Steve Irwin Has Died

I know this is a serious topic...

But it was the pure numbers game that caught up to him. You can only stick your head in an alligator, grab a cobra with your bare hands, and swim in a school of jellyfish so many times before something is bound to happen. I know he took precautions and was as qualified as one can be, but no one can be completely sure when dealing with wild animals.

A sting ray? Not a glamourous way to go out...

Watch out Steve-O and Chris Pontius...you're next.

i really can't imagine putting myself in such a high-risk position all the time or allowing my spouse to do the same. I can't imagine it all. This is tragic.

You forgot the instance when he took his 1 year old son into a crocodile cage and fed the croc with his other hand... \

Poor Terri.

It's a shame, but not unexpected. Pestering dangerous animals for the sake of entertaining the audience unfortunately and finally tipped in favor of the dangerous animal. A real lesson for people eager to interact with untamed creatures that just want to be left alone.

I would imagine that this is about as common as a person being killed by a cow. Sure, they could do it at will. But they usually don't.

Sad.

Yeah-- they invite cruise ships worth of people to swim with sting rays. Tragic as it is, this just doesn't seem like a fitting way to go. Sounds downright like a fluke?

Yeah, he actually was killed by a stingray. Not exactly a dangerous animal.

More on the stingray death.

We'll miss you, Steve.

Wow. It's funny, you never really expect icons to die so suddenly. I just kind of expected him to fade out. Maybe he would have rather it been this way in the end, but I still think it was to soon for Steve.

Crikey!

Yeah, it seemed sort of surreal to me, having him go like this. Maybe it's because I always thought that with all the insane stuff he was getting away with, he had some sort of invicibility towards dangerous animals.

If you play with fire, you'll eventually get burned.

You'd be surprised at how many farm workers are killed or injured by farm animals. I remember reading about high rates of injury caused by pigs.

If Steve Irwin could talk, I think he'd say otherwise.

I grew up in a small farming town in Mississippi and then lived in Oklahoma for 8 years. I'm pretty familiar with how dangerous farm animals can be. My point was that he was killed by an animal that is usually docile.

It is a shame.

Really sad. Rest in peace Steve.

Whatever the case, I don't think Steve was a Timothy Treadwell type -- in that he didn't fundamentally misunderstand the animals that he studied/advocated.


The real shame is that his son will have no memory of his Father.

Yeah, Steve was a heck of a character.

yeah, but the more i thought about it, if it had to be accidental, would you have wanted him to go out slipping in the bathtub or something? but i do agree that, given the choice, i'd rather he'd have continued his antics and his passion for animals well into life and been there with his kids that whole time, too.

and the video that the coroner has right now... man, the producer said he watched it once, and then said he never wants to see it again, or let it see the light of day, and i agree. unless his wife/family want to see in a surreal going away/final moment type thing. but i just could not bear witness to seeing someone i love get stabbed in the heart, still have the presence, albeit briefly to PULL IT OUT and then expire.

It's a shame the poor bastards that get caught on tape just to have their final moments end up on the news or on YouTube aren't afforded the same luxury as a beloved character. Who said all men are created equal?

What a great guy he was. He was there for his family, put his fortune back into conservation - didn't let fame change him. I can't help but feel sorry for those who would critisize the way he lived his life.

I was watching an ep of wild boys last nite. in mexico, and they ran with the bulls. the crowd got a bull into a mini-fighting ring, and a handful of guys taunted it and ran around. one unlucky guy got tossed, like a rag doll. i's thinking that they gonna cut back, or cut out, for next season.

OK, I know this is sad, but isnt it kindof inevidable? This wasnt your average zooligest, this guy was border line psyco: he played with fire and got burned...

Think of it like a plane crash, this wasnt an average pilot that was flighing commuter and freight back and forth. this is the kind of pilot doing barral rolls and nose dives in the Rocky Mountains.

Honestly I feel kinda sorry for his camera man, being that close to the insanity.

This guy is like an electricion who, for entertainment value, swings like George Of The Jungle from high voltage lines.

Given the fact he has been doing this for nearly 35 years would prove you wrong. If he was taking so many chances and playing with death - the "odds" would have caught up to him long ago. probably more of a case that you have no idea what your talking about. It was a freak accident, nothing more.

I've never seen Jack Hannah pull some of the dangerous stunts Steve Irwin has, though. Hannah is still alive.

CosmoNut: It's Hanna. I think he might have done field studies in his youth, but let's face it, Hanna's too busy maintaining the Columbus Zoo where he's the Emeritus.. that, and Steve was no Jack Hanna.

Look at Jane Goodall. She's been in the field and the bush with wild gorillas and other various large primates since the late sixties/seventies. Even now, in her elder years, she still goes around the world to see and study them. Most of these primates are strong enough to rip off a grown man's leg, yet she's never been attacked. Steve's untimely death was, with 95% certainty, a freak accident. Stingrays were not even going to be featured in the documentary he was shooting at the time of his demise. He did not die handling this creature.

He was not a "borderline psycho." He was a passionate, caring man who loved animals and stood up for conservation. He gave a damn about the wildlife in this world. He was a trained professional, as the cool gut said, with 35 years of experience. This was a freak accident and an untimely and tragic death. We can only hope that this will help to motivate people to realize the importance and responsibility we have to take care of the creatures for whom we coexist with on this planet. Wildlife conservation and the preservation of their habitat was Steve's life and work, and we must all remember that we can take away something positive from this: we can help fulfill his goals to protect wildlife and promote conservation.

We can also help by donating to his charity, Wildlife Warriors.

I hate to quibble about this, since I think he was a fascinating guy and I feel horribly for his family, but was he actually a "trained professional"? I understand he was raised in a zoo, but was he actually trained? Professionally? Did he even go to university?

so you have to have letters after your name to be a smart guy?

As someone who has letters after his name, I'm a little biased here, but that's precisely the question. If Irwin was a "trained professional," at what was he trained and how? Herpetology? Snake handling? Crocodile wrangling? Was he a vet? Did he know anything about these animals' biology other than trivia or practical issues?

My point is that all I know about him is that he was the proprietor of a for-profit zoo that he inherited from his father. He was an incredibly charismatic and entertaining man who brilliantly marketed his product and made his formerly small zoo something specialand made himself a celebrity beloved by millions world-wide.

would it make any difference to your opinion of him or his death if he was or was not a trained professional?

No, not at all. Neither his professionalism nor his training were related to his death. My question is simply whether or not he was a "trained professional" something.

Okay, first off, he never "marketed a product." Even when his persona created a movie and merchandise, the majority of the profits went right into the zoo's upkeep and conservation efforts; it went to help the animals. And to my knowledge, no, he didn't receive a "formal education." He was caring for animals since he was able to walk, since his father owned the zoo, and he decided to learn more so he could follow in his dad's footsteps. The best education, in this instance, is first hand experience.

Well, clearly, he was. The zoo. His "brand." The lucrative documentary series. The cartoon. The movie. The action figures. I don't care if he gave it all to charity, he was marketing a product and using those funds to sustain and expand the zooand his brand, which could be used to sustain and expand the zoo and his brand, which could be used to sustain and expand the zoo and his brand and on and on.

I worry that I'm being misunderstood here. I'm not impugning him in any way. I found his show wonderful and entertaining and him a kind of perfect modern TV animal guy (I grew up watching Wild Kingdom).


OK. That was my understanding, too.


Well, I don't know about that. Certainly, his father taught him a great deal. But I'm not sure that equals "trained professional" in the sense it's usually understood.

I'm not sure there are schools that offer professional degrees or certificates in "crocodile hunting."

I'm kidding, but very much on the square.

Yeah-- the issue of what constitutes "professional training" in an area like this is a good one to bring up.