Steve Irwin dead...

[owen]

Just got emailed this:
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,20349888-2,00.html

[TonyH]

Very, Very Sad

[Glen]

Sad to hear when anyone dies prematurely.

[elffinarts]

ouch!! I've always been freaked by stingrays when swimming in the ocean.

Condolances to Terri and Bindi and all at Aust Zoo.

I hope that Terri and Bindi carry on with the wonderful conservation work they've all be doing and that this does not spell the end to the good work that Steve has done in the past.

[Justin]

Crikey!

[MHD]

Yikes!
A stingray of all things... I have dived with huge ones, big nasty barbs.. must have been odd situation

[Nnnnsic]

That sucks. I actually liked the guy. He wasn't terribly smart, but he was bloody good at what he did and entertaining too.

[sirhc55]

A sad end for an Ozzie icon

[ozimax]

It is a very sad day indeed, he was a uniquely quirky chap but a tremendous ambassador for Australian wildlife. In the USA he was not a star, rather an absolute megastar. He will be missed.

[mic]

Poor Bugger ! Now I will feel bad when showing The Wiggles with Steve Irwin ( The Crocodile Hunter ) to my Kiddies. I liked him a lot.

Rest in peace big Steve ( Without Crocs snapping at ya heals )

Mic.

[MHD]

That sucks. I actually liked the guy. He wasn't terribly smart, but he was bloody good at what he did and entertaining too.

hear hear,,
Say what you will, good or bad but that is one thing you can not deny... He was VERY good at what he did!

[Greg B]

It is a sad loss, particularly for his wife and young kids. And also in relation to the good work he was doing in the conservation area.

The only (very small) positive is that he died doing something he obviously loved.

[PiroStitch]

Ditto to what has been said. He may have been flamboyant to the point of irritation, but at least he enjoyed what he did and showed great passion for it.

Condolences to his family and friends and hopefully his spirit will continue to live on in them.

[owen]

I always enjoyed him. There's an Andrew Denton CD available that has an interview with him on it, it was quite funny and good to listen to.

[lukeo]

I really thought it would be the croc's or the snake's that got him in the end, such an aussie character he will be missed.

[Manta]

He was a great ambassador for all of us at Quarantine and really put us on the map as far as public relations are concerned. Certainly a passionate and influential person.

Not sure I'd subscribe to the 'not terribly smart' tag - I think that devalues the wealth of knowledge he had in his area of expertise and nobody can deny his business acumen with the absolute fortune he has amassed and funnelled into conservation projects, native wildlife re-population and the ever expanding Australia Zoo.

I too saw the Andrew Denton interview and was quite inspired by the bloke. No one could doubt his integrity and dedication to his cause.

As far as stingrays are concerned, I've always been very wary of them when diving. My brother in law stepped on one when he was operating a trading boat on PNG's Fly River several years ago. He eventually had to be airlifted to Cairns for treatment. One thing we know is that the crew on baord had to make sure he didn't get near any of the ship's firearms - the pain was so bad he just wanted to kill himself. To cop a barb straight into the heart wouldn't leave much opportunity for survival.

Small mercy that Steve probably never knew what hit him and passed very quickly.

Rest in peace old mate - your legacy will live on for generations.

[gstark]

Like him or not, one had to respect his work and his contributions to the nation, in so many ways.

[cyanide]

I am going to go against the grain here and say that I really don't know enough about his good qualities to hold him in the same high regard many others seem to. What do people think he achieved for wildlife preservation? His dad's croc farm? Perhaps there is stuff that I don't know about. And I guess there's always the saying, "Any publicity is good publicity"...

I didn't understand what the point of his show(s) was. To show what a fearless hero he was? How many other people (ETA: I mean children) have been injured trying to emulate his antics? He made a lot of money basically taunting animals.

In his shows, he took stupid risks purely for the spectacle of it, touted himself as an "expert" even on animals he had no previous experience with (ie his overseas shows), and basically spent his TV shows running around poking animals and gaffawing about how big and dangerous they were. I personally don't classify his stuff "documentaries" as I feel they lacked an educational aspect.

Stingrays are not aggressive unless they truly feel attacked and/or cornered - they will for the most part run (swim) away well before you've even seen them, so to have a stingray spear him in the chest, he must have been very close, and on purpose. Obviously we do not know any details of the accident yet, and I *hope* he did not provoke the incident; after all, what sort of respectable documentary requires you to harrass the creature?

I feel sorry for the tourism/ reef industry for the bad publicity.


Sorry if this seems a bit harsh given the guy has just died, but I've said the same thing on many occasions over the years. My opinion of him doesn't change just because he is no longer around.

Edited to restate/clarify a couple of phrases. I am not going to edit it very much as I feel I should stand by my original opinion even if it is unpopular, but I emphasise that I am in no way "glad" of this unfortunate accident. I may not have liked the guy's chosen TV persona, but please do not confuse that with wishing him any misfortune. I do feel sorrow for the family that today lost a father/husband.

[Manta]

What do people think he achieved for wildlife preservation? His dad's croc farm?? Perhaps there is stuff that I don't know about.

That's right Cyanide - there is stuff you don't know about. For example, Steve invested heavily in buying up huge amounts of habitat land to eradicate feral animals and repopulate with the native species that once lived there.

How many other people have been injured trying to emulate his antics?

Only the stupid ones who would probably have found other ways to injure themselves anyway. How many kill themselves copying Japanese drift-driving, Jackass antics, video game brawls or just about any other ridiculous activity you care to mention? When are we going start blaming the person who actually DID the stupid thing and not the person they are trying to copy?

Sorry if this seems a bit harsh given the guy has just died, but I've said the same thing on many occasions over the years. My opinion of him doesn't change just because he is no longer around.

You're entitled to your opinion Cyanide but these are very strong words given that you obviously know very little about what Steve Irwin and his people are doing about conserving Australia's native wildlife for our future generations. There isn't any one else out there that comes even close to the sort of work he was doing and there probably never will be.

[ozdragon]

Steve Irwin was a true australian larkkin. The work he did educating people about wildlife, the work he did protecting wildlife and the work he did promoting australia can never be understated. Love him or hate him what he has done for australia is immeasurable.
RIP Steve you will be missed.

Peter

[Marvin]

I believe that Andrew Denton is going to repeat the interview tonight, along with that of Colin Thiele. I actually thought Steve Irwin was a tosser until I saw the Denton interview. Would be good to see it again.

[cyanide]

That's right Cyanide - there is stuff you don't know about. For example, Steve invested heavily in buying up huge amounts of habitat land to eradicate feral animals and repopulate with the native species that once lived there.

Thank you for pointing this out to me. It is great to hear that he did more than poke animals in front of a camera. I guess there must be more stuff like this, or else there wouldn't be such a groundswell of support for him. Surely that many people *inside* Australia can't be impressed by just his accent and goofy laugh, although I suspect that his cult status outside of Aus is due mainly to those things. I readily admit lack of knowledge in this aspect of his life, and I will be reading the eulogies and will do a search for more information. I will also try to see a copy of the Denton interview somehow, as it sounds interesting.

When are we going start blaming the person who actually DID the stupid thing and not the person they are trying to copy?

I actually totally agree with this re adults - I meant to say "children", as that was a main target market for his shows. I felt he was a poor example of how people should treat animals they come across in the wild, and played too much on the "wow, look how cool I am" factor and not enough on the educational side.

You're entitled to your opinion Cyanide but these are very strong words given that you obviously know very little about what Steve Irwin and his people are doing about conserving Australia's native wildlife for our future generations.

Perhaps my words were a bit strong, and I apologise. I should clarify that my strong opinions are directed entirely towards his TV shows, which I dislike. I applaud any efforts his father, Steve himself, and his company make regarding native species protection, and I admit that I was under the impression that his major contribution was to simply continue the running of the crocodile farm.

There isn't any one else out there that comes even close to the sort of work he was doing and there probably never will be.

Hmmmm. I disagree with that but don't really want to get into a "this person is better than that person" discussion. However, it is entirely reasonable that people could have that opinion.

I understand that I do not have the full picture on what he *did* do regarding protection of native species, and I look forward to filling that gap in my knowledge. This does not change my opinion of the aspects that I *do* know about, ie his shows.

I probably could have worded my dislike in more metered tones, and will go back and edit my original post.

Please understand that my dislike of the way he went about making his shows does not in any way mean I wished him any personal harm. I am in no way "glad" of this unfortunate accident. I may not have liked the guy's chosen TV persona, but please do not confuse that with wishing him any misfortune. I do feel sorrow for the family that has lost a father/husband.

[Manta]

That's right Cyanide - there is stuff you don't know about. For example, Steve invested heavily in buying up huge amounts of habitat land to eradicate feral animals and repopulate with the native species that once lived there.

Thank you for pointing this out to me. It is great to hear that he did more than poke animals in front of a camera. I guess there must be more stuff like this, or else there wouldn't be such a groundswell of support for him. Surely that many people *inside* Australia can't be impressed by just his accent and goofy laugh, although I suspect that his cult status outside of Aus is due mainly to those things. I readily admit lack of knowledge in this aspect of his life, and I will be reading the eulogies and will do a search for more information. I will also try to see a copy of the Denton interview somehow, as it sounds interesting.

When are we going start blaming the person who actually DID the stupid thing and not the person they are trying to copy?

I actually totally agree with this re adults - I meant to say "children", as that was a main target market for his shows. I felt he was a poor example of how people should treat animals they come across in the wild, and played too much on the "wow, look how cool I am" factor and not enough on the educational side.

You're entitled to your opinion Cyanide but these are very strong words given that you obviously know very little about what Steve Irwin and his people are doing about conserving Australia's native wildlife for our future generations.

Perhaps my words were a bit strong, and I apologise. I should clarify that my strong opinions are directed entirely towards his TV shows, which I dislike. I applaud any efforts his father, Steve himself, and his company make regarding native species protection, and I admit that I was under the impression that his major contribution was to simply continue the running of the crocodile farm.

There isn't any one else out there that comes even close to the sort of work he was doing and there probably never will be.

Hmmmm. I disagree with that but don't really want to get into a "this person is better than that person" discussion. However, it is entirely reasonable that people could have that opinion.

I understand that I do not have the full picture on what he *did* do regarding protection of native species, and I look forward to filling that gap in my knowledge. This does not change my opinion of the aspects that I *do* know about, ie his shows.

I probably could have worded my dislike in more metered tones, and will go back and edit my original post.

Please understand that my dislike of the way he went about making his shows does not in any way mean I wished him any personal harm. I am in no way "glad" of this unfortunate accident. I may not have liked the guy's chosen TV persona, but please do not confuse that with wishing him any misfortune. I do feel sorrow for the family that has lost a father/husband.

You've made some good points here Rae and I accept that your angst was directed more at the on-screen character rather than the man himself. The only trouble with that is that there was actually no difference between the two! He was as mad and full-on behind the camera as he was in front; just the sort of guy he was. For many years I also thought he was a buffoon but then I started to hear what he was doing and it went way beyond self-promotion. He was certainly different but it was that difference that made him so marketable which, in turn, generated the money that he then used for conservation purposes. So many others in his financial position would have had the Porsche and the beachside mansion and just kicked back and enjoyed the fruits of their labour but Steve and his family led a very modest lifestyle, preferring to invest in what they loved: the zoo, the wildlife and the environment.

Sure, he was completely 'out there' and over the top but, if he wasn't, he'd have made absolutely no impact whatsoever and a lot of his good work would never have been acheived.

[mic]

I agree Simon, Well put.

Everybody is entitled to their opinion, it's a pitty ones personal point of view flames this Thread and does not do a lot for anybody except putting his point of view forward.

In the end, who cares.

This Man was an Icon, brought in huge amounts of $$$ to our country, The Gov would have taxed the crap out out of him, he produced a lovely family, spoke his mind and didn't give a rats Arse about anything he said.

He lived by the Sword and died by it. ( except a bloody Stingray got him instead of a Croc )

Rest in Peace Steve Irwin.

Mic's Media Watch.

[Aussie Dave]

I agree also. Steve Irwin was one of those Aussie guys that lived like we all want to.....living our dreams, not just dreaming about them. For that alone he is a brave and courageous man !

In the repeated Denton interview last night, I thought it interesting to hear him say (and this is not verbatim), that many Aussies do not like him because they see a part of him in themselves. I believe this to be completely true....and, to me, this was one of the reasons I admired & respected him and what he did for wildlife & Australia.

We lost a great Australian yesterday. Love him or hate him, it is a great loss, whichever side of the fence you sit.

Dave

[stubbsy]

Rae

I have no problem with your comments. We all assess people based on what we know about them. I used to think he was a complete and utter tool based on what I'd seen in his TV shows. Then I read a few things about his environmental activities (like the habitat buying Simon has already mentioned). And then I saw the Denton interview and discovered just how passionate he was abou the animals and the environment. My views changed.

If you can get your hands on it the Denton interview is a must watch for a great insight into the man.

[Killakoala]

I met Steve Irwin on a couple of occasions and found him to be a wonderful, energetic person with the kind of passion that is contagious.

If only i had as much passion about something, anything, as Steve did for fauna and the envirnoment.

It's sad to see you go with so much more to offer the world.

*** Rest In Peace Steve. ***

My condolences to Terri, Bindi and Bob.