NEWS: Steve Irwin Crocodile Hunter Dead

All these hateres are making me sad.

I watched the Larry King interview last night and the Asutralian Steve Denton interview today and I must say, i've rarely seen anyone so passionate about life and so passionate about wildlife. He damn near jumps out of the screen at me and even though he's gone, his personality on camera is so powerful, it's hard to believe it's not him and not now. And my god, was he a funny bloke. I don't think i've ever laughed so much watching an interview as i did when he sat down with Seve Denton.

He was a man with a mission and his mission was to get people impassioned about wildlife. To get rid of their fear and replace it with respect in admiration. Who else could make crocs and venomous snakes interesting and even likeable? Who else could make tarantulas beautiful? Who else could get people to have sympathy for sharks?

He put everything on the line and jumped in full throttle with every take and every thing he did because he was so concerned about wildlife. He bought tracts of land to preserve habitats. He wrestled with crocs in many cases to move them to places where they were less of a danger to people and people were less of a danger to them. He captured snakes to get their venom for antivenom and to also relocate them. Yes, he did it because he was a bit of an exhibitionist, but he also did it because he cared and he wanted other people to care.

He was so good at it, he actually reached 100s of millions of people. Can you even imagine what kind of impact he made doing what he did? Personally, it's damn-near unimaginable to me.

He entertained us. He educated us. He shared his passions and in many cases they became ours as well. Was he over-the-top? You bet, but because he was like that he'll live on and keep inspiring people to do something for the animals and Earth.

He will be missed and is irreplacable. Few people are so much larger than life and in retrospect, it was a great priveledge to be able to jump into his life via the television and live vicariously through his wild antics. Rest in peace mate.

great entertainer, teacher, family man, activist, daredevil...he was a cool guy.

Don't be ignorant mate. Get your facts right before you post on a thread like this where people are paying respects.

+100000

I'm glad that he dies alone, and nobody else (kids or wife).

When you see those "ambientalist" and "conservationists" , I remember Grizzly Man.

You could like those guys or hate them... but all of them loose contact with reality; and loose contact with the reality of what nature is, and what's unnatural.

"With all due respect" my ass. So I suppose he's better off dead and may all the positive work he has done be overshadowed by this one instance forever. Yes he made an idiotic decision putting his family in danger. How many people SPEED with their family in the car (and probably have far less control of the possible variables)? I'm sure we could make a checklist of risky and dangerous actions that people take regularly around their family that create potentially dangerous situations. Good thing for them no one is watching (and scrutinizing).

Point is people make irresponsable decisions and take unnecessary risks that could negatively affect their life or the life of their loved ones frequently, and only for a cause so noble as THEMSELVES. Meanwhile, there are others who do it to teach, to enhance the lives of others, and better the world they live in. Yes, Steve Irwin frequently put himself in harm's way, but to do the things I just mentioned - I'd hardly label that irresponsable. Dangerous yes. But how can you change the world without taking risks?

That's very, very well said.
RIP Steve.

So does anyone who surfs, or scuba dives lose contact with reality?

I can honestly say; He hasn't done a single thing to shit me off in the last 72 hours.

1). Sincere condolences to Steve's wife, kids, his friends and family.
2). For all the people who said this is what he gets for messing around with dangerous animals... Stingrays are generally docile, and quite safe even for amateurs to swim around, let alone an experienced wildlife expert like Steve Irwin. Even when people do get struck by a stingray, it is generally not fatal. Since the 1860s, only 17 peoples' deaths have been attributed to stingray attacks. What was lethal in Steve's case is that the barb struck him directly in the heart, causing rapid blood loss. While it may have been expected that he would have been killed by a croc, or a lion, or a great white shark, no one knowledgeable about stingrays would have thought that swimming near them would be cause for a great deal of concern.
3). Nothing Steve Irwin ever did on his show or in his live demonstrations could be construed as abusive towards the animals he worked with. "Serious" researchers with degrees and scientific studies bother the animals way more than Steve ever did when they tranq, tag, draw blood, and perform all other sorts of tests that are all perfectly safe and fine for the animal. (Keep in mind I'm not putting down these studies or their methods, I'm just pointing out that Steve wasn't as bad as some are making him out to be).
4). Steve was a conservationist in that he wanted to preserve all of the wonderful wildlife that he showcased, so that it would be around for future generations to see. He thought that the best way to do that was to get the masses interested in wildlife, and he did that with a bit of showmanship and putting it in a format that the masses could easily access and digest. Simply, he felt the more people he got thinking about animals, then the better the chances would be of them being preserved.

I know alot of people disliked his antics and the way he worked with animals... but he did alot of good towards animal conservation which I admired him for. Im really sad that he has gone, the circumstances make it sickeningly awful and sad. I feel for his family too. Im going to miss his craziness