Who would have figured it would have been death by stingray barb to the heart for Steve Irwin - the Crocodile Hunter? I always thought his end would come about because he would be bitten by one of those extremely venomous snakes he was always handling so, in my opinion, carelessly; or maybe by way of being eaten by a salt water crocodile. I guess though, my prediction of death for Irwin - by way of some accident (or carelessness) with an animal - was right on the money. He went out the way he lived, which was much better than most of us will exit life.
I did not necessarily agree with what I understood was his conservation message. As I understood that, it was hands off of nature for everyone except for guys like him. So, I believe, while he made his money promoting himself and his own brand of conservation, others were not so lucky as to be enjoying nature through way of hands on experience in places like Australia.
I am, I think, a much more hands on sort of guy when it comes to humans being in touch with nature and with animals, hands on for everyone, within reason anyhow. Nonetheless, Steve Irwin certainly had a flamboyance that surely made for an entertaining show mostly about reptiles; and since I am a reptile keeper/breeder/hobbyist, I used to enjoy his shows. That was at least until I heard about his alleged brand of conservation, and even then I liked his shows.
I did think him on the careless or reckless side when it came to handling dangerous animals though. I handle guns regularly, I handle animals regularly, I have handled dangerous animals on occasion, I also hunt - I would never hunt or handle a dangerous animal the way he did. Then again, he was himself, and I am me. He certainly did his thing his way, and the world loved him for it.
In that light, I imagine he went out, much in the way he would have chosen. He was stabbed through his heart by a stingray, the barb on the stingray's tail apparently entered Irwin's body just below the rib cage, and went into his heart. Efforts to save him were futile. See this link for an article about it: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,212037,00.html
He leaves behind his wife Terri (a beautiful dream girl for a naturalist like Steve Irwin). They were married for about 15 years (they were married in 1991) and two young children. It is a sad thing when a father leaves this world, even sadder when it is before his children are grown and married. He was a great entertainer, he brought a lot of knowledge to the world about reptiles and other animals, he was a conservationist of sorts. He will be missed; and my deepest condolences go out to his family and other loved ones. He was a real man, and an intensely passionate one at that. Happy herping Steve.
All the best,
Glenn B
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