Crikey: We lost a good one
One of my favorite wildlife television personalities is gone, killed in a freak accident. Steve Irwin was killed Monday by a stingray during a diving expedition, Australian media said. He was 44.
Irwin was at Batt Reef, off the remote coast of northeastern Queensland state, shooting a segment for a series called Ocean's Deadliest when he swam too close to one of the animals, which have a poisonous barb on their tails. He came on top of the stingray and the stingray's barb went up and into his chest and put a hole into his heart.
When you play with fire, sometimes you get burned. I'm just sad that it happened. I loved him and his wild behavior except when he was dangling his baby in front of the crocodile that one time. That really pissed me off. If you want to put yourself in danger, that is one thing, but endangering your infant son is another. Good grief. You know it has to happen occasionally when these daredevils get out there with these creatures. I feel so sorry for his wife, Terri, and their two children.
We lost an entertainer, educator and wildman. I hope he finds his version of heaven complete with critters everywhere to mess with.
Irwin was at Batt Reef, off the remote coast of northeastern Queensland state, shooting a segment for a series called Ocean's Deadliest when he swam too close to one of the animals, which have a poisonous barb on their tails. He came on top of the stingray and the stingray's barb went up and into his chest and put a hole into his heart.
When you play with fire, sometimes you get burned. I'm just sad that it happened. I loved him and his wild behavior except when he was dangling his baby in front of the crocodile that one time. That really pissed me off. If you want to put yourself in danger, that is one thing, but endangering your infant son is another. Good grief. You know it has to happen occasionally when these daredevils get out there with these creatures. I feel so sorry for his wife, Terri, and their two children.
We lost an entertainer, educator and wildman. I hope he finds his version of heaven complete with critters everywhere to mess with.
8 Comments:
At 12:44 PM, September 04, 2006,
Anonymous said…
It was the first news story I read today, and is all the talk here at Circus World Museum amongst the trainers. Steve was a daredevil, and according to most trainers, casually stupid, too. That doesn't mean he wasn't a good showman and didn't do some good for the world. He did a lot to further people's understandings of wild animals.
I know my kids will miss him, and I feel terrible for his wife and kids. It was just a dumb accident; only three recorded deaths of this kind have occurred to date. Sad.
At 4:58 PM, September 04, 2006,
Trixie said…
I will miss him. I thought he was a little bit nuts, but he wanted the world to share his love for nature and animals.
My hearts and prayers go to his wife and two children.
At 9:20 PM, September 04, 2006,
Anonymous said…
He's a loss to all of us animal lovers. He educated us and shared his fearless passion.
Sometimes I feel like a coward, honestly.
When was the last time I've taken a risk (aside from riding with hubs driving the Sky this aft.)?
At 8:07 AM, September 05, 2006,
Jenni said…
I think he probably lived fuller than most of us could hope for and longer than he had a right to with all the stunts he pulled. I admire his spirit and think he will be immortal with his legacy. :)
At 9:25 AM, September 05, 2006,
Gadfly said…
You know, I think even he could see it coming ...
But nobody would have ever thought that it would have been a freaking stingray...
At 3:22 PM, September 05, 2006,
Anonymous said…
Actually, I think it's silly when people say it was "bound to happen". He was a professional and he was very careful...The way he died was truly a one in a million freak accident. Only 13 other people have ever been killed by Stingrays! It could have happened to anyone swimming in the ocean...I just dont buy the "play with fire, you get burned" argument. Sure, his job was more dangerous than most people's, but so are a lot of jobs! I think people need to realize his death had less to do with the dangers of his job, and more to do with the random occurance of a bizarre freak accident.
At 4:36 PM, September 05, 2006,
Army of Mom said…
Anon, it was a totally random and freak accident. I'm just saying that when much of your life is spent in dangerous situations, at some point, it could happen. Look at race car drivers, for instance. Rarely do any of them die, yet Dale Earnhardt died in a rare accident. It is no different than getting in a car every day. We put ourselves at risk for a car accident by doing that.
I loved his work and thought he was awesome. I'm so sad that he died, too. Back in 2000, Army of Dad and fed the stingrays at Discovery Cove in Orlando. I can't imagine those sweet creatures having the ability to do that. Such a rare, random thing. I'm so sad to see him go.
At 7:39 AM, September 06, 2006,
Anonymous said…
Anon, like hell it wasn't bound to happen. You are concentrating on what animal killed him, not that a wild animal caused his death. If it wasn't that then an accident of some other sort while out in the wild would have likely taken him.
He simply lived too full and adventurous a life to die as an old man in bed.
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