[dare2dream28]

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!"