September 3, 2006

One of My Favorite People Has Just Died

Hatched by Dafydd

Word just hit the airwaves that Steve Irwin, the Crocodile Hunter, has just died (around 11:00 am Australian Eastern Standard Time, 6:00 pm Pacific Daylight Time). He was killed by a venomous stingray barb to his chest, suffered while on a dive in the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Queensland.



Steve and reptilian friend    Steve and Terri

Steve and reptilian friend (l); Steve and Terri

The stingray venom is bad but not usually fatal -- unless it's to the chest. Alas, that is exactly what happened. It's sadly ironic that on one episode of his show, the Crocodile Hunter, he noted that in his entire career handling dangerous and venomous reptiles and other creatures, he had "never once been envenomated."

His career began when he was a child; his father, Bob Irwin, ran the Queensland Reptile and Fauna Park. Steve's first real job was removing crocs and other dangerous reptiles from populated areas and bringing them to his father's zoo. When he was an adult, he continued to perform the same function... but he would release them to the wild instead.

He met his future wife Terri when she visited the zoo -- now renamed the Australia Zoo -- in 1992. They married and began producing the show Crocodile Hunter together. They had two children, a daughter, Bindi Sue, and a son, Bob Clarence.

He was only 44 when he died... a year younger than I. I never met the man; but his shows were so personal, I felt as if I knew him. I always hoped that one day, when I finally got to Australia, I could interview him.

Although he never wanted to talk about politics, in fact Steve Irwin was a politically active conservative. He was a very strong supporter of Prime Minister John Howard and his oddly named but conservative Liberal Party of Australia. Irwin always referred to himself as a "conservationist," never an "environmentalist."

I feel very sad for Terri, Bob, Bindi Sue, and the staff of the Australia Zoo -- who were more like family than employees, we found out on a companion TV show called the Crocodile Hunter Diaries, a reality show which showed the day-to-day operation of the zoo. But Steve Irwin died doing what he loved best: filming a wildlife documentary in his beloved Queensland, Australia.

Requiescat In Pace, Steve Irwin, the real Crocodile Hunter.

Hatched by Dafydd on this day, September 3, 2006, at the time of 11:48 PM

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Listed below are links to weblogs that reference One of My Favorite People Has Just Died:

» G'day.. and g'bye to the Crocodile Hunter from Dawnsblood
God Bless you Steve Irwin. “The world has lost a great wildlife icon, a passionate conservationist and one of the proudest dads on the planet,” John Stainton, Irwin’s friend and producer, said in the statement. “He died doing what he loves be... [Read More]

Tracked on September 4, 2006 4:11 AM

» Steve Irwin, Croc Guy, Rest In Peace from GenrXr

A stingray’s barbed tail struck Steve’s heart this morning and efforts to save his life failed. With his death, the world loses one of the good guys and Discovery channel one of its last remaining decent performers. A few years ago Steve...

[Read More]

Tracked on September 4, 2006 7:43 AM

» Updated: G'day.. and g'bye to the Crocodile Hunter from Dawnsblood
God Bless you Steve Irwin. “The world has lost a great wildlife icon, a passionate conservationist and one of the proudest dads on the planet,” John Stainton, Irwin’s friend and producer, said in the statement. “He died doing what he loves be... [Read More]

Tracked on September 4, 2006 4:15 PM

Comments

The following hissed in response by: Caltechgirl

I know how you feel. I never met Steve, either, but I felt like he made you a part of his family just because you turned on the TV. I shed a few tears when his dear companion dog Bindi died, and I've shed a few more tonight in memory of one of the good guys, and the young family he left behind. My heart goes out to Terri and the kids.

The above hissed in response by: Caltechgirl [TypeKey Profile Page] at September 4, 2006 12:14 AM

The following hissed in response by: Smitty

If anything we can take the fact that he died doing what he loved.

This is the first verse of a poem by S. Hall Young

Let me die, working. Still tackling plans unfinished, tasks undone! Clean to its end, swift may my race be run. No laggard steps, no faltering, no shirking; Let me die, working!

Fare thee well Steve.

-cs™

The above hissed in response by: Smitty [TypeKey Profile Page] at September 4, 2006 12:49 AM

The following hissed in response by: Terrye

How sad, and yet he died the way he lived, taking chances.

The above hissed in response by: Terrye [TypeKey Profile Page] at September 4, 2006 3:29 AM

The following hissed in response by: k2aggie07

The real sad part here is that his wife probably doesn't know yet. She's trekking in Tasmania. Thats giong to be horrible for her :(

The above hissed in response by: k2aggie07 [TypeKey Profile Page] at September 4, 2006 5:37 AM

The following hissed in response by: hunter

We enjoyed his show when we watched it with our kids. As a herp hobbyist, I always enjoyed his joy in God's less appealing creatures. His death is tragic, all the more so because he was young and doing what he loved and leaves his two young children and lovely wife. Nature is still a very wild place, and dangerous. Steve knew that and loved it all as part of what his faith told him is part of a magnificent creation.

The above hissed in response by: hunter [TypeKey Profile Page] at September 4, 2006 6:03 AM

The following hissed in response by: Big D

Yeah he was goofy. Silly. Odd. He lived a dangerous life.

But he was like the big black labrador. He seemed honest, real, always up for action, always ready to dive right in.

My heart is broken.

The above hissed in response by: Big D [TypeKey Profile Page] at September 5, 2006 10:19 AM

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