Crocodile Hunter - Steve Irwin is Dead

I'm very sorry to hear of his passing... I'll certainly miss him.

Has anyone else ever watched "Wild America"? I'm not sure if it's even on anymore... but it was a show that (used?) to air on PBS (I think) and it was one of my favorite shows, growing up. It featured this guy (forget his name) and every episode, he went exploring somewhere in nature... he didn't do some of the dangerous stuff that Erwin did but he definately played a big role in my developing an appreciation for nature.

Anyone else remember this show?

i'm not australian. i'm a BIG fan. but steve irwin was the reason why i've loved ANIMAL PLANET.
i've watched his shows and movie since last year but stopped about 5 months ago coz i was busy already.
yesterday, i was busy in front of my pc when i heard the news from the TV about a zoo owner killed by a stingray. i went outside to see it but it was just a preview of what the news program got in the news about 5 minutes later. i went back to my room and after a few minutes i went out to watch the news and there goes the preview again. it said "Famous Crocodile Hunter killed by a stingray!". and i saw Steve Irwin's pictures and videos. I exclaimed "Huh? That's Steve Irwin of Animal Planet!" There were others watching the news and they do not know about him. Almost all of us in the house are familiar of the Crocodile Hunter but i am the only one who knew his real name and shockingly said his name.
My housemates were not shocked but i was the one who was really hit by the sad news. T_T
At first, i did not cry. I was just shocked of what happened. I surfed the internet for the story and here at BTS. Before i slept last night, it was Steve in my mind asking God why take him. he was a good man. why not take those who kill animals for money?! for the first time of my life, i blamed God. When i woke up this morning, first thing in my mind was Steve's death. That was the time i cried. I was also thinking about my mom far away from me. what if God takes her life like what He did to Steve? take those good people early and leaving the bad ones.
but i think God has a replacement for a good man.

These are just my feelings. i just wanted to share this with you.

I wish a good life for the family of the Crocodile Hunter.

Yes, it is sad that an Australian 'icon' has lost his life prematurely.

And I agree that Steve Irwin has done some extremely good things with regard to conservation.

However, I must agree with HR4 with regard to his television series. There is a right way and a wrong way to handle dangerous animals and Irwin's portrail of animal handling has most definitely been the WRONG way. When you consider that a major part of his audience has been children, it has always worried me that what he has demonstrated has been a total disregard and lack of respect for creatures that will INSTICTIVELY kill you, either in defending themselves, or as prey.

One could ask the question ' How many people will die as a result of the example he has portrayed'. To all the parents out there, I ask - 'Do you want your kids to have a healthy respect for the dangers present in the world?' If you have no respect for the capabilities of a crocodile or snake, and your only information comes from such a program, then you have moved from being an observer to being prey.

As an aside, I could well imagine that the family of an American visiting Australia and killed by a crocodile could sue Irwin's program for minimizing the danger in such an encounter. Such is the world.

While Steve Irwin was well versed in the behaviour of the animals that he featured on his program, I would ask just how well he was versed in the behaviour of marine creatures. Is this a case of taking your knowledge into a different environment where it doesn't quite apply?

It should be obvious to everyone that something like this was almost inevitable. If you are going to 'annoy' animals, (would you tease or annoy a Bull Terrier?) then inevitably you will activate the instinctive defensive reactions of the creature. Stingray deaths are very rare, but if you are going to relentlessly 'annoy' one for the camera, then the odds of having it strike back are probably about the same as the odds of eating dinner tonight.

Steve Irwin was a great entrepeneur and businessman, who had a passion for conservation, but he obviously had a delusion that he was invincible (otherwise he would not have done the things he did unless he was absolutely stupid - and I don't think that was the case).

The lesson is this - no person, no country, no nation - is invincible, regardless of how much we would want it to be otherwise. If you have no respect for what can kill you, then inevitably it will. (Have you noted that this also seems to be an attitude that extends all the way to the top of political power these days?)

And finally, for the conspiracy theorists - get a life !

[edit on 5/9/06 by The Winged Wombat]

STEVE.. Steve.. I'll miss you man.. you were a god.

Perhaps contradicting articles can bring Mr Irwin back to ATS?

CNN: Cameraman said Croc Hunter ripped out tail from his heart before dying
CNN Link

vs

Contact Music: Cameraman denounces such reports
Contact Music Link

Who to believe?

RIP Croc Hunter

[edit on 6-9-2006 by La Balance]

His manager, who has seen the video footage stated clearly that steve removed the barb before being helped to the surface as did the superintendant in charge of the investigation at a press conference yesterday morning on local television here.

I find it a little vexing that folks think he was reckless. Everything he did was very calculated... the man was a professional.

BUT... one of his bullet points was that he would not stress out the animals any more than he needed to, as in many cases the animal would never be the same. This is why he generally didn't use 'snake sticks' to hold a snake's jaws shut from afar, or jaw clamps to 'muzzle' crocs.

It just goes to show how prevalent that mode of thinking is... 'you have to use a snake stick to pin the snake's jaws, or else it's just reckless'. Feh. That kind of thing has only been made mainstream because most handlers are inept without one.

Did that make his job more difficult? Sure. But he put the animal's interests above his own comfort. Some of you will call that 'needless risks'. I don't. I call it admirable.

I am as shocked as I am sad.

I remember watching him master the unthinkable for as long as he's been on the tube.

The Croc Hunter was a materialization of the word "awesome".

In the words of Tupac Shakur, "life goes on", but in my mind there will never be a replacement

for Steve Irwin.


Rest In Peace, you shall be remebered Steve Irwin.

Generally I would agree with you. He was not needlessly reckless. However, that was the the impression that he projected through his program, and what I question here is what effect that has on a young audience. As with all stunt men it is a matter of minimizing the danger while making the scene look as dangerous as possible.

You failed to finish the sentence.... He did not wish to stress the animals further than necessary ..... to get the instinctive violent reaction that he required for the cameras! In that sense nothing has changed since the days of the circus lion-tamer.

My concern is not with what he did for the cameras, but the underlying 'apparent' recklessness he was projecting to his young audiance.

Eventually all stunt men (due, no doubt, to the pressure of 'the next bigger stunt') end up, shall we say, at the bottom of Snake River Canyon.

Originally posted by The Winged Wombat


Eventually all stunt men (due, no doubt, to the pressure of 'the next bigger stunt') end up, shall we say, at the bottom of Snake River Canyon.

When Steve was a boy one of his jobs was to clean out the python pen,one morning the python grabbed him and twirled around his whole body it started crushing him,he only had one arm free,he rolled out of the pen and saw his Mum at the back of their house,he could only wave and not call out from the restriction,his Mum saw him and just waved back thinking he was playing with the snake.

This was`nt a normal family nor were they raised to be stunt people.This stingray attack was one in a million so its no good acting like a Mondays expert (after the fact)and i`m devastated and feel the world is a little worse off now Steve has passed.I`ve never felt such remorse of another famous tv personality.

I put him in the same category as Jamie Oliver someone with passion and belief for what they do and they put that money back into what they believe,if Jamie was to die eating at Mc Donald's i`d be angry,i want to go back a few days and tell Steve to stick to what he knows best,reptiles.

Steves Dad is going to help Terri with the zoo and he said that he will hopefully do this until bindi/Bob can take over,next time i`m in Queensland i`ll be sure to visit Australia Zoo.His Dad`s top notch as well just like his son was.



[edit on 6-9-2006 by gps777]

i was deeply sadend to hear of his death he was an amazing man who did a lot of wonderful and crazy things for animals, i feel deeply for his family he will be a big loos to not only them but to an audiance who loved him and the animals he so often helped. He died doing a job he compited his life to and doing somthing he loved.

i live at a beach near Steve Irwin's home and the rays are very awesome creatures. They fly out of the water right in front of you and act really weird when its a full moon. Like they float on the surface with their wings curved upwards out of the water.

When I heard people say removing the sting could have been fatal I wondered how people could be so dumb. How could you leave a huge whipping stingray attached to your chest and expect not to get ripped to shreds. Pulling it out straight away was his only chance of escaping more damage from the thing.

I think God stabbed him through the heart on the morning after father's day because he took his newborn child into a deadly croc feeding act. That was a dumb thing to do.

I nearly stood on a giant golden python at the beach a few days ago, and I'm always getting attacked by snakes around here. Also I saw a huge shark swimming slowly through the water and a man swimming straight towards it. They were about 100 yrds out and too far to scream out to warn him. I have a bad back and a walking stick but I wallked as fast as I could to the lifeguard tower about 150 yrds away, keeping my eyes on the swimmer every couple of minutes as he swam towards the huge shark. I banged my walking stick on the steel legs of the tower to wake the guard up and he slowly came out and asked me what's up. I told him there's a huge shark out there with a man swimming straight towards it. I pointed to where it was but the swimmer was gone? There was no way he could have swam back to shore in the short time I had taken my eyes off him. The lifeguard just said don't worry about it and went back inside. I'm sure a tourist was eaten that day but I can't be sure?

I always knew Steve Irwin would get killed by a wild animal sooner or later. When I was a kid there was a woman who lived with lions. I forget her name but she had a show called Born Free or something like that. She made us all think lions were big fluffy pussy cats who would be nice to you if you loved them. But then they ate her one day and woke us all out of our illusion. I think the same will happen from Steve's death. He lured everyone into getting closer to animals and then shocked us all with an attack and instant death scene. It'll educate people to be more careful about wild critters.

I found a weird critter in a rock pool today. It looked like a red brain with two sets of stubby tentacles around two mouths and a little foot. I knew I would get stung if I touched it whatever it was.

A girl went swimming near here last christmas and three bull sharks bit her arms off then swam away. She died. And people drown all the time after getting caught in rips. I've had to rescue quite a few over the years. So it's a dangerous place. When I watch Baywatch I laugh at how fake that show is. They really don't portray the real dangers of being at the beach. Oh yeah and there's deadly jelly fish further north that kill little children almost every year, and other jellyfish right here which hurt like hell.

Not to mention the deadly insects and the insane humans everywhere?

So Australia can be a dangerous place so be careful if you come here.

[edit on 6-9-2006 by probedbygrays]

Originally posted by probedbygrays
I think God stabbed him through the heart on the morning after father's day because he took his newborn child into a deadly croc feeding act. That was a dumb thing to do.

Can you explain that one? It doesn't make much sense to me...

He was stabbed by a ray because the ray felt cornered and afraid. It was a defensive manuever as a result of an unfortunate mistake on Steve and apparently the cameraman's part. God had nothing to do with it, nor did his gator/baby-bob stunt....

I think Steve died doing what he loved... emersing himself in the world that he felt most comfortable in, which was with the animals. Sure, he'll never get to see his kids grow up or grow old with his wife... and family is certainly missing out.... but if it's really true that so many people were touched by this guy, maybe his death will ultimately serve a good purpose. We know that he was, above ALL else, concerned with the preservation of the creatures he educated us about and personally, I just might get involved in some sort of preservation project in this man's honor.

I believe that if each one of us Firebat got into some sort of conservation, or contributed to conservation I believe the world would be a much better place to live...

Everyone agree's what happened to Steve was purely tragic.. Probably one of the most tragic events of our generation... And reading the follow up stories in the news today it saddens me to see Australian "feminist icon" Germaine Greer spouting off at the mouth saying some rather disgusting things about Steve

For example:

"There was no habitat, no matter how fragile or finely balanced, that Irwin hesitated to barge into. Every creature he brandished at the camera was in distress. The animal world has finally taken its revenge, but probably not before a whole generation of kids in shorts seven sizes too small has learned to shout in the ears of animals with hearing 10 times more acute than theirs, determined to become millionaire animal-loving zoo owners in their turn."

And

"There was not an animal he was not prepared to manhandle. Every creature he brandished at the camera was in distress. Every snake badgered by Irwin was at a huge disadvantage, with only a single possible reaction to its terrifying situation, which was to strike. The animal world has finally taken its revenge on Irwin."

Source

I think Germaine Greer should be tarred and feathered for saying such disgusting things.. If she wanted some press all she had to do was jump infront of a train...
Here's the skinny of it.. Germaine Greer is a dried up old hack, she was never an "Icon"....

Steve.. Was and will be forever an Icon.. a true admirable man.. human being.. and world class person, friend and father....

May he Rest In Peace...




Just on a side note.. Steve's family has refused the offer for a state's funeral.. Stating that "Steve was an ordinary bloke, who wouldnt want alot of fuss"...

Steve was an extraordinary man.. We'll miss him

[edit on 6-9-2006 by Ox]

If anything, I had RESPECT for Steve BECAUSE of the way he treated animals...

I remember watching his show and he'd go out in the jungle or something and pick up a lizard, or what have you. He'd educate the audience about it and he would explain if the species was threatened etc. BUT, then he would put the animal down EXACTLY where he found it and he always made a point of showing that and I thought that was pretty cool of him.

If we all had the respect for wildlife that Steve did, that feminist wench would be out of a job.

That feminist wench is out of a job.. thankfully.. I believe Steve's family should sue the piss out of her for defamation of character.. There is video proof against what she is saying...

Steve was definately passionate about his work... He didnt yell or scream.. he was excited.. he was excited that he could share his knowledge and work with the world.. If he saw an animal he would like to show us.. he'd pick it up and show us.. in the most gentle of ways.. he never harmed an animal.. Although I can think of many times when he was harmed by the animals.... snake bites.. croc bites etc.. If Steve found a snake on a road in danger of being killed.. he moved it.. Those who ridiculed him for getting near and on a whale in Antartica should understand.. Steve weighed maybe 180lbs... the whale weighed probably 4 tons... I dont think the Whale was too worried ... and he didnt hurt the Whale.. And was never going to...

Steve was one of the most genuine people you would ever meet... An extraordinary gentleman...

And anyone who says otherwise can shut their filthy mouth!

Steve's family may well wish to sue about those comments,..... but they would lose!

There is essentially nothing incorrect about those quotes, merely how you wish to interpret Steve's actions on camera. Those comments were part of a much larger article for (I think) the Guardian in the UK which included much praise as well, and obviously Ms Greer was commissioned to write the article.

How you interpret Steve Irwin's actions on camera really comes down to this..... is the example that Irwin portrayed in his TV series how you would like your children (the bulk of the audience) to behave around animals that will instinctively kill them, given the opportunity?

If your answer is YES, then either you are not a parent, or you are not living in the real world.

How many of you have been closer to a croc than the TV screen, or seen what one can and will do, given the opportunity, first hand. Yeah right, you'd all just jump on it's back and tie up it's jaws with duct tape. Television is not life, it's staged and managed for effect and to get ratings (read money) - and you delude yourselves that you know about crocs because you saw it on the idiot box!

It ain't called the 'idiot box' for nothing you know.

PS - Ox, would you like to inform us of your qualifications regarding what does and does not bother a whale ? Or did you just see something on TV about it?

How easily we forget (or brandish outrageous statements) - have you forgotten 9/11 or the Tsunami, or the Iraq war/civil war with it's ever mounting death toll, even Hurricane Katrina as 'the most tragic events of our generation'. Sure the media (especially in Australia) is having a field day with the story, but let's get things into proportion, shall we! Unless of course you really believe that Steve's death is more important than the above.


[edit on 6/9/06 by The Winged Wombat]

Ok.. Here we go... Perhaps I should have said "It didnt seem to bother the Whale"... I doubt a 180lbs man riding on top of BUS would bother it too much either..

Steve was an educator and a good one at that.. He was over the top.. but that was just Steve.. it was his passion and drive...

There was nothing bad or cruel about this man... And "Ms Greer" can bite me...

Steve's death is important.. in many ways.. It shows us.. that we really are fragile.. and there are dangerous animals out there.. no matter how careful you are, sometimes accidents happen..
If you're not Australian.. then you probably dont understand the impact his death is having on us all.. If you're not a fan.. then you probably understand even less..

[edit on 6-9-2006 by Ox]

Oh, now I see.....

It must be such a rare thing in the USA that one should find a man who is neither bad nor cruel.

I am not disputing the educational aspects of Steve's show or his respect for animals, nor his knowledge of the behaviour of those animals (if he had been ignorant of the danger he would have been dead long ago).

But, I'll ask once more .... would you like your children to behave around things that could kill them in the same way that Steve Irwin PORTRAYED in his show ?

Remember that children are influenced by the way in which an action is portrayed - not necessarily the safety measures in place or the precautions taken by the performer.

And yes, I am an Australian (5th generation), and I have lived and worked in the Northern Territory and seen crocs and other predatory animals up close and seen what they are capable of. I'm outraged that you seem to imply that to have any knowledge, one must be a fan of Steve Irwin's TV show!

[edit on 6/9/06 by The Winged Wombat]

I'm Australian too... and it hit me hard... I live in the USA and havent been able to get home in over 10 years... And youre taking what I say way out of proportion

I think Kids should be educated about wild and dangerous animals.. And if hands on is the way to go.. then so be it.. That's how I was taught.. I learned about venomous snakes and spiders with a careful hands on approach, am I an expert.. No... Will I teach my children, I dont know.. I think they should be taught by someone who works with these animals for a living.. If you're implying that Steve put his kids in danger? or that kids will mimic his actions, my answers are these..
1. Did Steve put his son in danger when feeding the Croc and holding his boy? No I dont believe he did, Steve had complete control of that Croc, it was infront of him and Steve had his team there with him incase something went awry...

2. Will Kids mimic Steve's actions? Some may.. But, All Children should be supervised.. Especially if there is an animal around, domestic or otherwise.. I can hardly see some 5 year old in Florida jumping on a Croc's back.. Most kids are afraid of large dogs.. let alone a 1 ton Croc's back...


You also seem to go into great detail that Steve's show was set up? Do you believe this? That all those times when he would set a Croc trap, to relocate a problem animal, that the producers went in and placed a Croc in there for the sake of money?
Or the animals were placed in the enviroments? I find that EXTREMELY unlikely

I also didnt imply that you had to be a fan to "Have any knowledge of his show".. I said that if you're not a fan.. You probably wont be taking this as hard as others.. or it wont be affecting you as hard as some..

[edit on 6-9-2006 by Ox]