Although I didn't agree with his dangling his daugher near a crocodile, I thought he was an amazing person and a humorous fellow. My sympathy goes out to his family. He died from a Stingray barb while filming off the Great Barrier Reef in Queensland.

Hugs,
Ciara

-- Modified on 9/4/2006 2:15:36 PM

How sad. With the risks he often took, it was inevitable that something like this would happen. But he sure was fun to watch. He'll be missed. He made being into nature "cool".

My son had tears in his eyes all day long, today.
He watched the Crocodile Hunter movie over and over.

Yeah, he was fun to watch.

Just my opinion...
B

It was silly how people though he would never get bit.  He got bit all the time.  They even had special consisting just of him getting bit.  

He's led an interesting life and probably cheated death countless times.  It's a shame that nature finally got him in the end.  Rest in peace Steve

Watching people die is not fun, but to go quick and doing something that clearly ya love, man - ya know ya gotta go, so why not that way!

beats sittin in a hospital bed with tubes commin out ya.... for months or even years....

me, I opt for gettin shot by a jealous boyfriend of a terrific provider.... oh, in the act!  or a heart attack, lying there - on the floor with a lovely lady coaxing me back to an erection!  lol!!!  well, one can dream!!! lol!!!

-- Modified on 9/4/2006 5:30:53 PM

I have done a lot of scuba diving including some dives with stingrays and something doesn't sound right.  Reports say the barb "went up and into his chest and put a hole in his heart."  I have never heard of a stingray penetrating a body that deeply.  Typically, it has just enough force to puncture the skin where it injects its venom.  And the venom isn't usually fatal to humans, especially one in good health like Irwin, just very painful.  The dive master I go diving with got stung in the foot by a stingray.  They soaked his foot in a bucket of hot water for hours and gave him a tetanus shot and some antibiotics but he was never close to death.  Could be a freak accident but things don't add up.

the sting ray has a 10" barb on its tail and that it wasn't the venom so much as the damage to his heart that killed Steve.

Who'd have thunk it?

. . . he took unnecessary risks, even for his newborn child. He was a sensationalist who made a career out of harassing wildlife. That's karma for fucking with wildlife.

My favourite Steve Irwin story was the way he filled in his customs / immigration form on returning to Australia. On the question "Have you ever been convicted of a felony?", his answer was "I'm sorry, I didn't realize it was still a requirement."

That smile and laugh will be missed.

Maybe some crocs got together and put a hit on him because they were tired of being humiliated?

Few people loved animals that much, and fewer teased the reaper with such joy.



-- Modified on 9/4/2006 10:05:14 PM

...if he talked like that all the time or only when the cameras are rolling? Could you imagine if he talked like that while lovemaking?

A true animal lover do not make a career out of harassing and provoking wildlife who's minding their own business.

Mutual of Omaha's "Wild Kingdom".

For anything vaguely dangerous with wildlife, there'd be a cutaway to Jim Fowler.

On the other hand I don't recall Fowler doing anything as routinely provocative as Irwin.

Steve's efforts in croc conservation has saved the lives of thousands of these creatures that would have died due to the ever spanning encroachment of man on their natural habitats.

I remember the old Mutual of Omaha Wild Kingdom show.

I would usually watch the last 10 minutes of it because I knew football would be on right after it was over. It was a PDB show (pretty damned boring). Steve Irwin made being into nature "cool" In my opinion of course

Unfortunately, that had already been done, though.  And reruns or Wild Kingdom are quite dated.  Irwin added suspense, surprise, and comedy to what he did.  Like it or not.  TV was not going to do the "Wild Kingdom" formula again.

Irwin could have used a policy from Mutual of Omaha hosted by Perkins.

I remember my parents letting us sit in the living room with TV trays, while eating (what my mother called back then) Po Boy sandwiches and watching "Wild Kingdom." Too funny. Gees! I'm dating myself (no pun intended).

Hugs,
Ciara

Of course, you're right. This is a very different time, and more is needed in the way of dramatic 'tension' if you're going to hold an audience.

Then too, you need to have popularizers such as Irwin, just as much as you need the more conventional naturalists doing the 'real' science. Both are necessary if we are to save what remains of our endangered habitats.

...and dating yourself does not cause blindness!!!

-- Modified on 9/5/2006 11:23:35 AM

I'll take you out.  ;o)

...from the wild boar.  I don't know if they still show this, but if you've ever seen the footage of it, it's amazing.  Steve and his dog, (Huey?) were in a tiny little boat coming into shore at night to check on a croc.  They were being followed by another boat that had the lights and cameras going.  As they got about 50 ft. from shore, the dog just up and jumps overboard into the water to go after the boar on the shore.  Irwin was shocked!  But knew he had to act.  Stupidly, he jumped in after the dog instead running his boat up on the shore.  The dog beat Irwin to the shore and went after the boar.  Irwin got there in time to get the boar off his dog and in the process got several nasty gashes on his arms and legs.  Fortunately he saved his dog and the film crew had and administered the necessary first aid.  He was bleeding profusely, but a bigger threat (according to him at least) was the risk of infection.  By having first-rate first aid available he was able get treated on the site, and then was taken to a hospital (which took awhile to get to).  You could easily tell that that series of events could've messed him up real bad.  He was quite shaken and in obvious pain, but he was truly concerned more for his dog than for himself.  He also knew that there was something beneficial to having this whole thing captured on film.  The cameraman didn't realize at first the nature of the injuries.  Steve didn't want the camera turned off just b/c he got hurt.  Conversely, as long as he was no longer in harm's way his notion was: show the attack, show the pain, show the danger, show the first-aid treatment, show how real this is.  

Irwin did a bonehead thing by holding his newborn as he fed a croc, but he apologized and owned up to it.  He could've sensationalized this boar attack as him being a hero to save his dog, but he didn't.  He saved his dog, because he loved his dog.  That was a real man.

...dissing the dead?  Especially when full of it.  Read my post below.  That man cared for animals more than he cared for himself.

...and deciding to disagree with him.  What you're doing is bad mouthing the dead.  You are allowed to do that.  But since you seem to be a self-proclaimed expert on karma, I was wondering what you thought would be appropriate karma for bad mouthing the dead?  I hope it's worse than needling someone on the boards.  Being a prick is only my part time job, LOL!

It is fair game to disagree with public figures even though he cannot respond. I think it was a fair opinion of him -- he did provoke wildlife.

I guess karma for someone who criticizes a dead animal-harasser is being needled by another board member.

I agree with you that he did care for animals. He ran a zoo so he cared for caged animals. No matter what he did for conservation, he still did provoke wild animals.

Is it okay for a pilanthropist roaming the streers provoking people? He would still be a jerk.

I have always commanded a strong presence in any room I enter, whether full of animals or humans!  Crikey!!