Death finally caught up to Steve Irwin, who died today in a freak accident. Known worldwide as “The Crocodile Hunter,” Irwin was snorkeling off the north coast of Australia when he accidentally cornered a stingray. The ray threw up its tail in defense, driving its barb into Irwin’s chest.

Annoying as he may have sometimes been (though not as annoying as Paul Hogan’s “Crocodile Dundee” character), Irwin became an unofficial ambassador for Australia as well as a huge proponent of conservation. People around the world knew his “crikey” catchphrase. The guy danced with death so many times and walked away from it that its ironic he’d be done in while he was totally behaving himself. One thing you can say: he went out doing just what he wanted to do.

Next time I’m lucky enough to visit Australia, I’ll say a little “crikey” in his honor. That, and I’ll look very carefully for stingrays.

(hat tip, Margarita Lounge)