\'Crocodile Hunter\' Steve Irwin killed

[Thiudareiks Flavius]

Perhaps he believed what he did for conservation, the environment and wildlife, which was a lot, was just as important as being a firefighter or soldier.

Not that I want to speak ill of the dead, but I should point out that he was a wildlife conservationist rather than an 'environmentalist'. His work on protecting and preserving wildlife was admirable, as was his role in public education. But he never seemed to grasp the 'big picture' required for real environmentalism. He dealt with the consequences of things like habitat destruction and degradation, but at the same time he was, politically, a fan of the Howard Government - one of the least environmentally friendly governments this country has ever seen.

His zoo preserved species endangered by habitat destruction, but he was (rather flippantly) disparaging about Greens Party leader Dr Bob Brown's policies. Bob Brown will never be the international household name Steve Irwin was, but his tireless political campaigning has done more for the protection of vast tracts of pristine World Heritage wilderness and the preservation of millions of animals and thousands of endangered species than a small army of Steve Irwins could ever hope to.

Credit where it's due - he was a high profile animal conservationist. But an environmentalist he was not.

[Gaius Germanicus]

Sorry to hear of his passing

[Robert Vermaat]

It's not whether or not you will die, because you will, everyone, but it is how you use your life, that really matters. I suspect that he was as satisfied as he would ever be!

There's a report that his last words were 'crocs rule'. That would be typical of him.
I hope he was as satisfied as he would ever be, but I hope that his children will some day understand that. They will now only have the documentraries to see their daddy.

Cheap shot? Yes.

But when you set kids into this world you have responcibilities, and it's no longer just your life that really matters. I think he just may have lost sight of that.
Maybe we should take that into consideration too when we glorify his life.

[Tarbicus]

"Okay. All the soldiers in this world pack in your jobs if you've got kids. That goes for firefighters as well. They're far too dangerous and you're just being irresponsible."

As for the semantics of environmental versus conservation, you need wild places for wild animals, so they need the right environment. Don't forget the old joke:
"What's the difference between a developer and an environmentalist? A developer wants to build a house in the woods, an environmentalist already has a house in the woods."

The fact of the matter is that he is only the fourth person in Australia ever to be killed by a stingray. So, by those statistics,
"Okay, if you drive a car and have kids sell it now, you're taking a far greater risk than Steve Irwin ever did, and you could actually kill someone else!"

Here's an extensive interview with him and his wife in Scientific American.
[url:8r2xrcxq]http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?chanID=sa004&articleID=0000462F-9484-1C75-9B81809EC588EF21[/url]

[Robert Vermaat]

Hi Tarby,

Well, isn’t it a bit like that? Of course it’s fine when your partner agrees with what you do (I recall that she was climbing a mountain in Tasmania when he passed away), but kids hardly have a say in the matter. So if you want to do a dangerous job, go ahead and do it, we need people like that. I also applaud what Steve Irwin did, he really deserves that State funeral that they’re going to give him. My point is that while we glorify his professional life,, there are two small kids that are left behind. So maybe the answer is yes, if you are doing a dangerous job, think twice before you set kids into this world.

Sell the car? That’s not a fair comparison. Sure, the stingray accident was statistically very remote, but statistics have nothing to do with it. Even if there one in a million chance of an event, that does not mean you’re safe, is it? People often make that mistake. The thing here to be taken into account is that animals are potentially dangerous because they’re unpredictable. Each year we hear stories of researchers and animal handlers who get gored, tramples, bitten because the animals reaction was totally unpredicted. Remember Siegfried & Roy and their white tigers? After decades, one of their umpteenth generation of tigers nearly killed one of them. Out of the blue.
The point therefore is that statistics are useless and every animal is potentially lethal. My guess is that after a life filled with lethal animals (like that killed grizzly lover earlier this year) he forgot that a ‘safe distance’ always means ‘out of reach’.

Sell the car? I walk to my working place.

[Tarbicus]

Okay. I just think that people miss the point of what he has done for conservation, and in so doing also the environment. These are just as important as other vocations and careers but obviously not held up so highly. His antics did educate many, and that was the point of what he did. One man's irresponsible nutcase is another man's champion.

[Robert Vermaat]

I would never call him a nutcase. His work for conservation and public awareness was outstanding - his death is a great loss.

[JRSCline]

One man's irresponsible nutcase is another man's champion.

That's it. I wouldn't have done what he did, but then again, I am a soldier myself, and that has its own risks. I've felt safe enough most of the time, just as Steve did. So people take different risks, dependent on their tolerance. Unfortunately his kids didn't get to choose the risks he took, which is I suppose the point others are making. But his wife always supported him, and endorsed his lifestyle. Be sure the Irwin kids won't be raised thinking "stupid dad", but will grow up appreciating what he lived for.

As for semantics, I never heard of Bob Brown. In fact I can't name any environmentalists, though I follow the news daily. I think Steve Irwin did infinitely more practical good for raising awareness of the intrinsic value of wildlife than any politician or environmental lobbyist.

You have to experience and know something to appreciate it, value it and want to save it. Someone can lecture me all day long that the Great Barrier Reef is worth preserving, but until I experience its beauty for myself, I won't necessarily believe. Steve didn't just tell us, he showed us -- and he brought millions of otherwise ignorant people to places worth saving, like the outback and the GBR.

Plus it's just cool as hell to watch a guy outwit a black mamba. C'mon, admit it... 8)

[Arthes]

Greetings,
on reading the report it seems that to pass away in the manner he did, was rather like a seasoned warrior killed in a small ambush skirmish.
An unexpected attack, but the passing was appropriate to his work and the way his life was lived.
It's very sad for his wife and children who must have known this could happen one day Although, as is pointed out, all wives or husbands and children of those with dangerous jobs or hobbies (such as mountain climbing) have to face that.
regards
Artjes

[Caius Valens]

The death of this fine gentleman is a sad loss for his country, family and the whole world. He had a great passion for what hed did. May we all be so lucky. My heart and prayers go out to his family Greets Caius/Thomas R

[Robert Vermaat]

[removed silly mistake]

Ehhh hock: That was meant to go in quite another thread.... :?

[Tarbicus]

Read this recent thread:
http://www.romanarmy.com/rat/viewtopic. ... ht=greaves

ROFL - oops?

[Virilis]

5th century greaves won`t help much if you are stung in the chest by a Stingray :wink: ....

Sorry, bad joke, couldn`t resist...

[Lepidina]

There's a report that his last words were 'crocs rule'. That would be typical of him.

The man was probably in full SCUBA gear and had gotten stabbed through the heart. His last words were probably "Mmmmph...arrgghh...." (Correction, just read that he was snorkling.)

Seriously tho', while I think he did a lot for animal conservation, I never liked his programs. It seemed to me like a cheap form of entertainment instead of real education. And I never felt like he respected the animals but treated the whole thing like a game. There's just something cheap and exploitive about wrestling a crocodile or picking up poisonous snakes in the wild. You can get plenty of good close-up shots of stingrays without having to get right up next to them, esp. with the camera technology of today.

And I do NOT put his career in line with firemen, soldiers, or other "dangerous" professions. What Steve did in front of the camera was unnecessary and he choose to put himself in those situations to show off. It seemed like Steve was just tempting fate and sooner or later it was going to catch up with him.

I hope his legacy continues but I hope this serves as a wake-up call to other "croc hunters" out there. Wild animals need to be respected and given their space. They are not play toys or something you use to rack up machismo points.

[Tarbicus]

Anyone who goes in front of the camera regularly is a showoff, and that includes reporters. Do you think TV reporters who go into a war zone are like Steve?