MERGED --> Steve Irwin (aka Crocodile Hunter) dead?? + Terri Irwin Interview

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I posted this on another msg board where some Australians were a little less sympathetic. I might as well express my feelings here too :(

He was respected through the world, and even if you don't like the methods he used, he certainly raised awareness of animals that may have only had a bad rep, and also of a country that most people will never be lucky enough to visit in person. He was a good guy, who didn't mean/intend any harm, he was always so enthusiastic about everything he did that it was infectious. He was a great ambassador for Australia, wildlife & conservationism. It saddens me to think of the young kids who will grow up without the resources of this fantastic educator, who inspired interest in zoology, and a love of nature in so many people around the world today. I hope he passed enough of that love of nature on to his children that they will be able to overcome the manner in which he died, and see it as he died doing something he loved, in the pursuit of furthering knowledge. I don't think you could mention his name or "Croc Hunter" without people around the world immediately conjuring up an image of a larger than life person, with a love, and passion for what he did that few people ever experience. That he met his wife through his work, and he was lucky enough to be able to combine his love for his family and his work was great. He was an inpsiration to many, and will be sadly missed by myself and countless others. Australia and the animal kingdom, you have lost a hero to many (though not all.) Thoughts and prayers go to his family, and his organizations, which are probably also devasted by this loss.


:(
 
Crikey, indeed. I loved Steve when I was a kid. He was such a fun guy to watch. His antics began to irritate me as I grew older and I stopped watching his show, but I still respected him for all his work. I'll never forget the episode of Crocodile Hunter when he openly wept over a beached whale. He was a great guy who loved animals, despite the way he prodded around with them on TV. He did so much for Australia, as well as the rest of the world.

Rest in peace, Steve. :( Hope there's plenty of critters for you to study up there...
 
snowbunny00774 said:
I posted this on another msg board where some Australians were a little less sympathetic. I might as well express my feelings here too :(

He was respected through the world, and even if you don't like the methods he used, he certainly raised awareness of animals that may have only had a bad rep, and also of a country that most people will never be lucky enough to visit in person. He was a good guy, who didn't mean/intend any harm, he was always so enthusiastic about everything he did that it was infectious. He was a great ambassador for Australia, wildlife & conservationism. It saddens me to think of the young kids who will grow up without the resources of this fantastic educator, who inspired interest in zoology, and a love of nature in so many people around the world today. I hope he passed enough of that love of nature on to his children that they will be able to overcome the manner in which he died, and see it as he died doing something he loved, in the pursuit of furthering knowledge. I don't think you could mention his name or "Croc Hunter" without people around the world immediately conjuring up an image of a larger than life person, with a love, and passion for what he did that few people ever experience. That he met his wife through his work, and he was lucky enough to be able to combine his love for his family and his work was great. He was an inpsiration to many, and will be sadly missed by myself and countless others. Australia and the animal kingdom, you have lost a hero to many (though not all.) Thoughts and prayers go to his family, and his organizations, which are probably also devasted by this loss.


:(
Click to expand...

:up:

It's too bad people can be unsympathetic towards someone dying. On another website I go to, this poster laughed that he died. Meh :(
 
I'm listening to Midnight Oil in memory of Steve.

(They're from Australia and they stood for the environment, too. It's the first thing I though of, OK.)

I think I'm going to do something for the environment as well.
 
I couldn't quite believe it when I woke up and heard the news on the radio this morning. I'd been watching his show on TV only yesterday where he was training up some people to handle crocodiles and was thinking about how he has done so much to promote issues around the welfare of animals.

I also didn't realise that he was so well known around the world actually until I read this thread. He will be sadly missed.:(
 
Very sad :(. I didn't watch many of his nature specials (a little to hyper for me), but I used to love to watch the "Crocodile Hunter Diary" episodes - where they showed the day to day operations of the zoo.

I'd never heard of someone dying from a stingray barb before. I've heard of people getting stung on the leg or the foot after accidenlty stepping on one.

:(
 
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snowbunny00774 said:
I posted this on another msg board where some Australians were a little less sympathetic. I might as well express my feelings here too :(
Click to expand...

I totally agree....I posted a comment on I Am Bored...and this person posted an insenstive gif of Steve. A stingray passes him and he turns into a skeleton with the word PWN over it. :tsk:

*Yes...this person is banned (I think) and the gif is gone*
 
Wow, a stingray got him in the end, of all things.

Sad, sad story and from what I've read, he was a real force for the land-preservation movement as well as a devoted animal lover. Rest in peace.
 
kellyahern said:


I'd never heard of someone dying from a stingray barb before. I've heard of people getting stung on the leg or the foot after accidenlty stepping on one.

:(
Click to expand...

Neither had I...

According to the article I posted from the BBC, only one other person ever has (in Austrailia at least). Back in the 1940's...

Attacks on humans are a rarity - only one other person is known to have died in Australia from a stingray attack, at St Kilda, Melbourne in 1945.
Click to expand...


:(
 
Wow, what are the chances?

Sad day, although I can't say I was a fan (although I did find his shows interesting in a curious way) his work stands as a testament to the kind of man he was. My heart goes out to his wife and kids, who must be absolutely devastated.

:(
 
I think the reason hardly anyone has ever been killed by a stingray is that most people avoid contact with stingrays especially giant ones. In his line of work, Steve Irwin constantly placed himself in the line of fire in his efforts to both educate and entertain the public.

I think that after the initial shock and sadness has diminished, there may be a discussion about the methods used by naturalists to bring us wonders of the animal world. Some nature programs have no interaction with the animals while others show individuals becoming totally intimate with dangerous species. Personally, I prefer shows like Nature, Blue Planet or Planet Earth as opposed to the adventure type shows.
 
I was shaken by this news too. Even more upset though at the insensitivity of my students, and even my supervisor this morning at work who all agreed that "it was bound to happen."

I mean, he was risking his life to educate the world, but he did it because he loved it. It saddens me to hear others ridicule people who are this passionate.

Whats so wrong with being passionate for a cause? For actually doing a job that you love, that makes a difference in this world?

Grr! Sorry, just wanted to vent. RIP Steve.
 
redhotswami said:
I was shaken by this news too. Even more upset though at the insensitivity of my students, and even my supervisor this morning at work who all agreed that "it was bound to happen."

I mean, he was risking his life to educate the world, but he did it because he loved it. It saddens me to hear others ridicule people who are this passionate.
Click to expand...

I don't think people were necessarily ridiculing the man but questioning his methods. We can be educated about the natural world without having people risk their lives to do so but it wouldn't be as exciting or entertaining. Sadly, our society has an attention span of about 30 seconds and people generally won't sit and watch a documentary about the habitat and life of an alligator taken with a telephoto lens and narrated by British voice. But if a person is next to the alligator and could possibly die, well, now you have an audience.

Steve Irwin was an honourable man who died way too soon.
 
trevster2k said:
Steve Irwin constantly placed himself in the line of fire in his efforts to both educate and entertain the public.
Click to expand...

Yes Trev, I agree.
When I heard that Steve had died, I immediately thought of an old friend of mine that passed away recently, Tim Treadwell.

tim_bear.jpg


Tim and I worked together in California as bartenders before he became an avid wildlife researcher for Grizzly bears. He unfortunately encountered a more horrifying death.

Here's a couple of links to his story;

http://www.yellowstone-bearman.com/Tim_Treadwell.html


http://www.grizzlypeople.com/home1.php
 
I'm sorry for the loss of your friend. I watched "Grizzly Man" recently (a documentary about Timothy Treadwell) and found it fascinating.
 
That's what I was thinking...it almost sounded like he was doing something a lot of people do, but more likely as not he was WAY too close to the stingray :(
 
In the end, he did work with wild animals so there was always the risk.
I'm surprised he still had 10 fingers and 10 toes, actually. To survive that long working with crocodiles and not lose a limb is an achievement.
I used to watch his show all the time as a kid and liked to do impressions of him. :wink: I've caught his Croc Files show a few times off and on, and I was always excited when he was a late night guest. He was good friends with Jay Leno, so I wonder if he'll say anything.

The stingray was only protecting himself, and I guess Steve just wanted to teach us one big lesson before he left. Animals are animals.

Thanks Steve, I miss you already. :sad:
 
at least it was better this way, really


a SHOT of a stingray sounds painful, but also quick, so I hope he didn't suffer that much

that, in MY head, is WAY better that if he was killed by a crocodile or any other thing
 
I think it's believed he had a heart attack, it wasn't that he was stung. The barb pierced his heart. I swam with a stingray once and from my pathetically limited understanding, it seems he might have been alongside it or somewhere other than above it. They're graceful in their own way, but simply due to their flatness I dont think manoeuvrability is a key feature of their physical build. Nasty accident.

His death has really saddened me.
:(
 
There's a whole biography thing on him right now on animal planet...started about ten minutes ago
 
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