R.I.P Steve Irwin

[Dajan Bozanic]

Killed Monday by a Sting Ray barb to the heart while on a diving expedition on the great barrier reef.

 

He sure was quite a character

[Daniel Smith]

I was literally on my way to making this thread.

 

It's just a real shame. Only 44. Everytime I forget about it, and think about it again, it just doesn't seem real.

 

I'm going to miss him. I've watched a lot of his stuff.

 

Steve mate, you were awesome.

[Guest]

I feel bad for him and his family.

 

Guess what I publicly predicted he would meet his end like this several times to people in the industry when ever his name came up.

 

He was the most irresponsible person on the planet when it came to being around dangerous wildlife. His show was built around giving people cheap thrills with his "encounters" with wild animals. What kind of an idiot purposefully sticks his head within striking distance of a cobra? Or gets up close to a crocodile then jumps back when it tries to eat him?

 

None of that kind of stuff is conservation, it is STUPIDITY. In many cases he harassed wild animals that just wanted to be left alone, all for the sake of TV.

 

Here's just one clear cut example of his sheer stupidity. I saw him standing on the downward slope of a grassy hill that went into the water. In the water was a huge crocodile, only the tip of its snout was visible. Irwin gets closer and closer to the edge, then drops a pebble into the water. The crocodile explodes out of the water, jaws open. Irwin jumps back and escapes in the nick of time. Two points, 1) He could have easily slipped on the grass and landed in the water, then he would have died then and there 2) He intentionally threw the pebble into the water to provoke the animal. I say again, this is not conservation, it's stupidity TV.

 

One web report I read about his death said that he "accidentally cornered the sting ray." Now I won't be surprised one bit if it comes out soon that he some how provoked the animal and it killed him.

 

Irwin is one of those "Darwin Deaths", nature selected him for extinction because of his stupidity. If this was entirely an accident, it was one that was long over due, eventually the law of averages catches up with you.

 

Yeah, yeah, I know I'm a heartless SOB, but come on....few people have their acts of stupidity as well documented as Irwin does.

 

R,

[Daniel Smith]

I feel bad for him and his family.

 

Guess what I publicly predicted he would meet his end like this several times to people in the industry when ever his name came up.

 

He was the most irresponsible person on the planet when it came to being around dangerous wildlife. His show was built around giving people cheap thrills with his "encounters" with wild animals. What kind of an idiot purposefully sticks his head within striking distance of a cobra? Or gets up close to a crocodile then jumps back when it tries to eat him?

 

None of that kind of stuff is conservation, it is STUPIDITY. In many cases he harassed wild animals that just wanted to be left alone, all for the sake of TV.

 

Here's just one clear cut example of his sheer stupidity. I saw him standing on the downward slope of a grassy hill that went into the water. In the water was a huge crocodile, only the tip of its snout was visible. Irwin gets closer and closer to the edge, then drops a pebble into the water. The crocodile explodes out of the water, jaws open. Irwin jumps back and escapes in the nick of time. Two points, 1) He could have easily slipped on the grass and landed in the water, then he would have died then and there 2) He intentionally threw the pebble into the water to provoke the animal. I say again, this is not conservation, it's stupidity TV.

 

One web report I read about his death said that he "accidentally cornered the sting ray." Now I won't be surprised one bit if it comes out soon that he some how provoked the animal and it killed him.

 

Irwin is one of those "Darwin Deaths", nature selected him for extinction because of his stupidity. If this was entirely an accident, it was one that was long over due, eventually the law of averages catches up with you.

 

Yeah, yeah, I know I'm a heartless SOB, but come on....few people have their acts of stupidity as well documented as Irwin does.

 

R,

I think we all knew it was coming. But, we all take risks doing the stuff we love. And personally, I think I'd rather die doing what I loved rather than being found in my house a week later looking like a potatoe gone out of date.

 

Just a shame it was so soon.

 

But no, I wouldn't exactly call him an idiot. How boring would the world be if no one took these risks. In fact, would the human race be where it's at if people didn't? We didn't discover the north pole by reading a book from the library. We risked our own lives doing what we loved.

 

It's the nutters that we call idiots that are the true greats of this world.

 

People aren't idiots for giving up their lives to do what they love. They are gaining it.

 

The only thing I have against Steve Irwin is that maybe he should have calmed down a bit now that he has a family. But despite his family, he still took the risks. And now his family are on their own.

Edited September 4, 2006 by Daniel Ashley-Smith

[Dominic Case]

With Steve Irwin, what you saw was what you got. Irrepressible enthusasm for whatever he was doing.

 

And while his antics with crocs were clearly dangerous, they were much less so because he had grown up with them, and could "second guess" their movements. Not just anybody could ever do that.

 

But most importantly, he was a totally committed conservationist. Critics say he had no respect for any animal's living space - he trampled in, grabbed them, teased them and traumatised them. But then again, there aren't many animals you'd buy a beer and have a sophisticated conversation with.

 

And he didn't go shooting them, or bulldozing their habitat to make woodchips or factories, or locking them up in small boxes all their lives. In fact, he was in the process of using most of the money he made from his TV shows to buy up tracts of land to protect habitats.

[Guest]

But no, I wouldn't exactly call him an idiot. How boring would the world be if no one took these risks. In fact, would the human race be where it's at if people didn't? We didn't discover the north pole by reading a book from the library. We risked our own lives doing what we loved.

 

It's the nutters that we call idiots that are the true greats of this world.

 

Well sorry I can't accept that we put Steve Irwin in the same class as a man like Amundsen, or Columbus. The great explorers took great risks that is true, but they where calculated risks that had great reward. Plus Amundsen and Columbus didn't exactly have advanced knowledge of how dangerous the tasks in front of them where.

 

Contrast this with Irwin who knows full well how dangerous a crocodile or cobra is, but chooses to torment the animals any way and call it conservation. How popular would he have been without his "antics?" That was the draw of his show, people wanted to see what self generated danger the guy would put himself into next.

 

Steve Irwin in the same class as Magellan, Cartier, or, Lindberg. No, don't think so.

 

R,

[David Mullen ASC]

Personally, I don't think it is an appropriate time to criticize Steve Irwin.

 

Whether or not he put himself needlessly in harm's way in the past, death by stingrays is very rare (last reported case was 1945 from what I heard). Today I was talking to Michael Polish while doing the D.I. for "Astronaut Farmer" and he said that his dad was stung by one. It was just bad luck that Steve Irwin got stung in the chest rather than the leg or some other place less dangerous. This is just to say this was not one of Irwin's more dangerous stunts.

 

People who work with nature occasionally get killed or seriously injured, it's only that Irwin did it in front of a camera, and did it more often than the average field scientist or conservationist -- but he also did it in order to get the public interested in nature in a more entertaining way than an ordinary wildlife documentarian. So yes, Richard, he was perhaps a little irresponsible, a thrill seeker... but he was also just unlucky yesterday. Statistically, he probably could just as likely have died in his car driving home that evening. And what about all those people who die every year in certain recreational sports, like mountain climbing? Or go to Iraq as a photojournalist? Some people just take that risk when they love doing something.

 

Hopefully Jeff Corwin will take a lesson from all of this...

[Chad Stockfleth]

Richard. I know you like to stir the pot, but that was inapropriate. Enough.

 

The man brought us a lot of amazing images and introduced us to a great many species. He also pushed the envelope as far as what human beings are capable of and how they can interact with other animals.

 

He will be missed.

[Craig Knowles]

Contrast this with Irwin who knows full well how dangerous a crocodile or cobra is, but chooses to torment the animals any way and call it conservation. How popular would he have been without his "antics?" That was the draw of his show, people wanted to see what self generated danger the guy would put himself into next.

 

Steve Irwin in the same class as Magellan, Cartier, or, Lindberg. No, don't think so.

 

R,

 

Actually, when you think about it, Irwin brought the ideas of conservation to the masses in a format that appealed in a way that no other format would have. No one was calling Irwin a hippie tree-hugger, or a sissy Greenpeace activist, dismissing his message outright because he was a "biased scientist" or politician.

 

Consider the difference and potential viewership of the following two television shows:

 

1) "The Conservational Biologist" - Educational - 30 minutes - Join Educational Biologist Steve Irwin as he researches and documents endangered Marine and Crocodilian species around the globe and preaches his message of wildlife conservation.

 

versus

 

2) "The Crodcodile Hunter" - Entertainment - 30 minutes - Join wild-and-crazy "everyman" Steve Irwin as he treks around the globe and single-handedly encounters dangerous and deadly animals in their natural habitats. Grab a cold one and pull up your licensed NASCAR lazy-boy! This man is insane! Crikey!

 

Same show. Same educational value. Different packaging = different public perception.

 

As well, I like to think those of us on this forum have an insiders view into the entertainment industry, and as such, I would hesitate to pass judgement on someone based strictly on their public television personna.

 

Now, I am certianly not defending his show because I prefer "educational/documentary" programming, not the "Animal Conservation as Entertainment" shows, but if "The Crocodile Hunter" didn't have such a pop-cultural element to it, his message would never have reached anyone.

 

There are millions and millions of people who would never have watched the show at all if he wasn't wrestling crocs every episode, and frankly -- if it wasn't for that -- neither you, nor I would have any idea who Steve Irwin was, let alone the contents of his message.

Edited September 5, 2006 by Craig Knowles

[Guest Tim Partridge]

Personally, I don't think it is an appropriate time to criticize Steve Irwin.

 

Whether or not he put himself needlessly in harm's way in the past, death by stingrays is very rare (last reported case was 1945 from what I heard). Today I was talking to Michael Polish while doing the D.I. for "Astronaut Farmer" and he said that his dad was stung by one. It was just bad luck that Steve Irwin got stung in the chest rather than the leg or some other place less dangerous. This is just to say this was not one of Irwin's more dangerous stunts.

 

People who work with nature occasionally get killed or seriously injured, it's only that Irwin did it in front of a camera, and did it more often than the average field scientist or conservationist -- but he also did it in order to get the public interested in nature in a more entertaining way than an ordinary wildlife documentarian. So yes, Richard, he was perhaps a little irresponsible, a thrill seeker... but he was also just unlucky yesterday. Statistically, he probably could just as likely have died in his car driving home that evening. And what about all those people who die every year in certain recreational sports, like mountain climbing? Or go to Iraq as a photojournalist? Some people just take that risk when they love doing something.

 

Hopefully Jeff Corwin will take a lesson from all of this...

 

The Ray didn't ask to be threatened by what it assumed was a predator's shadow. Irwin knew the consequences even if the threat was relatively small compared to his other adventures. For a conservation activist who apparently did so much for the cause, he didn't half exploit, frighten and abuse his subjects. It was inevitable that Irwin's whole lifestyle would catch up with him, be it by way of a croc or a Ray.

 

Also, if you choose the occupation of a risk-taker, a job in which you are endangering your life day in day out, are you in a responsible position to be having children? I sympathise most with Irwin's poor daughter, whose whole set of values must be smeared beyond recognisable now. The son also, whose memories of "dad" are going to be immortalised as "he who dangled his baby before a hungry croc for a camera", world's most visibly underqualified patriarch second only to Michael Jackson on the balcony.

 

Like the Ray, those poor kids didn't ask for Irwin to frighten them.

[Guest shutter bug]

richard had his opinion, now heres mine. like it or lump it.

 

i would have understood if somebody like suddam keeled over and then you had the hes a jerk but hey he somehow accomplished stuff chat,but to bitch about a guy like steve irwin is pretty pathetic.

 

i owuldnt class him in the same category as an explorer, if you look at recent times and forms of social pigeon holing he was the australian lady di. he had causes, he wa sout there in the public eye, he was loved overseas, was a personality that fit the nation he was from,etc. heres the thing. he actually did something for this planet. hey richard,what have you done thats so special?

 

you bitch about how it was a predictable death.yeah,there arent people doing way riskier things that live ripe old ages? oh wow look he provoked a croc, that shows how crazy he is. funny, he wasnt offed by a croc. he educated many people on wildlife? have you done even five percent of what he did? i dont think so. never heard of ya mate.

 

he has done heaps in conservation. what have you done? in comparison, zilch.

 

he made people think of the world of life around them that has a beating heart and emotions and family netweorks. life that has complex systems, behaviours, ad great diversity. he created awareness. what have you done? nothing.

 

oh wait, you did do something. you bitched. so lets compare tombstones. doer vs bitcher. hows the chisel feeling? yours is damn near gonna be rand new when your stone is done.

 

you complain about his practices. if you have a better solution or idea, then dont tell us, show us. if youre so smart then go out and set the example. any ahole can complain with destructive criticism. pure plain criticism alone is just plain pathetic.

 

tall poppy syndrome is pretty easy to do with those in the publc eye.its easy to say crap about people you will never meet or who cant speak back becasue they are dead. your lips would be less likely to flap crap if we were all out having a beer. oh wai,you may walk on grass after having that beer...might slip..better not,might hurt yourself.

 

if you are that afraid of your environment then stay home. he knew the risks and weighed them up.it was a weird incident. he knew the terrain. anything can happen anywhere. to those that bitch about those that do, do what william shatner suggested to the audience in the first skit he did in his 1986 SNL appearance...GET A LIFE.

 

im sure ill get a response now that will complain about my spelling errors or something to the effect to try and dispell the value of my opinion. go for it, itll show us more of your true colours. crike, i reckon i need a crownie.

[Bob Hayes]

Everyone I know who has worked with or met Steve Irwin says he was a great guy. He loved animals and was dedicated to trying to protect them and inspire peoples excitement in him. He will be missed.

 

Also I don?t really understand the specifics of his death. I have spent quite a lot of time with stingrays and I found them to be gentle and almost affectionate. I was quite surprised to hear of the incident.

[Tomas Koolhaas]

Hi,

I think there is some confusion here, just because something is not totally unexpected doesn't mean it's not still a waste, shame or even tragedy. Yes, anyone could have guessed that steve Irwin would die by the hand of some animal, but that doesn't mean it isn't sad when he does.

Anyone could have predicted that Isreal would attack Lebanon again at some point but I'm sure you wouldn't say "I saw that coming, stupid Lebanon for provoking isreal they had it coming" would you Richard?

And it is VERY rare to get killed by a stingray, from what I understand the barb actually penetrated his heart, the chances of that happening have to be very slim.

Cheers.

[Patrick McGowan]

Oh Steve.

 

 

I think if someone wanted to, they could put together a half hour reel of all the times Steve has almost died. There are countless (recorded) times that Steve narrowly jumped out of the way right before a crocodile maims his body. He precariously held his son in his arms as he fed a crocodile!

 

Whether or not this was kind of eventually going to happen, the man had a wife and child and it is a really sad event. I feel bad for his family and he seemed like a really nice man.

 

 

I do have a morbid curiosity in the footage of this stingray incident. Is that bad? Am I a bad person? Maybe.

Edited September 5, 2006 by Patrick S. McGowan

[Jon-Hebert Barto]

No, I want to see it too. It's just so bizarre, that way of dying. It's only human. Don't feel bad.

[Guest]

Well gentlemen your responses are exactly as I expected, but I stand by my position even more so after seeing the montages of his irresponsible behaviour being played over and over again on the news.

 

The scene of him feeding a croc while holding his infant son in his other arm, totally inappropriate. If any of us had done that child welfare services would have taken the baby away, I can guarantee you that. In fact Irwin was investigated by the Australian authorities over the incident after a huge cry from the public. I suppose many of you will defend him for that as well? If he wants to put his own life at risk that's one thing, but to risk the life of his child, did he really need to do that?

 

Shutter Bug I had difficulty making head and tail of your post, very confusing, and I see you missed the memo to use your real name. I think I can make this out: "have you done even five percent of what he did? i dont think so. never heard of ya mate." News flash, means nothing. Never heard of you either.

 

Chad Stockfleth, I'm not stirring the pot at all, I have my opinion you have yours.

 

And David, as for, "Statistically, he probably could just as likely have died in his car driving home that evening." There is a huge difference between necessary reasonable risk, like driving a car and OBEYING ALL ROAD RULES, and unessacary unreasonable risk like picking up a cobra. Come on.

 

Tim Partridge it appears is leaning toward my point of view, thanks Tim :D

 

R,

[Jon-Hebert Barto]

The man was %100 honest with himself and the public. A nice man, to put it at it's simplest.

 

Unfortunately, I feel he did things in a "circus" atmosphere because thats how you can gain sponsorship and get your message out. Entertainment, nothing wrong with making education "fun". He did have a good message and always warned people about the dangers.

 

Basically, as bad as it sounds, I believe towards the last few years he started living in "Hype". He believed the TV adverts, he believed his own press, hype. That is where many people go wrong. This stingray thing is an anomoly, I'm surprised it wasn't a croc or lion, etc. It will be interesting to see if the powers that be study the film and see if he did something completely unprofessional, that is, he made a stupid move. I hope not but it's always a possibility with something like this. It's nature out there, for Christ's sake! I don't care how long you've done something, no man is in "control" of the stiuation when it comes to nature. Case closed.

 

That being said, it is a tragedy and the world will miss a personality like his.

 

Good-Bye, Steve. :(

[Mike Lary]

I think it's vulgar that anyone would respond to a 'Rest in Peace' message by ridiculing the diseased.

[Jon-Hebert Barto]

I think it's vulgar that anyone would respond to a 'Rest in Peace' message by ridiculing the diseased.

 

I know you're being serious but I think you mean "deceased"....? But no, I'd never make fun of a leper or anything.... :lol: That would be tacky....

 

hehe...diseased...funny

Edited September 5, 2006 by Jon-Hebert Barto

[Mike Lary]

I know you're being serious but I think you mean "deceased"....?

 

Haha. I guess I should stop watching so much of the nature channel. They have plenty of shows dedicated to crocs and sharks, but I have yet to see one on homonyms. And for the record, I would never make fun of a leper, but I might make fun of a leopard - from a safe distance.

[Daniel Smith]

The scene of him feeding a croc while holding his infant son in his other arm, totally inappropriate. If any of us had done that child welfare services would have taken the baby away, I can guarantee you that. In fact Irwin was investigated by the Australian authorities over the incident after a huge cry from the public. I suppose many of you will defend him for that as well? If he wants to put his own life at risk that's one thing, but to risk the life of his child, did he really need to do that?

How the hell can any of us judge how dangerous the situation was. Steve Irwin has been around crocodiles all his life. He knows them better than the BBC or any social worker could ever know.

 

I still think he made a mistake and he would have done things differently had he been given the chance. But this was one mistake out of a million. But, because it's Steve Irwin, it suddenly becomes blown way out of proportion.

 

And, if social services took away children for every single life threatening mistake parents made, there wouldn't be many whole families left in this world. So, I don't think that gurantee is worth much.

 

And besides, he's just died doing what he loved. In his lifetime he's contributed possibly more than we will ever.

 

I think the media should stop playing that clip over and over again, and start playing the clips of all the good moments of his life. It's disrespectfull to him and his family.

[Guest]

Question: If he had died in the jaws of a croc while doing a "stunt" with one like I outlined in an earlier post, would that have changed any ones view point?

 

Yes I understand the stingray was most likely a freak accident, my point is that he really tempted the law of averages.

 

I'm a SCUBA diver and a very cautious one. There are usually two dives on the boat when you go out, a deep dive and a shallow dive, I always skip the deep dive and sit onboard. I have two small children so I just won't take the risk. Also before I kneel down in the sand to shoot video I always poke the sea floor with my fin to make sure a stingray isn't hiding under the sand. If there is one he'll bolt out before I kneel or lay on the sea floor. I also always surface with plenty of air left over. Basically I'm overly cautious, I think you have to be underwater.

 

I notice that whenever Irwin scuba dived he whore his khaki shirt and shorts underwater, that is not proper dive gear. A full wet suit can give you a layer of protection against such things as jelly fish stings, bare legs are very unsafe in a reef environment. The wet suit will not stop 100% of the sting but it will make it less severe. He also never wore spare air on his leg, another safety failure.

 

R,

[Daniel Smith]

Question: If he had died in the jaws of a croc while doing a "stunt" with one like I outlined in an earlier post, would that have changed any ones view point?

 

Yes I understand the stingray was most likely a freak accident, my point is that he really tempted the law of averages.

 

I'm a SCUBA diver and a very cautious one. There are usually two dives on the boat when you go out, a deep dive and a shallow dive, I always skip the deep dive and sit onboard. I have two small children so I just won't take the risk. Also before I kneel down in the sand to shoot video I always poke the sea floor with my fin to make sure a stingray isn't hiding under the sand. If there is one he'll bolt out before I kneel or lay on the sea floor. I also always surface with plenty of air left over. Basically I'm overly cautious, I think you have to be underwater.

 

I notice that whenever Irwin scuba dived he whore his khaki shirt and shorts underwater, that is not proper dive gear. A full wet suit can give you a layer of protection against such things as jelly fish stings, bare legs are very unsafe in a reef environment. The wet suit will not stop 100% of the sting but it will make it less severe. He also never wore spare air on his leg, another safety failure.

 

R,

As I've said. He was a cowboy. He did things the way he wanted to and not by the book. And like you said, if he had of been wearing the correct swimwear, he may just of survived it. (Maybe, maybe not. I don't know enough about it. But I know it would have helped either way.)

 

But just because he made a mistake doesn't mean he should go down as a total idiot.

 

People have stepped out infront of cars without looking and have been killed. But, any other time they would have looked both left and right twice. It's just been an unfortunate accident. We aren't ALL perfect.

 

I see exactly what you're saying Richard, I just find it distasteful how you dismiss a man who spent his life trying help animals, an idiot.

 

And as I've also mentioned, the only thing I think he's an idiot for is taking those risks when he had a family, including children. It's almost selfish in a way.

 

But this is problem for a lot of people who work professionally. Film makers, rockstars, rock climbers, they all spend time away from their family. Their family don't like it, but it's hard to just give up your dreams to spend time at home.

 

I just think that someone who has spent their life in aid of animals, and then died, should be forgiven for mistakes he has made, and should be given complete respect.

[Guest]

I just think that someone who has spent their life in aid of animals, and then died, should be forgiven for mistakes he has made, and should be given complete respect.

 

Sorry, I would only let my kids watch his show as an example of what NOT to do.

 

You want to see guys who treat animals with dignity and respect watch Kratt's Creatures if it's on in the UK.

 

R,

[Daniel Smith]

Sorry, I would only let my kids watch his show as an example of what NOT to do.

 

You want to see guys who treat animals with dignity and respect watch Kratt's Creatures if it's on in the UK.

 

R,

I don't know many kids who watch the Crocodile Hunter and then copy Steve Irwin and go wrestle a croc.

 

(I think it's safe...)