NEW YORK – There are no plans to air video capturing the shocking death of famed “Crocodile Hunter” Steve Irwin, but media experts predicted Tuesday it will soon be circulating on the Internet.

John Stainton, Irwin’s manager and friend, said he viewed the footage showing the wildlife expert being stabbed in the heart by a stingray’s venomous barbed tail Monday and described it as “terrible.”

Stainton said the cameraman kept filming the 44-year-old Animal Planet network star in the throes of death on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef because he didn’t realize the gravity of the situation until he saw blood.

“It shows that Steve came over the top of the ray and the tail came up, and spiked him here,” said Stainton, pointing to his chest. “(Irwin) pulled it out, and the next minute he’s gone.”

The tape shows “no evidence Mr. Irwin was threatening or intimidating the stingray,” Queensland State police Superintendent Michael Keating said.

While Stainton said every effort will be made to keep the video away from the public, media experts said they doubted the footage could be kept under wraps.

“The key point is once there’s something on film, it’s impossible to keep it contained,” said Paul Levinson, chairman of Fordam University’s Department of Communication and Media Studies.

Irwin’s body was returned to his Queensland hometown Tuesday. Plans for his funeral were pending.