Friend Claims Steve Irwin Foreshadowed His Own Death In Speech To Crew Before His Accident

November 15th is recognized as Steve Irwin day by the many fans that the famous crocodile hunter made throughout his TV career. On "Steve Irwin Day" fans of the show are encouraged to wear khaki pants and yell ‘crikey!’ throughout the day.

The celebration was instituted by the Australia Zoo. The park is now owned by the Irwin family! It's precisely on this day though that producer John Stainton has decided to reminisce about his time working with Steve on the show. Stainton was part of the crew that was with Steve Irwin filming the infamous "Ocean’s Deadliest" documentary. Where he would go on to lose his life in an accident involving a stingray back in 2006.

Stainton recalled that Steve Irwin gathered the whole crew before the accident and gave a passionate speech where he essentially thanked everyone for their service. Looking back on that moment Stainton believes that in a way the croc hunter was foreshadowing his own demise. Now looking at the events from the rearview mirror Stainton thinks Steve knew something was up.

When you're filming a documentary that you've titled "Ocean's Deadliest" it would seem rather understand that you are a bit worried about your own safety and the safety of the crew. With the benefit of hindsight, sadly the speech that Steve Irwin gave to his crew before they started filming the documentary came to serve as a farewell speech. Producer John Stainton recently went on the “I’ve Got News For You” podcast. He got a chance to recall those last days filming with Steve he recalled that eerie speech saying,

“A couple of days before we started the show, he made a little speech to all the crew that were up there catching crocs for his research trip" Stainton would go on to say, “He was sort of thanking them all for being who they were and for helping him. It was like a finale speech.”

Again it wouldn't seem odd that anyone that's going to be involved in a production that's titled "Ocean's Deadliest" could have second thoughts about getting involved in such a film. Producer John Stainton claims that he was very nervous going into the production. So much so that he went to the doctor to get himself checked out and even wrote out his updated will before heading off to shoot. Now we know it wasn't his own death that he was foreshadowing.

Even though his risky lifestyle eventually caught up to him the family members Steve Irwin left behind have continued his life's work. After his death, his wife Terri became the sole owner of the Australian Zoo. She and her kids have continued to document their life's journey of wildlife preservation. Terri Irwin and her kids star in Animal Planet's "Crikey! It's the Irwins" since 2018. The show follows the family in their daily tasks of keeping their zoo and other wildlife adventures. Although there are rumors that financial troubles may cause Terri Irwin to sell their zoo!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgqAdAp7jrU