I’m a little skeptical of this, the whole point of his show was watching him grab/wrestle/anally violate various animals, and sting rays are pretty calm if not being molested (the ones we have in FL anyways, maybe they’re meaner in Aus).
Did the camera man say specifically that Steve hadn’t touched the ray? Or just that he was swimming over it (which doesn’t really rule out him having grabbed it at that time or earlier, IMHO).
I’d think it would lead to fibulation and death pretty quick, bet it was over within a few minutes.
Guy was a good entertainer though, and unlike other folks with TV shows of the “guy in the woods wrestling the wildlife” genre, he seemed to actually care about the natural world.
For those who, like me, don’t know these things by heart, that’s the verse that contains the line “O death, where is thy sting?” I was kinda hoping it said something about “it is an abomination for a man to lie with reptiles,” or “when the man becomes reptile and the reptile man, ye shall enter the kingdom of heaven.”
I guess that was not in the best of taste. This is such a weird case, it’s hard for me to be tasteful. I’ve always said that given the choice between being killed in a car accident and being killed by wild animals, I’d definitely pick the latter; I’d just as soon have my last few moments be interesting. And folks have permission in advance to make bad-taste jokes about my demise; it pleases me to think of making people groan posthumously.
Someone on Animal Planet just said that when he was in with the crocodiles while holding his son, there were several cameras going, and in the video clip where it looks like the crocodile was thisclose was actually just that camera’s angle making it look that close, and also that the crocodile was tied back.
Holy crap. With all the borderline insane things this guy did, that it would be such a freak accident (only 17 deaths attributed to stingray strikes worldwide, ever) is truly a shock. I thought he was certifiably nuts, but I genuinely liked Mr. Irwin, and thoroughly enjoyed watching his antics, crazy as they were. Damn, I am seriously bummed out by this news. Such a sad loss!
unfortunately, Jeff Corwin was never as “crazy” as Steve. I remember watching one episode with Corwin where he saw a snake move in the bushes and he jumped immediately back. He said, “Well, thats a very large and fast snake. Guess what we won’t be messing with today” (or atleast something to that effect).
I can’t say this enough. No one would have seen a stingray accident coming. Crocidiles, Cobras, car accident. Those I could see.
It’s not that you were distasteful and everybody was tasteful, it was just a little on the nose somehow. You’re right, though, it’s hard to show any kind of decorum when the guy was such an outrageous character.
Well aren’t you a warmhearted and pleasant person. The guy did more for conservation than you’ll ever do and he left behind two small children. Zero sympathy? This isn’t the pit so I’ll save saying what I really think and leave it to your imagination. Be as creatively in your imaginings as you can and you might come close.
Here in Irwin’s “backyard” (Australia Zoo is only a few miles up the road) there is a very heavy and genuine sense of sadness and loss at his death. The public is grieveing him very hard - there are petitions flying about in seemingly every shopping centre to have national parks, airports and whathaveyou named after him or to have a state funeral for him.
What is very touching is the sincerity of the tributes that you hear - everyone remembering his zest for life, his passion for conservation and his genuine, amiable nature. My wife works in a school for children with disabilities and Irwin was very highly regarded in that community for his generosity towards “special” kids. Hell, he even donated raffle prizes to my school’s fete which we are holding this weekend. And at my school the children are distraught - I fielded dozens of calls from parents who were keeping their kids out of school today for shock or because they were taking them up to Australia Zoo.
He was, like, the “Alpha Queenslander” and the folks here loved him a lot. It’s just too damn sad he is gone.
What makes this so hard to take is that he’s was so incredibly full of life. He was like a little kid who was so exited to show us something that he couldn’t sit still. He seemed hardly to be able to believe his luck in what his life had become.
Because of you Steve-O, I no longer think snakes are my enemy. I respect them and would go out of my way to try to protect them. That’s something I didn’t think I’d ever say.
You did good mate. My best wishes go out to Terri, Bindi and Bob.
In all the interviews on the news last night, everybody agreed with one thing: Steve Irwin was not a phoney. That wasn’t his persona, he was the real deal.
And for that he is to be admired, and will be missed.
I think that sums it up perfectly. Few could reasonablyl deny the guy’s behavior bordered on the level of irresponsibility seen in a typical Jackass episode, but it was impossible to resist his sincerity, enthusiasm, and confidence. He got famous for his stunts, but it was clear his stunts were not performed in a single-minded quest for fame. He certainly enjoyed the limelight, but he obviously passionately loved what he was doing, and certainly would have been jumping crocs and fighting to preserve habitats even if no one cared to watch. Crazy? Probably a little. Loveable? Hyper-charismatically and irresistably so.
While I don’t agree with lissener’s opinion on the situation, it is true that Steve is viewed negatively in much of the American zookeeper circuit. IANAZK (I am not a zookeeper), but my ex-wife was a zookeeper-in-training, and often told me that while she, personally, adored Steve Irwin, that he would have been quickly fired from any American zoo for his antics. There’s an ongoing debate (putting it nicely) between those who favor the established “hands on” approach to caring for zoo specimens (which Steve typifies), and those who want the wild animals kept wild, transforming the concrete walls and plexiglass windows into “natural” animal sanctuaries. If I understand correctly, the former point of view is now pretty solidly in the minority, and Steve’s continued (not to mention enthusiastic) defiance of the preferred methodology’s basic rules has been a constant source of irritation, raising fears of copycat behavior from his audience. This may or may not be what lissener had in mind, but think it does give his statement some context. If I’m off-base here, BTW, please correct me.
That being said, however, I can’t see eye-to-eye with the opinions lissener relates regarding the incident itself. Regardless of the way you feel about his antics with snakes and crocodiles, Steve was, by all accounts, doing nothing that would normally be considered dangerous. To call such a freak accident inevitable or deserved is unjust and uncalled for.
I agree with most of the other sentiments expressed here. He was a genuine person (a true rarity in this day and age) who loved nature with an infectious passion. He taught others to see beauty in all of creation, even in creatures that few others would ever call beautiful.
Good on ya’ Steve. As one who loved crocs long before your show ever went on the air, I’ll certainly miss ya.
I’m sorry for the guy, but he was pushing his luck a bit-you grap crocodiles tails and soonere or later, you WILL pay the price. I just wonder, when he was picking up poisonous snakes and spiders-did they have a medical team close by? Suppose Steve got a mamba bite- that would have been worse.
