crikey ...

R.I.P., James Irwin, aka the Crocodile Hunter.

For those of you who don't know already, the world's most famous Australian (sorry Nicole Kidman and Paul Hogan and hasarder) died after being stung in the heart by a stingray. If he got stung at almost any other part of his body, he'd be in pain but still alive.

But given the nature of his exploits, he was bound to die at the hands, feet, mouth or stinger of some wild creature at some point. Live by the animal, die by the animal.

As My Favorite Person put it: "Nature won!"

Of course, my money was on some big saltie chomping him down one day as he tried to wrangle with it. Maybe his foot would slip. Maybe he'd turn to talk to the camera at the exact wrong time. Either that, or one of the many deadly snakes idigenous to Australia -- sea snake, tiger snake, death adder, western brown, taipan, etc.

Instead, it was the barbed tail of the stingray.

Crikey!