Fighting back tears, the weather-beaten, khaki-clad Bob Irwin told an impromptu news conference that his son had been his "best mate" and funeral arrangements would be up to his American widow Terri and their two young children.

Irwin was speaking to reporters outside his son's Australia Zoo in this small northeastern town, where a massive shrine of flowers, notes and personal mementoes has been laid by thousands of fans of television's wildlife warrior.

The premier of Queensland state, Peter Beattie, had offered to provide a state funeral but Irwin said the star of the Discovery Channel hit series "Crocodile Hunter" would not have wanted a grand send-off.

"The state funeral would be refused because he's just an ordinary guy, and he wants to be remembered as an ordinary bloke," Irwin said.

Steve Irwin, 44, was killed Monday off the Great Barrier Reef when the tail barb of a giant stingray punctured his heart as the creature lashed out at him while he was filming.

"He certainly did die doing something he loved doing, and that's a lot better than being hit by a bus," said his father. "He wouldn't have wanted it any other way."The tape showing Irwin's death should never be shown, his close friend and "Crocodile Hunter" producer John Stainton said.

"It should be destroyed," he said on CNN's Larry King Live. "At the moment, it's in police custody for evidence ... and when that (tape) is finally released it will never see the light of day, ever.”