Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin died in a freak accident

[wktf]

Appreciations

Crikey!
By LAWRENCE DOWNES
Published: September 6, 2006

When I heard that Steve Irwin, the Crocodile Hunter, had been killed by a stingray in Australia on Monday, my heart went out to a friend, a 6-year-old boy named Sean who considered Mr. Irwin’s the definitive example of a life well lived.

It was a life of strenuous exertion, of mud and blood and the tireless pursuit of muscular creatures with jaws, claws and the ability to eat you up. My young friend concocts his version with crayons, Legos and pointed sticks, and acts it out in the fevered jungle of his imagination. Mr. Irwin went after actual creatures, including crocodiles, vipers and, tragically, the ray that pierced his chest.

They weren’t that different. Mr. Irwin, with the thick Aussie accent and khaki outfit that mean “explorer” in any language, tromped around subduing dangerous animals and spouting exclamations like “She’s a beauty!” and “Crikey!” He was 44 going on 6, and lived, like Sean, in a world of fun and excitement that seems a lot richer than most people’s.

It was easy to parody Mr. Irwin’s boisterous shtick, and many people did. It is easy, too, to shake our heads at the relentless peddling of nature as TV entertainment, and to lament that the only animals people ever bother thinking about are either fuzzy-cute or man-eating. It is all too obvious that Mr. Irwin was no biologist, that exploring the world on cable TV is a lot different from actually plunging into it, that wild animals really are dangerous, and blah blah blah.

But there are far worse ways to view the natural world than through the eyes of a young child, and Mr. Irwin offered a far more temperate version of the classic 6-year-old-boy approach, which is to confront a wild animal, marvel at its strength and ferocity, and then try to hit it with a rock. For Mr. Irwin, wild nature was something to wonder at, and he did so with an enthusiasm indistinguishable from love. Animals — even deadly ones — are good, poachers are evil, and, crikey, that’s pretty much it.

Call that simple-minded, call it dumb, but it resonates. Future environmentalists and conservationists have to come from somewhere, and if the energetic wonderment of the Crocodile Hunter has seeped into the brains of significant numbers of children — as it did that of Sean, who went trick-or-treating as Mr. Irwin last year, who turned 6 with a crocodile cake, who wears khaki and boots and fills notebooks with meticulous drawings of reptiles — then Mr. Irwin used his 44 years remarkably well.

[wktf]

Originally Posted by Logan

Here are a couple vids from the past days (news, media etc.)

http://youtube.com/watch?v=o8h6yXREb...elated&search=

Steve's dad commenting and hear what he has to say about the state funeral:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzKJwZk12QQ

Hour long Steve Irwin Tribute:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KssMJ...B083FD&index=0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KssMJ...B083FD&index=0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plo_1...B083FD&index=3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KssMJ...B083FD&index=0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6wmc...B083FD&index=4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grZ3-...B083FD&index=5

I didn't get to watch the full clip of Steve's dad but he sure seems like a class-A act. Apple didn't fall too far from the tree.

[devlinboy]

i think once he pulled the barb out, it was over. those barbs are meant to enter in smooth and exit in a violent manner. like the end of a fish hook. if he kept it in , he would have passed anyway. their venom may be weak, but it was right where it does the most significant damage, in his heart. i hope the video never shows up on the internet but im sure it will. which sucks

[wktf]

Originally Posted by devlinboy

i hope the video never shows up on the internet but im sure it will. which sucks

Oh, that would be terrible. I pray it doesn't, as well.

[JadeGiant]

Originally Posted by devlinboy

i hope the video never shows up on the internet but im sure it will. which sucks

let's hope not

[Ink]

Originally Posted by devlinboy

i think once he pulled the barb out, it was over. those barbs are meant to enter in smooth and exit in a violent manner. like the end of a fish hook. if he kept it in , he would have passed anyway. their venom may be weak, but it was right where it does the most significant damage, in his heart. i hope the video never shows up on the internet but im sure it will. which sucks

it will eventually

[Meteor Man]

I also hope we never see this tragic accident, online, or on tv. His death made me feel sad as well, and it would be nice if it could be kept from all the blood hungry prying eyes....

[batman1180]

I don't think the video will show up anywhere. The audio recording from that guy who lived with the grizzly bears getting attacked never showed up online, so im pretty sure this has a really good shot at staying private.

[Boerboel]

Originally Posted by batman1180

I don't think the video will show up anywhere. The audio recording from that guy who lived with the grizzly bears getting attacked never showed up online, so im pretty sure this has a really good shot at staying private.

I hope you are right, however, Steve Irwin was very well known and that guy living with the grizzly bears was...well...as you put it "that guy".

[joy_division]

Originally Posted by C. Bormann

Here's my original post, so nobody has to go back looking for it:

Originally Posted by C. Bormann
I'm sorry to hear that anyone needlessly dies, but this guy has always put himself and others in dangerous situations for no reason.


Now, I stand by what I originally posted. Steve Irwin may have studied animals and educated people about animals, but he took a lot of unnecessary risks for nothing more that showmanship, popularity and ratings.

You are right that there are risks in our every day lives, that we accept as every day part of life. I first heard of this tragic news, was while I was at work, sheathing a steep roof. Quite often I find myself in situations that are not as safe as I would prefer. I can't afford to be afraid of heights, because hanging over the side of a building is what pays the bills and puts food on the table. But, even though I am a professional union carpenter I don't walk around on a steep roof with an infant. And you would think I was irresponsible if I did. Accidents do happen even to experienced professionals. Just 2 weeks ago, a fellow carpenter (and friend) was crushed to death while repairing a hydraulic line on a dump truck. Jeff was a very smart and talented carpenter, but he made one stupid mistake by not propping the dump body of the truck while he made an adjustment. This unfortunate incident didn't make international news because he only swung a hammer for a living and wasn't a crocodile hunter with a television show. Jeff was only 26 years old.

Now this is precisley what annoys me: A person like Kylie Minogue gets a breast cancer warning and suddenly, it's front news press. The world comes to a halt(at least over here)

Meanwhile, there are plenty of women who are diagnosed with breat cancer - or any other type of cancer for that matter - every day, and many do not live to see the next day. they do not make the headlines

It's the same with any other celeb who gets hit with a disease/ilness: why does it have to go to this lenght to create awareness?!

something that REALLY pissed me off the day following Irwin's death, was that while the majority of papers headlines were on the tragic loss of lives of Kinloss fighters (half an hour from where I live) lost during the Nimrod crash, the sun's paper was splashed with CRIKEY! and a picture of steve Irwin