Despite the footage of it never actually being released, some people are often convinced they’ve watched a video of Steve Irwin’s death.
It’s been nearly 20 years since ‘The Crocodile Hunter’ died after an attack by a stingray.
The Aussie icon was filming for TV show Ocean’s Deadliest in Queensland when paramedics rushed to save him, but the dad-of-two sadly died before getting to hospital.
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Aged just 44 at the time, many of us grew up watching Irwin teaching us about animals and the environment on TV in the late 90s and early 00s.
And many people are convinced that just as much as they’d watched clips of the zookeeper, they’d watched a clip of his tragic final moments.
One user took to Reddit to say that while they’ve heard the video ‘would never see the light of day’ they ‘can almost remember watching it vividly, as a child’.
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With many others being able to relate with their own memories, the poster described the clip and explained: “I think I may have seen it online, a time where internet restrictions were a little looser and was a little easier for a little boy to come across a tragic video if he really cared about the goings on.”
However, the video that many people remember seeing was not the real tape as it has never been shared.
Irwin’s wife Terri told You magazine in 2018 that a fake video was circulated, pretending it was of the legend’s death.
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“After Steve died, 100 million viewers watched a video of his death that was released on YouTube,” she said.
“That film was a complete fabrication exploiting people’s sadness. I have never watched the real footage. Why would I? I know how my husband died and I was relieved that the children weren’t on the boat as they usually would be; it would have been horrendous if they had witnessed it.”
While the video that many remember watching may have been faked, the entirety of the Iriwn’s attack was caught on camera because his one rule for his camera crew was to always keep filming.
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Irwin's best friend and director John Stainton said at the time the tape would never be made public.
"When that is finally released [after being investigated], it will never see the light of day. Ever. Ever," Stainton told CNN host Larry King in 2006.
"I actually saw it, but I don't want to see it again.
"I would never want that tape shown."
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In 2007, authorities said all but one copy was destroyed – which was given to Terri.
She is said to have burned that without ever watching it.
Featured Image Credit: Australia Zoo via Getty Images/Justin Sullivan/Getty ImagesTopics: Steve Irwin, Australia, Animals