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Steve Irwin, Australian Hero

R.I.P., Steve Irwin. The Crocodile Hunter died in Australia over the weekend while filming a special on dangerous sea creatures. He was 44. Over the past few years, he became an international celebrity; he wasn't just recognizable to Australians, but to anyone who had ever breezed past him on TV, even for a moment.

Irwin died when a stingray's barb struck him in the chest  as he saw overtop of the creature--a freak accident, when you consider how many times he came near the jaws of an angry croc.

What we didn't realize is how huge a celebrity Irwin was in Australia. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, if his family requests it, Irwin will be granted a state funeral. The Prime Minister had kind words for Irwin almost immediately after the accident, too, calling him "the Australian many of us aspire to be".

A little more odd was this quote, also from the PM: Irwin died in "bizarre, tragic and in some respects quintessentially Australian circumstances". We always thought that being dragged off by a dingo was the quintessential Australian death, but now we stand corrected.

Related Stories:
·   Irwin Didn't Intimidate Stingray [SMH]