Steve Irwin’s cameraman had no choice but to film his tragic death—and for the oddest reason
Steve Irwin, the great crocodile hunter, lived for danger. His motto, which drove such a fearless approach to wildlife conservation, was simple: always be prepared and always capture the moment. This rule applied not just to his thrilling adventures but even to the most heart-wrenching of circumstances. One thing Irwin’s crew, especially his cameramen knew with him on board was that no matter the situation, the cameras were to keep rolling. On September 4, 2006, Irwin’s passion to capture every detail on camera took on a terrible meaning. While filming for his TV show ‘Ocean’s Deadliest’ near Queensland, Australia, Irwin was struck by a stingray and killed. The ray’s barb pinned him in the chest, killing him, before he could get to the hospital.
The moments leading to Irwin’s tragic death were captured on film, not by accident, but because it was Irwin’s rule that his crew never stop filming an event. His longtime friend and cameraman, Justin Lyons, remembered how Steve would want everything captured. Lyons related that, when the two of them were filming in dangerous situations, Steve would always say that if anything happened to him, he wanted it caught. “He tells his camera crew to always be filming,” Irwin’s IMDb biographer Tommy Donovan once revealed, as per Ladbible. He added, “If he needs help, he will ask for it. Even if he is eaten by a shark or croc, the main thing he wants, is that it be filmed.”
In fact, he thought that his death could teach the world a thing or two about wildlife, dangers in dealing with animals, and conservation. What Irwin implied was simple but deep: he felt that every thrilling or tragic moment had the potential to educate and inspire others. “If he died, he would be sad if no one got it on tape,” Donovan added. According to those who worked with him, Irwin was steadfast in his actions. He’d have been disappointed, he once said, if the camera wasn’t rolling during a critical moment, no matter how dangerous it might have been.
After Irwin's tragic death, the footage of his final moments were turned over to authorities to investigate. His family, extremely protective of his legacy, decided to keep the tapes private. It wasn’t until 2007 that the footage was finally destroyed, leaving only one remaining copy that will never see the light of day. According to Irwin’s best friend and the director, John Stainton, the tape was never to be seen, and as far as anyone who saw it was concerned, it was best left that way. “I would never want that tape shown,” Irwin’s friend John Stainton told CNN.
The death of Steve Irwin was very sudden and tragic. “[Irwin] swam up right over his tail. Instead of swimming off, [the bull ray] propped himself on the front of its wings and pushed his rear end up and started madly stabbing with his tail towards Steve,” Justin Lyons told Daily Mail Australia. “The water boiled with bubbles, thrashing and whatnot. The entire time I was locked on Steve. I didn’t know what was going on, I could see it was trying to stab Steve and he was pushing him away but it was over in about 10-15 seconds,” he said.
“The stingray swam off so I panned to film Steve swimming away. It wasn't until I panned back and the water around him was already filling with blood that I realised he had passed,” Lyons recalled. Lyons said 44-year-old Irwin “calmly looked up at me and said, ‘I’m dying.’ And that was the last thing he said,” as per NBC news.