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Crocodile Hunter

esquire's picture
Submitted by esquire on

I was shocked upon hearing the news of the untimely death of Steve Irwin. Apparently he was killed by a stingray while filming a documentary about dangerous ocean animals. During his run on television, I really enjoyed watching his show. It was truly one of the few shows on television that was both educational and entertaining. He will be missed. Rest in peace Steve.

I got to say, I laughed when I heard nature had got Steve back for pulling its tail.

Much as I laugh when a bull gets a bullfighter against the odds.

I have only see a few of the shows, but to me he seemed to be deliberately taunting dangerous animals, a cruel and stupid thing to do.

Of course I feel for the family especially his children though the wife probable new what she was getting into.

I did not know he was a good conservationist and I can understand how his sensationalist actions lead to the popularity of his show and possible his ability to help wild life, however it also lead to his death and now the death of a number of innocent stingrays.

Well now I am ranting so I will stop, no offence or criticism meant just an opinion :)

I caught a bit of the public memorial service held for Steve Irwin yesterday. What a touching speech his 8-year old daughter Bindi made. You can tell she really loved her daddy.

I, personally, loved Steve Irwin.  Sure, he was insane, but I loved his honest passion for what he did.  He may have acted like a loon, but he was really dedicated to animal conservation and educating people about animals.  The fact that he died was very unfortunate and I feel for his wife and two children.  What an awful thing to go through at such a young age.

I agree, Puck, that he gave Australians a bad name at times and that people associated him with all Australians.  He was a charicature at best, a crazy man at worst.  But no matter what he was like, to die tragically at only 44, leaving behind a young family...  that's tragic.

Those who are mutilating and killing stingrays in some twisted sort of revenge and disgusting.  They are uneducated and very misguided.  I am sure that if Steve Irwin were still alive, he would be heartbroken that people are doing that.  It was a freak accident, a rare incident.  I hope that people get their heads on straight and stop doing it.

I don't think it has anything to do with the fact that they're Australian. It's just a coincidence that these two guys happened to host a similar type of show, both were of the same nationality and both were crazy. While watching the Steve Irwin tribute episode of Daily Planet, they spoke to another Australian, I can't recall his name, but he's the world's leading authority on stingrays. He appeared to be quite a calm and educated individual.

No, and I never intend to. I loath that the only thing people see of Australians who care about nature is a bunch of lunatic men who only know how to do their jobs half arsed.

As above posted, the sting rays were found with their tails cut off on several beaches along the Australian east coast. This has happened before, with sharks after Jaws was released. People now think that sting rays are murderous monsters, which, if you pardon my french, is bull shit.

A new portion of this story surfaced this morning. Not sure if anyone heard, but it's a terrible crime against nature in my opinion. Idiot "fans" of Steve Irwin are apparently taking revenge on stingrays. Apparently a few idiots in Australia have been killing stingrays to avenge the death of the Croc Hunter. Now the purpose of this stingray slaughter is what? Is it somehow going to bring him back?

Like I said before, I do see the irony of his death. I just thought by the way you posted your message that you were just laughing for the hell of it. I'm sure Steve Irwin would want his family to be happy as well. I don't know much about the off-screen man other than what I posted earlier, but I do know he loved his kids more than life itself and I'm sure he'd want them to be happy. I'm upset because I was a big fan of his and I really enjoyed his show and his crazy antics. There is another nature show starring another "Aussie Fool", as my dad refers to them as. Killer Instinct on OLN is just as crazy as the Croc Hunter. Ever seen it?

I laugh because I find it amusing. Obviously you disagree with me and that is fine.

Death merely IS. I've had people close to me leave my side using that method. So I know it is painful. But I got over the emotions you feel a long time ago. Now I see it as a necessary transition. If I die I don't want people around me hurt, I'd rather have them laughing, even if it is at my expense.

The Crocodile Hunter (from the few videos I've seen) would rather have his family "happy" than "sad." Laughing accomplishes that.

Look, the irony of how he died is not lost on me at all. If he was going to die filming, I would've expected it to have been a crocodile or a shark or maybe a snake that dealt the death blow. I watched the tribute episode of daily planet last week and apparently stingrays have been dubbed, "the puppydogs of the sea". And what happened to Steve had only happened to two other people in Australia since 1960. As far as gothic influence is concerned, my gothic side is simply being more in touch with my dark side than most. I still view death as a tragedy. I do have a somewhat dark hobby that deals with death though, I photograph headstones and keep albums of them. Needless to say, not many people understand it.

I've attended funerals where the priest was quite humorous, making us sing a hymn over again because our rendition "really stunk" in his opinion. The dark laughs that you refer to are all after the death and the shock. They're generally used to ease one's pain. What do you do after a funeral, you usually get together and discuss happy times you shared with the dear departed. Maybe a funny story or something. But I don't think there's anything gothic about that, possibly on some level. I'm the only goth in my family and we all act this way after a funeral. It's just eases the pain and allows you taking the first steps to getting on with your life. But, if you're picking up the newspaper and reading about a death of someone and laughing your head off at it, that's just tasteless.

His family knew that getting killed on the job was a possibility, well, with his approach to things a probability. Besides, they have to find it mildly ammusing that is was a random creature as opposed to a corc (2 sting ray deaths in Australia's recorded history prior to this one, thats gotta say SOMETHING).

Why not? I laugh about my dear grandmother's wake (the old adage "the best party of your life is the one you can't come to" held true!) and the absurdity of the problems around dealing with my beloved father's remains make for a wonderfully dark laugh. We're goths here, after all. What fun it that if we're not the ones smiling at death?

Or, to look at it another way, it's testament to his achievement and character that there are hundreds of millions of people with an opinion about him. I always thought he was barking mad, but there is no denying he made a name for himself doing exactly what he loved. Millions more live long, miserable lives and die unsung.

But you should be happy...  he died doing what he loves.

As for his family...

They knew the risks involved with what he does.

As for my thoughts on the matter...

HAHAHAHAHA

I see where you're coming from. I admit that some of Steve's on-screen antics were a little over the top like wrestling the crocodiles. Some were very controversial like when he held is infant son while feeding a giant salty. Just remember that the man was a very devout environmentalist and conservationist. He personally donated a large chunk of his TV profits to the world wildlife fund and he even personally purchased several acres of land in Australia to be used as wildlife refuges. So yes, he was a little crazy on TV, but I'm sad because we've lost one of the most devoted wildlife people in the world and quite possibly the world's number one expert on dangerous animals. I for one will miss him and I'll always be disappointed that I never got to meet the man personally.

Aye.It's sad for his family. Have been hearing how great of a dad he was. I'll go along with Puck and not state my true feelings on the 'TV' man though.