RIP steve irwin

[Taollan]

Ok, I misstated the point with "scientist". I withdraw that comment.

 

[Mizu]

This kinda sucks
cuz my kids loved that dude

 

[WhiteKiboko]

Cousteau was to our oceans
as
Sagan was to our cosmos
as
Fossey was to gorillas
as
Irwin was to reptiles?

not saying this is wrong but i think this might need more clarification than a:b::c:d...

 

[William Tyson]

weather or not some of his working methods were credible or respected steve irwin did educate the public, promote concervation, and entertain. so for that i think his death is a loss.

 

[aximbigfan]

i hate to say it, but it was going to happen sooner or later. i mean the guy made a living out of pissing off animals and then recordign their reactions.
eather way, rip....


chris

 

[tonmo]

WK: It may in fact be wrong... just musing! It's in the context of who brought these "mysterious" things closer to us than anyone else, on mass scale? Each of the people above were renown.

 

[Mizu]

My wife says its ok because he would not have wanted to die in his sleep anyway.
Lots of people baggin on old boy but hes seemed like he was the real deal. A guy who loved what he did. A lay scientist in his own fashion. He knew more than most of the planet about animals and how they act and react. and he shared that with a lot of people.
I for one will miss him. My kids were devoted fans. He showed them places and things they will never see in real life.
he was only 44 but he lived more than most of us in that time.

and I dont think Steve is the kind to Rest In Piece. too much getup and go for that.

 

[bobwonderbuns]

Whether we loved him or hated him, we did learn from him. Either way, getting speared by a ray is a horrible way to go and it's a terribly sad situation no matter what camp we are in. I'm just grateful that he went doing something he loved and more importantly he went quickly. RIP Steve...

 

[Steve O'Shea]

I haven't read the article, but the intro to it pretty much sums things up

"Steve Irwin: The incredible story of the wildlife warrior
To some, he was just a reckless attention-seeker. To others, he was the lovable bloke from the Outback whose antics with the world's most dangerous creatures made him irresistible. But the shocking death of Steve Irwin has deprived Australia of one of its most colourful personalities. Were the voyeuristic demands of television to blame? Or was it just a random, tragic accident?"
Read on here

 

[sorseress]

just read this story...., so it wasn't quite instantaneous.

 

[Jean]

just read this story...., so it wasn't quite instantaneous.

No it wouldn't have been and it would have been a painful way to go as well. As I understand it the toxin causes tissue necrosis...........pretty horrible.

J

 

[nanoteuthis]

Dear Everybody,

We've gotten a wide range of reactions here. But just to clarify things:

Steve was absolutely not "messing around with" or "annoying" the stingray when it speared him. He was simply swimming near the bottom and the ray -- concealed in the sand, as rays frequently are -- sensed the presence of something above it, felt trapped, and instinctively struck out with its spike.

Steve had no idea that the ray was below him, and the stingray had no idea that the figure above it posed no threat. Neither Steve nor the poor frightened ray were to blame. Period.

As for all those critiques of Steve's behavior with animals -- let us not forget how many creatures of all species (including koalas, kangaroos, crocs, and snakes) were rescued by Steve and the Australia Zoo crew, and treated with loving care, after being run over by cars or otherwise victimized by those less considerate of wildlife than the Irwin family and their friends.

When the media came out of the woodwork in droves to condemn Steve's "annoyance" of animals, I was tempted to ask each one of them, "How many animals have you rescued in your life? And how many kids have you taught the importance of protecting all species -- even the ones traditionally considered ugly or dangerous?"

So many public figures are eager to come to the defense of species that are warm, fuzzy, cuddly, and/or majestic. Land mammals, pinnipeds, cetaceans, and birds make great Poster Children for the conservation movement. But for true conservationists like Steve, that wasn't enough. He and his colleagues worked to educate the general public about crocodilians, snakes, arachnids, and other "creepy crawlies", counteracting their negative public image and emphasizing the necessity of preserving these species as well as the conventionally "pretty" ones.

One more tragic footnote: According to today's news report -- in a supremely ironic development that I can only describe as "Revenge of the Morons" -- about 110 stingrays have been found killed and mutilated along the Australian shores. Apparently a cadre of Captain Ahab wannabes took it upon themselves to punish an entire species for an innocent reflex reaction by one of its members.

Somewhere in Heaven right now, Steve Irwin must be shaking his head in utter exasperation and saying, "Crikey, mates, what the bloody hell were you thinking?"

"Against stupidity, the gods themselves contend in vain."

-- Friedrich von Schiller, as quoted by Dr. Isaac Asimov

Tani
(praying that someday Homo sapiens
will wake up and smell the coffee)

 

[Steve O'Shea]

This is absolutely senseless

Irwin fans 'in revenge attacks'
Stingrays have been found dead on two Queensland beaches
Dead stingrays with their tails cut off have been found in Australia, sparking concern that fans of naturalist Steve Irwin may be avenging his death.
Mr Irwin, a TV personality known as the "Crocodile Hunter", was killed while diving in Queensland when a stingray's barb stabbed him in the chest.

Since then, 10 stingrays have been found mutilated on Queensland beaches.

(and the article goes on)

.... if these really are Irwin fans then his conservation message was lost on them!

 

[chrono_war01]

I already had a feeling that whatever Jaws did to the sharks, Steve Irwins death is going to do with stingrays.
I hoped that poeple would actually remember that Steve Irwin taught about conservation before killing something in revenge, but obviously, they didn't.

 

[Animal Mother]

Hearing the news last Monday broke my heart. I loved that guy. He's an idol of mine. He was about as genuine as people come as far as I'm concerned.

All this news of the Stingray killings is pretty ridiculous. Brilliant folks there.