WORLD

- reported by Osiris.

A private funeral for "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin was held on Saturday at a funeral home in Caloundra, and it has been reported that the local council had given the Irwin family permission to bury Irwin, 44, at the 25-hectare zoo that has been owned by the family since 1970.




Steve Irwin cuddling a baby croc. All the crocs will definitely miss him!










Irwin was killed by a stingray on Sept. 4, whle filming an underwater set in the Great Barrier Reef. Apparently he was annoyed by the constant disturbance of the stingray and spoke into his microphone, "Someone please chase that critter away! We can't carry on like this!"

Richard, the culprit in this gruesome murder, swam towards Irwin on hearing his remark and stabbed his barb into the Australian show host's chest. Irwin died of the resulting cardiac arrest. The video of the incident is now in the hands of the Australian police and investigators are trying their best to identify Richard.

Said Monica, a friend of Richard who has refused to cooperate with the police with regards to the whereabouts of the stingray, "I've known Richard since we were ten years old. He wouldn't hurt anyone! Mr Irwin must have said something real nasty to Richard, something that has not been reported."

Sydney's Sun-Herald newspaper has reportedly accquired the services of an Aborigine lip-reader to determine the actual words Irwin spoke seconds before his death.

John Stainton, Irwin's longtime manager, said that the family and friends are planning a memorial service to be opened to the public. He also said that Irwin's wife Terri and the children were coping 'quite well' with the sudden death. The Irwins have two children, Bindi, 8, and Bob, 2.

One venue mentioned for the memorial service is a 52,000-seat sports stadium in Brisbane, the nearby capital of Queensland state.

Irwin could have had a formal state funeral offered by Prime Minister John Howard but Bob Irwin said his son preferred a smaller, private funeral.

"He called me hours after he was gone, telling me not to blow it up but keep it under tabs, as quiet as possible." Bob told Rotters Int.

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