Crocodile Man Dies - Steve Irwin

[Oren]

THE Crocodile Man, Steve Irwin, is dead. He was killed in a freak accident in Cairns, police sources said. It appeared that he was killed by a sting-ray barb that went through his chest, Queensland Police Inspector Russell Rhodes said.

http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/s...34-952,00.html

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,20349888-2,00.html

He was always fun to watch on TV. Very enthusiastic about his work and task and daring to the point of craziness. It's sad he's gone.

[Oren]

Thanks for moving this to the right location I wrongly assumed that this should go to the Q&A forum because the Obituaries forum is a sub-forum of it. It makes more sense here though!

[KenBoorman]

He will be missed :( I feel for his wife and children. He was WAY too young to go.

Ken

[ThomasL]

I will truly miss Steve Irwin. I am not ashamed to say I shed tears upon hearing the news. I am rather disapointed with locals, interviewed at the San Antonio Zoo, who essentially said he pushed the envelope too far or he had it coming.He truly believed in what he was doing; that it was his mission. He was a conservationist, first and foremost. American animal expert, Jack Hannah, and friend of Irwin's said Steve was Steve from the time he got up in the morning to the time he went to bed at night.His TV personae was the same as his real-life personae. He made us aware of the wildlife around us, and even though he took risks it was clear that these were wild animals. His death was so ironic. An Atlanta stingray expert at the local marina said to call his death a freak accident is an understatement.But he did die; way to soon. All I can say is my sincerest condolences to his family. Dr. Seus' The Loraxsaid I speak for the trees for the trees have no tongues.I wonder who will speak as strongly for the animals now?

[Madrigal Rose]

Steve Irwin died doing what he loved to do, what he lived for, and there is something to be said for that. Though his family suffers with his loss, and for me that knowledge would mean something.
I guess when he was around the aggressively dangerous animals, he was prepared for it.

[devilchicken]

Steve seemed a nice enough guy - and got a lot of people interested in conservation (especially kids) who would be otherwise put off by the dry academic approach of people like David Attenborough.

Still I think Steve lost a lot of fans when he did that stunt with one of his kids - holding the baby in one hand while he went into an enclosure to feed a crocodile. I'm sure most people who understand or work with wild animals know that such creatures are dangerously unpredictable - so its hard to see why someone would want to add their kid to that equation.

[redbeard]

On friday another Australian legend named Peter Brock died. I don't know if many people outside of Australia woud have heard of him. He was one of our most successfull race car drivers. He was known as Peter 'Perfect'. He won our most prestigous race the Bathurst 1000 9 times, winning his first in 1972 and his last in 1987. He also won the Bathurst 24hr race in 2002.

He died whilst competing in the Targa Rally in Western Australia. It was a wet morning and his Daytona Coupe slammed into a tree on a tight corner which has claimed other lives in years past. The drivers side door hit the tree and Peter was killed while his co-driver survived.

All in all it's been a pretty tragic week over here.

[PsychicWarVeteran]

Steve Irwin would NOT be happy...

The manner in which some Australians are dealing with Irwin's death would make the croc hunter just a tad upset:

At least ten stingrays have been found dead and mutilated on Australia’s eastern coast in the last week in what conservationists believe could be revenge attacks for the death of Steve Irwin, the popular naturalist and television personality...

it is feared that fans' mourning has taken a new focus: stingray rage. The dead stingrays have been discovered on two beaches in Queensland state, where Mr Irwin lived and ran his popular wildlife park, Australia Zoo. Two of the unfortunate rays, discovered today, were retrieved with their tails lopped off, according to local fishery officials.

Michael Hornby, a friend of Mr Irwin and executive director of his conservation group Wildlife Warriors, said he was concerned that the rays, which are usually docile creatures, were being hunted and killed in retaliation for Irwin's death, which he said, would go against everything that the television star had stood for.

SOURCE

Man, talk about misdirecting your grief!

[lemec]

The manner in which some Australians are dealing with Irwin's death would make the croc hunter just a tad upset:

SOURCE

Man, talk about misdirecting your grief!

yes, they are missing the message.

I too liked Irwin, but I agree that,at least he died doing what he loved in life.

It's not like other Stingrays are going to learn not to mess with humans!

That is akin to starting a war over a man's death who preached peace.

-it just does not make sense and does not respect the man's wishes.