At the age of 44 years old, wildlife conservationist Steve Irwin was killed on Monday, due to a stingray attack. Known worldwide as ‘The Crocodile Hunter,’ Irwin starred in such shows as Crocodile Hunter, Croc Files and The Crocodile Hunter Diaries. Likewise, he grabbed a few roles on the big screen, in films such as The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course and the upcoming Happy Feet.

At the age of 44 years old, wildlife conservationist and television personality Steve Irwin was killed on Monday. The accident occurred during a diving expedition, in which Irwin swam over a camouflaged stingray. With its tail’s barb, the ray punctured the left side of Irwin’s chest, thus piercing his heart. This happened at approximately 11:00 am (0100 GMT) off the coast of Port Douglas in the northeastern Australian state of Queensland.

It was through television that Irwin became a household name to millions of people. His educational adventures could be seen in such shows as Crocodile Hunter (1996), Croc Files (1999) and The Crocodile Hunter Diaries (2002). This fame led to Irwin being the subject of numerous lighthearted spoofs, coming from The Simpsons, South Park, It’s a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie (2002) and Looney Tunes: Reality Check (2003).

In 2002, Irwin leaped to the big screen, enjoying a cameo as himself in Dr. Dolittle 2 (2001). The following year, he headlined his own movie, The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course. This November, Irwin can be heard as Kev the Leopard Seal in the animated feature Happy Feet.

Steve Irwin is survived by his wife, Terri, and two children, Bindi and Robert. For more information on his life, please visit Yahoo! News, The Internet Movie Database and Wikipedia. Thanks to ‘Macaluso’ at the Animated News Forum for the notice of this unfortunate news.