Invincible

Every now and again someone you thought invincible dies.

Princess Di was one of those people. The Crocodile Hunter, Steve Irwin was another. News of their passing kind of takes you by surprise.

Friends of mine always say if you are going to die young, it should be in a creative and unusual manner, like being killed by a hippopotamus. Being killed by a stingray is close enough, I guess.

There have only been about 30 stingray deaths worldwide in recent years, as stingrays are known to be quite gentle animals.

As a side note, I was amazed at how quickly Wikipedia posted the news of Steve Irwin's passing. It was almost as quick as the news wires. Wikipedia was also pretty quick to re-write his biography in past tense.

As another side note, did you know that hippos account for more human deaths than any other African mammal. I guess it's because they are rather territorial animals whose habitats are often trespassed upon by farmers and tourists.