I am surprised that anyone would appear to be surprised at this news.

Having seen him provide TV 'entertainment' by generally placing all kinds of wild animals under stress - it comes as little surprise that he has pushed his luck just once too often.

Any good he may have done for conservation was easily outweighed by the fact that he put the TV presentation of our natural world back about 30 years. This had moved on a lot until The Crocadile Hunter came along and spawned all manner of shows where it was once again thought manly to been seen chasing snakes and prodding crocodiles only for the ammusment of the viewers and the ego of the presenter.

And of course for the benefit of their bank balance.

There are many examples of individuals that work tirelessly, selflessly and anonymously for all manner of conservation projects. Perhaps they deserve to be given some credit here also - for their work will not receive much monetary reward?