But weather had prevented the crew from doing work for that program, said Stainton, so Irwin decided to do some softer features for a new children's TV show he was doing with his daughter, Bindi.

"He came over the top of a stingray that was buried in the sand, and the barb came up and hit him in the chest," said Stainton.



Vs.

It's pretty shocking. I guess his heart was just too big...

I thought this was so very sad and it's hard to believe he is gone. I read on animal planet today that the documentary he was working on was a shared project with his 8 year old daughter Bindy and was going to be geared towards a children's audience. Luckily Bindy was not right there with him when this happened.

The Animal Planet website has a memorial dedicated to him and there is a section that tells what he and his wife Terry did for the conservation of wild animals. Most of the things they did they did quietly and without fanfare. They bought up land all over the world to insure the animals habitats would be safe and contributed a large portion of their income from The Crocodile Hunter to several animal welfare organizations. There is also a section on there where you can post sympathy messages to Steve's family.

I've seen these threads on about 10 differant forums... it's almost like "What do you say?"

Most of them go without a single post.

It was tapped... He pulled it out of his chest... When do you guys think the video well hit the net?

I don't know but the idea that they have his death on tape is sort of morbid. His manager had tears in his eyes while trying to talk about it last night, saying how terribly difficult it was to be right there and have to watch him die. I wonder if sometime down the road they actually will release part or all of that tape......

They are going to burn the tape, with his body. He is being cremated.

That's good to know. I sort of cringed when I was reading Rage's post myself... I don't think he meant it at all, I think he was being defeatist or sracastic, or both, so it's OK. He makes a valid point. In the world we live in today, there will probably be people putting his death on the Internet, and who knows what the tabloids will make it out to be, maybe... "Steve Irwin killed by male lover's barb"?

This morning on TV it was said that they are strongly considering the release of the tape. They said the reason they are considering it is because Steve's rule was that the camera should never stop rolling. He always told them even if he was bitten or attacked by an animal to keep it rolling and he would show people the dangers of wild animals and that we really do need to respect them. He said something to the extent of this: "Even if a big ol' alligator has me in its jaws I want to go out saying Crikey with the cameras rolling the whole time."

That is true spirit...