It's all over the news now....Steve Irwin, the Crocodile Hunter, died on Monday. Apparently it was a result of an unlikely circumstance. He was snorkeling at Australia's Great Barrier Reef and as he passed over a stingray, its barb hit him in the chest.

From Auckland, New Zealand, Ashwin Prabhu writes: "To most of us he appeared immortal, always one step ahead of every animal he encountered." Australian Prime Minister John Howard, who knew Irwin and his family well, praised him as a "passionate environmentalist" who promoted a serious conservation message. "He made an extraordinary contribution to creating a widespread appreciation of the value and uniqueness of Australian wildlife," Howard said. Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said his friend Irwin was "always the showman" who was generous with his time in promoting Australia.

U.S.-based television company Discovery Communications said it planned a marathon showing of Irwin's programs on its Animal Planet network to honor him.

Irwin was in the area to film pieces for a show called "The Ocean's Deadliest" with Philippe Cousteau, grandson of Jacques, according to Stainton. But weather had prevented the crew from doing work for that program, Stainton said, so Irwin decided to do some softer features for a new children's TV show he was doing with his daughter, Bindi. Wildlife documentary maker Ben Cropp, citing a colleague who saw footage of the attack, told Time.com that Irwin had accidentally boxed the stingray in. "It stopped and twisted and threw up its tail with the spike, and it caught him in the chest," said Cropp. "It's a defensive thing. It's like being stabbed with a dirty dagger."

It's certainly sad, but I don't think that this news is that surprising, considering the extreme risks involved in his career.