Steve Irwin... very sad...

Well, it is and it isn't. Sad, that is. Yes, the world has lost a wild and crazy and totally entertaining guy who educated us and did a great deal to further the conservation of animals not necessarily considered worth hanging on to. It is certainly sad that he leaves his family behind. On the other hand, I imagine he went exactly as he would have wanted to go, and that's not something most people get to do.

That is terrible. He leaves behind a wife and two small children... and a world better for his being in it. He did a lot to educate us and bring the wild into our living room.

Agreed Jim. He will definitely be missed both by his family and the conservation world as a whole. I enjoyed watching him.

Rgds Rook

His family is our prayers.
Sometimes I hope that my dedication to what I do, is a fraction of someone like him.
pan

Steve

What a horrible thing to happen, but as we all know, when it is you time it is your time. His wife always seemed to be a strong person and I can see her continuing in his cause. I have so many fond memories of Steve. Back in the day when my husband and I were just friends we would sit eating popcorn and watching his shows laughing and enjoying. The world did lose a great person and I am personally sad to hear of this tragedy and he will truely be missed. Our hearts go out to his wife and children, and we ask God to heal the pain they must feel right now losing such a kind and caring person/father/husband. Thank you to Steve for all the laughs you have brought to many homes and all your hard work for God's creatures. Bakerlady29

My feelings as well. He taught adults as well as children to be less afraid of what we don't understand and to let our passions guide our lives and better our world. He also managed to do all this while making people laugh. Quite a gifted man.
My thoughts are with his family.

Heeeeeezzzz foyyyysssttteeeee he izzz...

What a shock.

I've been watching Steve since he started on TV. We moved to Oz for a number of years but never had the pleasure of going to his zoo. My daughter and I had planned on heading there in the next year when we move back. We were both planning to apply for work. He inspired my daughter to pursue being a zoologist and me, well...I'm the cook.

Steve was one of those wonders that permeates the living with wonder. You don't have to see them all the time, but you know they're there. You make jokes, but you still look at the world in a different way because of them. There are only a handful of people that command that powerful a personality.

The beauty and freshness of Steve was he was so full of enthusiasm for what he did. You just couldn't argue with it.

It's ironic that with all of the creatures he tempted fate with, it was one that was one of the most benign. I guess when God calls you it's your time.

He will be missed.

April

Steve's passion and enthusiasm for his work and life in general was irresistable and his presence on the TV screen was captivating. It is sad that the world has lost such a giver of joy and it's ironic that a relatively benign creature took his life. I think though that Steve was never destined to die peacfully in his bed of old age. I have to believe that on some level he and those close to him knew that. He wasn't with us for long but he made an impact on so many around the world that most of us couldn't do in 10 lifetimes.
Rest in peace Steve.

Jock

Let me start by saying his death was tragic and will be a huge loss for the environmentalist/conservation community (which should be every human living on earth), to say nothing of the loss to his family.

He gained attention by being a showman; sometimes he went a bit too far with that, as the time when he dangled his baby within reach of a crocodile's jaws. That brought pretty general outrage. I was quite annoyed by his behavior in a video he made about African snakes I used to use in my classroom. The camera would show, say, a deadly carpet viper lounging on the ground. Steve would come up to it and talk about the snake while it lounged ont he ground. Then, with a stick, he'd begin to poke at it and exclaim how aggressive the snake was when it lunged at the stick. Even my seventh graders got the absurdity of that.

On balance his death is a great loss. I hope someone carries on his work.

Mezz-I have to thank you for your post. Your sentiments reflect mine pretty accurately.I haven't posted my feelings because I felt I'd get trounced by all the Croc-lovers.
While I love nature shows-Nature and the Blue Planet in particular-I always felt a little uneasy about Steve Irwin's approach. To me, it seemed that he intentionally antagonized the animals in his show to sensationalize and emphasize their ferocity. Since his show caters to families with children, it seemed that he was sending a bit of a confusing message to kids. Kind of like encouraging kids to say, "Lets poke it and see what happens!"
I certainly appreciate his enthusiasm for the animal world, but I think he was a bit exploitive and reckless, which seems counter to the real goal of conservation and protection of animal habitat.
It seems ironic that he would die from the sting of such a docile animal. You really have to swim very close and threaten a ray pretty severely to get a barb stuck all the way into your heart.
We used to see stingrays in the Florida Keys all the time in sandy shallows. It's easy to step on one accidentally because they lie on the ocean floor and cover themselves with sand except for their eyes. We would sometimes swim up and poke them in the nose to watch them fly (swim) up and over us. But even with our foolish harassment of these beautiful creatures, they never aggressively tried to barb us. It hurts like **** to step on one, but it isn't fatal.
I feel for Steve's family, but he left the world doing something he was passionate about-something we all can hope for. I guess there is some solace in that.

You know, I have to respond to this...

It's not so much teaching kids to poke it's showing them (and even most adults) what happens if you do.

I lived in OZ for several years. It has the distinction of having the most venimous anything, from ants to bugs to spiders to snakes. If you're driving in the bush between cities and you run over a snake (which is pretty common as is running into a roo), you turn around and go BACK to see if it's still there.

Why? Because the buggers have been known to get thrown into your wheel well and have been known to bite you when you stop.

Steve had an enormous respect for wildlife, dangerous or not. He may have been unconventional, but that's the Aussie way of doing things. Flamboyant, in your face, 'No worries'...You have to look at his impact. I'm certain he inspired more people than caused problems from his presumed 'poking'. (which really wasn't poking at all but moving them to allow a good look at them and their behavior)

He was filming off the reef in N/E Australia. It's not as benign as you might think. Creatures there are a lot more dangerous and wary than all of the coasts in the US put together. Australia has box jellyfish, blue ringed octopus, stone fish, not to mention the numerous sharks...This wasn't a circumstance where Steve provoked the stingray until it got mad at him.

Of course we'll never see the film so we won't know exactly what happened.

But...bottom line is he inspired and touched more people than imaginable with his enthusiasm. His unconventional ways were part of what made his impression on people. In order to teach people he had to get their attention...

April

at the very end crocks remained true friend of his..

It was a real shock

He will be missed by my family, that's for sure. I feel terrible for his beautiful beautiful wife and adorable kids. I went into a depression for a couple of weeks after hearing the news. We sure never expected him to go out like this.