Steve Irwin's Death: Looking Back at the Shocking Stingray Attack That Killed the Crocodile Hunter 18 Years Ago

Steve Irwin died while filming an underwater documentary on Sept. 4, 2006

Steve Irwin may have died nearly two decades ago but his legacy continues to live on through his family.

On Sept. 4, 2006, the wildlife conservationist unexpectedly died following an unprovoked attack by a stingray. At the time, Irwin was snorkeling alongside the typically docile sea creature while filming in the Batt Reef off the coast of Australia. Although crew members attempted to revive The Crocodile Hunter host, the attack proved to be fatal.

In the wake of his death, Irwin left behind his wife Terri as well as their two young children — Bindi and Robert. While his death may have come as a shock to the world, Terri later shared that her husband always believed he would die young.

“He wasn’t morbid about it, or awful about it, he was open and earnest about it. We’ve got to accomplish everything we can,” she told Australian Broadcasting Corp. television’s Enough Rope series, per Reuters.

She continued, “Steve had a real sixth sense about so many things. He had an odd connection with wildlife. He was extraordinarily intuitive with people. I found it all very, I don't know if ‘eerie’ is the word, but remarkable, certainly.”

Following his death, Irwin’s family has continued his mission to protect all wildlife and has continued his commitment to conservation. Terri, as well as Bindi and Robert, have expanded the Australia Zoo through conservation projects, animal research and educational programs — and saved thousands of animals while doing so.

“We have to create as much positive change as we can for our environment and for our fellow humans as well. And just to treat one with kindness, and I think he exemplified that perfectly,” Robert told E! News in 2022. “I’ll always just feel so lucky that I had the most amazing dad in the world, who was literally a superhero.”

So what happened to Steve Irwin? Here are all the details of his sudden death and the legacy he left behind.

How did Steve Irwin die?

The famed animal conservationist died after unexpectedly being attacked by a stingray. At the time of his death, Irwin was filming for an underwater documentary called Ocean’s Deadliest but had taken a break due to bad weather and decided to record a segment for his daughter Bindi’s television show, according to The Sydney Morning Herald.

While snorkeling in shallow waters alongside a massive stingray, the typically calm sea creature suddenly attacked and “started stabbing wildly with its tail.” Irwin’s cameraman Justin Lyons explained that during the unprovoked attack, the stingray “propped on its front” and made “hundreds of strikes in a few seconds.”

“It probably thought that Steve’s shadow was a tiger shark, which feeds on them very regularly. I panned with the camera as the stingray swam away, I didn’t even know it had caused any damage. It wasn’t until I panned the camera back, that Steve was standing in a huge pool of blood, that I realized something had gone wrong,” Lyons shared on Australian morning show Studio 10 in 2014.

Lyons said the “jagged, sharp barb” created a two-inch-wide injury over Irwin’s chest, having punctured his heart and lungs. Despite reports that the stingray barb had been stuck in Irwin’s chest and he had pulled it out, Lyons said the rumors are untrue.

Following the attack, the cameraman and crew helped pull Irwin from the water and back into their inflatable boat. Once the group got back to their “mothership,” where other crew and Irwin’s Ocean’s Deadliest cohost Philippe Cousteau Jr. were waiting, they began performing CPR. The group switched on and off, continuously performing CPR for over an hour until they were able to meet medical personnel on Low Isles, one of the closest land masses to the reef. Irwin was pronounced dead on the scene.

“We worked hard for several hours to try and resuscitate him, but the wound was too grievous into his heart from the stingray barb,” Cousteau told WUFT. “Steve was a great guy, and he died doing what he loved.”

When did Steve Irwin die?

Irwin died on Sept. 4, 2006.

Where did Steve Irwin die?

At the time of his death, Irwin was filming in the Batt Reef, many miles off the coast of Port Douglas, Australia. Following the stingray attack, Irwin was transported by boat to the Low Isles, about nine miles from the mainland, where he was pronounced dead by medics.

How old was Steve Irwin when he died?

Irwin was just 44 years old at the time of his death.

What were Steve Irwin’s last words?

Just minutes before the fatal stingray attack, Irwin and Lyons were planning out their next shot to film. They had decided that they would get one last piece of footage with the sea creature, filming as he swam away from the pair.

Unfortunately, things took a turn and Lyons instead captured some of Irwin’s final moments on camera. While rumors have long circulated about the tragic footage, Irwin’s wife Terri shared that all the tapes were destroyed.

When Irwin was pulled onto the boat shortly after the attack, Lyons said he was still conscious but in excruciating pain due to the stingray’s intense venom. In his final moments, Lyons and the crew encouraged Irwin to keep fighting but he was unfortunately aware of the severity of the attack.

“We’re saying to him things like, ‘Think of your kids, Steve, hang on, hang on, hang on,’ ” Lyons recalled on Studio 10. “And he just sort of calmly looked up at me and said, ‘I’m dying,’ and that was the last thing he said.”

How did the public react to Steve Irwin’s death?

Fans of Irwin were shocked by the news, especially considering that the famed animal conservationist had evaded death on so many other occasions. After years of wrestling crocodiles and wrangling venomous snakes, it was difficult for many to believe that Irwin had been killed by a normally docile creature.

Following his death, Queensland State Premier Peter Beattie asked to honor Irwin with a state funeral, per CBS News. Irwin’s family turned down the offer, opting instead to host a private funeral service on Sept. 9 and later reportedly burying Irwin in a private area of the Australia Zoo.

Later that month, a public memorial service was held at the zoo’s Crocoseum. He was honored by many, including then-Australian Prime Minister John Howard as well as Russell Crowe, Kevin Costner, Cameron Diaz and Justin Timberlake. Irwin’s daughter Bindi, then 8 years old, also paid tribute to her father with a touching eulogy. The service was simultaneously broadcast on television and according to The Guardian, an estimated 300 million people tuned in to pay their respects.

What legacy did Steve Irwin leave behind?

In the years since Irwin’s death, he has continued to make his mark on the world of wildlife conservation. His foundation, Wildlife Warriors, still works to protect “injured, threatened or endangered wildlife,” operating in partnership with the Australia Zoo. The zoo, which is run by Terri, Bindi and Robert, welcomes over a million visitors from around the world every year and has become the “ultimate global zoological destination.” Through conservation projects, animal research and educational programs, the zoo has changed the lives of thousands of animals in need.

“I think what dad really showed the world was, of course, to have that appreciation for the natural world and to treat every living being on this planet as you would wish to be treated. I think that’s something that I'll always carry with me,” Robert shared with E! News.

He continued, “I think that more than anything, I would hope that I really continue this message that life is short and we have to live every day to the fullest.”

Irwin’s family has also shared Irwin’s message through television, with several special episodes of The Crocodile Hunter airing in the wake of his death. That includes Ocean’s Deadliest, the documentary he was filming at the time of the stingray attack, as well as a tribute episode entitled Crikey! What an Adventure: An Intimate Look at the Life of Steve Irwin. In the years that followed, Bindi starred in her own show, Bindi the Jungle Girl, and more recently, the entire family has shared their lives at the Australia Zoo on Crikey! It’s the Irwins.

Since his death, Irwin has received numerous posthumous honors. Steve Irwin Day is celebrated on Nov. 15 every year, honoring Irwin’s legacy with special tributes around Australia and at the Australia Zoo. He was later inducted into the Queensland Business Leaders Hall of Fame and in 2015, he received a Queensland Greats Award. Then in 2017, he was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

In addition to his awards, Irwin has also been honored in the animal kingdom. In 2009, a rare species of tree snail was named “Crikey steveirwini” after the late wildlife conservationist.

“Steve worked tirelessly to promote conservation, wildlife and the environment and his work enabled the plight of endangered species to reach a whole new audience,” Terri shared with the Australian Broadcasting Corp. “Steve also had a long history of collaborating with staff at the Queensland Museum and I’m sure he would be pleased to know his name is continuing to highlight a rare and endangered Queensland species.”

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