As per the Mirror, Irwin’s crew begged him to hold on, reminding him of his children while doing their best to staunch his wound. That’s when Steve, apparently aware of the severity of his injuries, whispered his last known words: “I’m dying.”

When they arrived back to Croc One, Justin performed mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on Steve for an hour. When paramedics finally arrived, however, the beloved zookeeper known all over the world for his exuberance, humor, and daring feats performed in the name of wildlife conservation, was declared dead.

Somewhat morbidly, the entire tragedy, from Irwin getting stung to his last moments alive, were all caught on camera – the footage is said to still exist somewhere today.

John Stainton said of the footage in the days after his friend’s death: “I mean, it should be destroyed. Once it’s released [by the coroner], it should never see the light of day. Never. Never. I’ve seen it, but I don’t want to see it again.”