The tragic loss of Steve Irwin
 

As many of you probably heard, Steve "The Crocodile Hunter" Irwin has died. He was filming off the coast of Australia where he was stung in the heart by a stingray. My deepest sympathies go out to Terri (wife), Bindi (daughter, 8 yrs), Bob (son, almost 3 yrs), and the rest of the Australia Zoo family. I got my first glimpse of "The Crocodile Hunter" in 1998 while flipping through the channels on my sister's couch in North Carolina. When I saw a clip of this amazing guy wrestling a crocodile, and speaking with an Australia accent, I was immediately mesmerized! I thoght, "Who IS this guy?!?" Lucky for me, Animal Planet played a few episodes that night and that was it for me; I was instantly a huge fan. Anyone that knows me knows that I am a HUGE animal person and that Steve had *such* a huge influence on me. Before I became a croc hunter fan, I was afraid of snakes, spiders, alligators, & crocs. After watching his show, I overcame that fear and not only caught snakes, but presented them to the public! I lived his mantra: "Conservation through education!"

As I watch the cover stories on Fox, ABC, CNN, etc, I am deeply saddened and angry that they continue to focus not on Steve's accomplishments for conserving wildlife, not for changing MILLIONS of people's minds about "beasts" such as crocs & snakes, but on a ridiculous 2004 "controversy" where he held his then 1-month old son, Bob, in the same vicinty as Murray, a 13 foot crocodile. THEY LIVE IN AUSTRALIA ZOO, OF *COURSE* STEVE'S KIDS WILL BE AROUND CROCODILES!!!!!! Please, remember Steve for his passion for wildlife, his AMAZING accomplishments for conserving, and how he changed the perceptions of so-called 'monsters of the animal kingdom' of his estimated 200 million fans across the globe. Steve Irwin is the ultimate Wildlife Warrior and he will truly be missed.

As always, "By crikey mates! Crocs rule!"

That is so sad. Now his wifre and children have to be without:( May his soul rest in peace.

I knew the news this afternoon. Can't believe that he passed away so fast right after the piercing through his left chest by the stingray. My deepest condolence to the crocodile hunter.

Very sad loss of human life indeed . I have never thought that these beasts could be that evil :(

Those stingray barbs are easily 2 to 3 inches.. With some force, it's not hard to pierce a hole in the heart..

At least he died doing what he loved to do.. Hanging around with creatures from the water..


I feel sorry for his wife and kids.. Even more sad is, is that the whole world knew before his wife did.. Even wikipedia had already updated their page at 6:30 this morning..


Rest in Peace mate :(

Very sad for his family & friends :/ But I really don't mean to sound horrible or anything, but are you really surprised this happened? When you are mad enough to do this kind of thing something bad is gonna end up happening. He pretty much had a death wish :none:

Wow, I had no idea that had happened... poor man, I wasn't a fan but I have seen his show a few times and he seemed like a fun person, this is terrible news. :( I have to agree with Rachel though, he knew there are risks when you're dealing with animals, still extremely sad that he died.

I don't think so at all.. I think he was a very passionate man, with a love for life and (sea) animals.. He had a passion and excited to show the world all about the animals that he adored.. I don't think you'll ever find someone that passionate about anything again..

Yeah, it's true he played with his life.. It was bound to go wrong one day, but he obviously knew what he was doing, otherwise he wouldn't let his kids near crocs and stuff.. And he surely didn't deserve to die and I'm 100% positive he didn't have a wish to die at all, that's absolute bullshit.. I think he was VERY eager to live and probably wanted nothing more than to teach everybody on the planet, personally even if he could.. There's no one like him..

At least he died doing what he loved to do.. There's no better way to go I think.. It beats dying old and lonely, sitting in a rocking chair, any day..

i saw the program--- :( that´s so sad! My sincere condolences to his family.

Erm...he's dead now. :spy:

No matter how much he knew (or thought he knew) about crocodiles he still should not have held his kid near a crocodile. That is just stupid. He was way too over-confident of his abilities which clouded his judgement.

You misunderstand me. I don't mean he was suicidle or anything, but going near animals such as these is bound to end in some kind of consequences.

I can't say I was a fan, but he was a great guy who will be missed by many. It's so sad that he had to die, but I'm not surprised that it happened, in fact I'm surprised it didn't happen sooner. I'm very sorry for all his family and friends.

Yeah, he dead now.. It's a freak accident.. I'm sure he didn't mean to get himself killed :rolleyes: He knew what he was doing, but obviously the phrase "shit happens" still applies..

What if shit would have happened when he held his child near a crocodile?
I don't think it was his fault, just another sad moment, I mean if I go out in the street and get run over by a car, is it my fault because I crossed the street? No. :p It's just bad luck.

I'm really surprised that he's dead.

Exactly.. Doesn't automatically mean you have a deathwish.. :p Maybe to Steve, wrestling crocodiles was as dangerous and crossing a street for you and me (depending on what city you live in I guess).. Dangerous has a different meaning to everyone.. To one it's idiotic, to others it's life, adrenaline, maybe even normal.. Doesn't mean he has a deathwish.. He was obviously fascinated by those creatures..


Me too.. I can't say I watched his shows all the time, but still.. It's a suprise nonetheless..

Anouk, true... he could handle a croc better than me and you together probably. :p So the risk was probably not as high for him, he knew what he had to do if he got attacked. But then again, he didn't get attacked by a crocodile or a snake or something, but one of those... thing! I didn't even know they were dangerous in the least!

But anyway, what I think Rachel meant, was that he knew what he was getting himself in to. I mean, even if you're a professional, you *know* that you can't control an animal like a machine, that it can freak out any second, and that you can get attacked, lose a leg, or die.

True, he was like the... immortal... guy! It's so weird to see him gone.

Not really something you can compare. If you held dangerous animals every day as well as go out into the street you obviously would be much more likely to get killed by the dangerous animal than a car.

That's what I ment when I said "He knew": he knew the dangers, and I think he knew them pretty damn well.. The animals remain wild ofcourse, they're no way you can tame a croc or any other animal, especially killers like crocs.. I think he knew that better than anyone.. He was not as ignorant as most people on this planet, I think he was one of the most realistic people on this planet..


Yeah, crazy to think that after all the crazy stuff he's been up to, a 2.5 inch barb from a stingray cost him his life.. I'm sure everybody put their money on him getting his head bit off by a croc..

Just think of the "Crocodile Dundee" movies.. That dude wasn't used the the city, but was used to the jungle and wild animals.. Turns out the city was more frightening, weird and dangerous to him than the jungle would ever be.. I know it's just a movie, but I don't think it's totally justified when you say you can't compare the 2.. There are people out there not used to the city or civilization and there are people not used to the wild.. Crossing streets and crocodile wresting can be as dangerous..

By the way.. I don't think QB was comparing both things to what Steve thought was dangerous.. I think she's saying what I'm saying.. Obviously, since she's agreeing with me..

At first I thought this thread was just a joke or a gag. No good. :bum: I feel bad for Steves family but they knew he loved his job and that's probably how he'd want to go.

I couldnt believe it when i heard it!! Steve was amazing, passionate about animals and the wildlife in Aus! Like his friend said he died doing something he loved!!!

I love crocodile hunter, he was one top guy!! "wow crikey" loved his lil phrases he came out with.

RIP Steve Irwin!