Steve Irwin - Champion Environmentalist Lost

They have his death on video!!!

Would you really want to watch one of the worlds "Wildlife Warriors" die? Would you want his wife and children to know that footage has travelled the globe? Steve was a passionate man and father, who died in a freak accident. He was only the 3rd person in Australia ever to die from a stingray barb. Surely not everything of a person's life (or death) is meant for public viewing.

I see your point but he was being filmed in general for a documentary, I doubt they knew he was dieing there and then.
He wanted to teach people things, maybe he'd see the footage as an education.

couldn't stand the silly bastard - so why am I so upset

I realize the guy was passionate about wildlife, but he harassed it, rather than "hunting" it. His nickname was certainly a misnomer.

I think he got what he ultimately wanted - his own death by animal on film.

I enjoyed watching him but still thought he was an idiot. Too brave for his and other's safety.

RIP Steve. Best wishes to the family you left behind.

The ironic thing is he was killed by an animal typically thought pretty docile. Just a freak thing - not a normal killer.

Only the third person to be killed by a stingray!

I agree with cjhsa. Whenever I saw Irwin on TV, he seemed to be provoking a croc or snake into snapping at him. Irwin struck me as does Emeril: a self-promoting blowhard.

Having said that, I gather he cared about endangered species and worked on their behalf. And he was beloved by children and Australians. A worthy legacy...

As I said on the other thread, there were a lot of people who didn't like him. But he was very successful at raising the profile of the issues he cared about.

Oh I just found this site because of Colonel John D. Craig.

I used to watch his TV show because he was a friend of my moms. My hubby and I were discussing who invented the aqualung (scuba) and I remember my mom telling me about John D. Craig and the invention of scuba gear.

Does anyone know what he had to do with the beginning of scuba gear?

Mind you, I think the latest Southpark stunt could be a bit distressing for his family......


http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2006490695,00.html

I think the Southpark parody is hilarious.

This guy was like watching NASCAR. You were always waiting for him to get bit or eaten. They finally catch the crash on tape and won't show it to anybody.

I loved him from the start. I thought his passion came through on TV as genuine. I did not feel someone could act that way and not really feel it. I am American and I was truly sad when I heard the news. I saw part of the ceremony where Bindi spoke. She was amazing. She has that passion too. I think she will be great. I could not believe the words she spoke and how she held up for being a child. That just shows you how good her parents were and are. I feel so bad for his wife, Terri and children. I think I heard Terri say in an interview she has lost the love of her life. That is heart breaking. I can only wish the family the best.

I think "Bindi" is ouback speak for "bait".

Nobody can doubt cjhsa's a master of at least one thing

I know that he was an apprentice baiter for a number of years till he got his Master's certificate.

Was Irwin cremated? I wonder what the carbon footprint of the cremation was?

That is exactly why I am not a big NASCAR fan. A lot of people watch to see if there is going to be that "wreck". I do watch only because I am a NHRA fan and love the sport. When I see a wreck on TV at an NHRA event or while I am there I hold my breath. I know some of the drivers and their families. I do not find humor in it one bit. It is a sport with risks. That does not mean I or others want to see the guys and girls get hurt or killed. Especially when the family is at the track, the car is tumbling and on fire. The TV sometimes focuses in right on the family. Who enjoys seeing the spouse normally female (male dominant sport) crying, waiting and wondering. That is sadistic to me. I have watched one driver I know wreck and by the wreck I certainly thought he could not live I started crying. I watched the helicopter fly in and waited hours until the TV announced it was not life threatening.

There is nothing funny about it especially when caught on camera. I thought the world of Princess Diana. I would not want to see that on video. Is that educational? NO.
Steve Irwins death on video should not be released for public viewing. It should be the given to the family and they can destroy it if that is what they want.

Are you one of these people who when there is a wreck on the freeway slow down or stop to look. I would bet you are. I just can't see the humor in it. Now to say something derogatory about a little girl is mean. Do you really not see this?

As you can tell I feel very passionate about things like this. Have you actually been somewhere and had to watch someone die? How about if it was your family or someone you knew and cared about. Have you witnessed such a thing? I would guess you have not. I have. It is not funny. Bindi is not "bait" she is a little girl who is extremely intelligent and has her father's passion.

I am done venting now.

I'm old enough to have lost many friends and family members, some to quick death, others to cancer, others to old age.

I also hunt and fish for my own food and watch stuff die on a regular basis. Steve Irwin was no "hunter", he was a game antagonizer. And he used his children as bait - pure and simple.

Maybe he loved animals - maybe he loved them too much. More than his own family perhaps?

And that is where I have a problem with him and others like him. Both he and his wife were/are well known animal activists, anti-hunters, and just not enough pro-human. Yes I watched him, with my kids - and like I've said before, told them not to try and emulate the idiot on the TV.

And no I'm not a big race fan, because the only real reason to watch is the crashes, and that's not cool.

cjhsa,

I think Steve would have agreed with you for the most part. I saw an interveiw where he said that people watch hoping to see him get bitten or hurt, but that gives him a way of communicating his message. He probably isn't pro-human enough, but perhaps he thinks there are plenty of advocates on that side of the fence already.

As for being an animal antagoniser, I think the cost to animals for the sake of education and research was proboably minimal compared to, say, the meat and clothing industry.