`Crocodile hunter' gets private funeral

Surfers hold hands yesterday off Australia's eastern coast to cast flowers into the Pacific Ocean in honor of TV conservationist Steve Irwin, who died earlier this month in a stingray accident. PHOTO: AP

A private funeral service was held for Australian TV naturalist Steve Irwin on Saturday and he will be buried at his family's zoo in the northern state of Queensland, local media reported.

Irwin's Bob Irwin, had declined a government offer for a state funeral for his son.

Irwin, known as the "Crocodile Hunter" after his popular TV documentaries which aired around the world, was killed six days ago by a stingray barb to the chest while diving on Australia's Great Barrier Reef.

After the funeral service his body was taken to his family's Australia Zoo wildlife park, where he is expected to be buried, local media reported yesterday.

Irwin, 44, had flirted with death many times in his Crocodile Hunter documentaries, seen by 200 million people, wrestling with some of the world's most dangerous creatures.

News Irwin's death clogged Internet news sites and drew tributes from around the world. Prime Minister John Howard interrupted parliament to pay tribute to him, saying he was distressed by the loss of a remarkable Australian.

A public memorial service that is likely to draw thousands of mourners was expected to take place later this month.

Hundreds fans continued their procession to the 25-hectare Australia Zoo that was opened in 1970 by Bob Irwin.

Each day since Irwin's fatal accident, mourners have come to the zoo to leave flowers, candles, cards and stuffed animals behind and to sign one of Irwin's trademark khaki shirts in lieu of a commemoration book.

The shirts, now numbering near 100, are tacked on a brick building at the front of the zoo that has become the focal point of the outpouring of grief for Irwin.

Meanwhile, nearly 300 surfers gathered off Australia's eastern coast yesterday to cast flowers into the Pacific Ocean in Irwin's honor.

Lifeguard Nigel Morton said the surfers assembled in the water at Alexandra Headland in Queensland state in honor of the wildlife fanatic who was also an accomplished surfer.

"They paddled out probably about 300m offshore and made a very large circle," Morton said. "There were several surfers in the center of the circle that conducted the service."