View Full Version : Steve Irwin dead.
Earl Grey
09-04-2006, 08:55
http://www.cnn.com/2006/SHOWBIZ/TV/09/04/australia.irwin/index.html
I believe this was a genuinely nice bloke that really cared about the animals.
Wow! What a shame. Very entertaining fellow - and an avid conservationist.
So tragic and hard to comprehend that he is gone. Im sure he was probably where he wanted to be though...
Amigi'sLastStand
09-04-2006, 10:21
Great guy..... Prayer for his family. He died doing what he loved.
Gray Blazer
09-04-2006, 10:24
I know my kids are gonna be upset. God bless him and his family.
Hammerhead
09-04-2006, 10:50
While it is a tradgedy and I do feel sorry for his family, I can't help but think that it would've been pretty funny if it was a croc that got him! :eek:
refreeman
09-04-2006, 11:08
geat guy, real - sad he's gone
Sad, but...it's not like you couldn't see it coming.
Amigi'sLastStand
09-04-2006, 11:43
Can anyone spot the ppl who stop at car accidents to gawk, and those that nod their heads and say a small prayer?
Hammerhead
09-04-2006, 12:53
Can anyone spot the ppl who stop at car accidents to gawk, and those that nod their heads and say a small prayer?
I actually don't look, mainly because I'm a selfish prick and don't give a *****.
I actually don't look, mainly because I'm a selfish prick and don't give a *****.
Yeah... This is the reason I need to take a half year off to hike. :-?
Get back, hammerhead.
Pacific Tortuga
09-04-2006, 13:45
In the late 90's we would sit at the 'Pub and Grub' watching this crazy bloke, drinking and thinking, DAMN HE ALMOST GOT NAILED by a "deadly" snake that time and have another round. He was a mad dog, taking chances that we "knew" would end up with his sweet wife being a widow. In the seasons that followed you couldn't help loving him his causes and family - reptile, marsupial or mammal. With all he did to end up dieing from a stingray (stung in a vital organ) is surprising at least....... he will be missed and remembered for his passion of life and work .
I bid him 'G' Day mate and God Bless
Pacific Tortuga
09-04-2006, 13:47
In the late 90's we would sit at the 'Pub and Grub' watching this crazy bloke, drinking and thinking, DAMN HE ALMOST GOT NAILED by a "deadly" snake that time and have another round. He was a mad dog, taking chances that we "knew" would end up with his sweet wife being a widow. In the seasons that followed you couldn't help loving him his causes and family - reptile, marsupial or mammal. With all he did to end up dieing from a stingray (stung in a vital organ) is surprising at least....... he will be missed and remembered for his passion of life and work .
I bid him 'G' Day mate and God Bless
Hammerhead
09-04-2006, 14:05
Yeah... This is the reason I need to take a half year off to hike. :-?
Get back, hammerhead.
Exactly. Living in a crappy town and working in a *****hole city (atlantic city) tends to take the life out of people. And I mean it when I say that I am jealous of anyone who lives in the middle on nowhere. Hurry up February 2008.
Rain Man
09-04-2006, 14:54
As sad as it is, he went doing what he loved, instead of old age, decades from now and hooked up to hospital machines.
He surely hiked his own hike to the end.
Rain:sunMan
.
I'm gonna miss the guy... I really liked him.
Words really fail me. I honestly had to read the headline 3 times because I didn't believe I was reading it right. He always seemed a bit like superman. It saddens me for his kids' sake, but the tenacity with which he pursued his life and passions was enough to inspire Hemingway or Thoreau. He'll be missed. :( speedy
Geez, no outpouring of sympathy when Tim Treadwell got killed.
Jack Tarlin
09-04-2006, 16:14
Perhaps, Sly, it's because that while both men took risks, it appears evident that Treadwell's death was caused by wanton recklessness.
Also, at the risk of being unkind, Irwin was a gifted naturalist, a committed environmentalist, an educator, a man greatly beloved by children, and committed family man.
Treadwell, whatever his other gifts might have been, was always viewed, even by his peers and colleagues in the field of bear studies, as something of a nut.
It is inevitable that their deaths would be viewed differently.
Also, Irwin's death is being viewed as a fluke. It was extraordinarily bad luck that he got stung at all, and even worse luck that he got stuck where he did.
Treadwell, on the other hand, simply got too close to bears, which he'd done on countless other occasions.
People whose misfortunes are viewed as bad luck are inevitably going to be viewed differently from those whose demise was caused not by bad luck, but by bad, foolish choices.
ARambler
09-04-2006, 16:28
A sad day.
I remember coming out of Baxter on Labor Day in 1997 and hearing Lady Di had died. (For me it was only the 10th anniversary of becoming a 2000 miler and the last of my 100 highest to date.)
This will mark the year for many thru hikers.
Treadwell, whatever his other gifts might have been, was always viewed, even by his peers and colleagues in the field of bear studies, as something of a nut.
It is inevitable that their deaths would be viewed differently.
I see when people are viewed as nuts they get no sympathy. Of course Steve wasn't a nut, he only swam with crocodiles and sting rays.
gotcha...
I liked both of them, nuts or not. RIP Steve, Tim
He will be missed. But I say this, he died the way he lived. This might be youth talking, but there is something to be said for that.
saimyoji
09-04-2006, 16:48
I see when people are viewed as nuts they get no sympathy. Of course Steve wasn't a nut, he only swam with crocodiles and sting rays.
gotcha...
I liked both of them, nuts or not. RIP Steve, Tim
Well, Steve did catch alot of crap when he dangled his infant son in front of a giant crock.
Cedar Tree
09-04-2006, 17:14
It is a shame about Steve, I enjoyed watching him.
However, Sunday will be a day I won't forget for another death. My Pug Kudzu, companion of 11 years died early Sunday morning. Many of you I'm sure gave him a pat or two at Trail Days each year. He was truly a special dog and he is missed.
Cedar Tree
Blue Jay
09-04-2006, 19:19
People whose misfortunes are viewed as bad luck are inevitably going to be viewed differently from those whose demise was caused not by bad luck, but by bad, foolish choices.
I have to disagree. Both deserve respect and both made bad, foolish but understandable choices. It is not smart to mess with Grizzlies or Stingrays. Both lived life to the absolute fullest, on their own terms, not ours. They both hiked there own hike. As I've said before riding motorcycles is massively dangerous. It's not a smart thing to do, yet I'm not going to stop.
Sooner or later I may end up a hood ornament. That's my choice, as it was theirs.
jimthehiker2006
09-04-2006, 20:14
I will miss Steve I always enjoyed watching him on the TV and even enjoy his one movie.
Jim
Footslogger
09-04-2006, 21:08
Can't say that I've seen every TV episode he made but the ones I did see told me that the guy loved what he was doing.
It's sad that he's gone but he checked out living his dream.
I plan to live for a very long time by my sincerest wish is to take my last breath doing something l love doing.
'Slogger
I just found out, and am in shock. At least he died doing something he loved, instead of a long sickness from cancer, or something.
nicodemus
09-05-2006, 00:45
don't they teach us not to mess with nature. She and her children are unpredictable, and so your fate may be when you ignore the warning. He was doing what he did for entertainment. Why? For money, fame, and because he loved his job....something like Siegfreid and Roy....hmmm, nice while it lasted. And they all had to know that someday it would be the end of them.
Tears for their families and friends
I was stunned, this guy was someone I really identified with (and others who know me put me there also). I really enjoyed the awareness and the gift he had in dealing with animals. You could tell, after hearing his lifestory that his way with the animals was a second nature to him...a 6th sense that only few people have that tune into the animal kingdom.
God rest his soul and prayers to Terri, his kids and the rest o his family.
What a freak way to go though, always thought it would end up being a croc that would maim him (but not kill him). A stingray,wow.
Peace and hugs to those he left behind, especially his kids. He will certainly not soon be forgotten, a talented entertainer and educator.
TN_Hiker
09-05-2006, 09:26
RIP Steve and God bless your family.
On another note, I saw an interview with his producer. The producer stated the stingray barb broke off and he removed it. Although it might not have changed the outcome, removing an embedded object from a vital organ was the worst thing he could have done.
berninbush
09-05-2006, 10:44
The producer stated the stingray barb broke off and he removed it. Although it might not have changed the outcome, removing an embedded object from a vital organ was the worst thing he could have done.
Agreed. In a calmer moment, I suspect he would have known that. But with something embedded in your heart, it's probably hard to think clearly... and perhaps he didn't realize it had gone that deep. I once accidentally stuck a knife through my hand, and my reflexive action was to pull it out before I even realized what had happened. When training counters instinct, it doesn't always win.
At any rate, I was deeply shocked to hear what happened, and very sad for the sake of his family and all those who loved him. My prayers are with them. Death from sting rays is so very rare-- the situation is bitterly ironic. It really was a freak accident. I hope all the good work he was doing will be able to go on.
Just Jeff
09-05-2006, 11:58
The news is saying that he wasn't provoking it or anything...just swimming along. Obviously too close, but they said even that probably wouldn't have been a problem but the cameraman may have made it feel boxed in and the two of them being so close caused the reflex. Like you said, a freak accident.
Tankerhoosen
09-05-2006, 12:02
Geez, no outpouring of sympathy when Tim Treadwell got killed.
Irwin and Treadwell are very different cases..
Irwin was a trained professional who knew what he was doing and took calculated risks.
Treadwell was a layperson who went to "live with the bears" and who thought they were his friends. He put human emotions on a wild animal. Irwin never held any illusions that the animals were his buddies, he knew that they would not hesitate to kill him. I honestly fell bad for Irwin's demise, and feel for his family. Treadwell on the other hand got what was coming to him and I have no pity for stupidity.
-Jared
Time To Fly 97
09-05-2006, 12:04
What a feisty little rippah he was!
I really enjoyed watching him here and there - very entertaining guy.
Hope he is up in Heaven looking after our beloved pets who have gone before us.
Happy hiking!
TTF
Just Jeff
09-05-2006, 12:14
And his last moments are caught on tape. Could you imagine being his family and knowing that? Not sure if I'd want to see it or not.
Footslogger
09-05-2006, 12:22
And his last moments are caught on tape. Could you imagine being his family and knowing that? Not sure if I'd want to see it or not.
====================================
As hard as it may be to watch that footage, knowing what the outcome was, it may hold the only clue as to why this accident occurred.
One of my other addictions is SCUBA diving and I've been in close proximity to rays many times. They have ALWAYS moved away from me when I approached.
'Slogger
Irwin and Treadwell are very different cases..
Irwin was a trained professional who knew what he was doing and took calculated risks.
Treadwell was a layperson who went to "live with the bears" and who thought they were his friends. He put human emotions on a wild animal. Irwin never held any illusions that the animals were his buddies, he knew that they would not hesitate to kill him. I honestly fell bad for Irwin's demise, and feel for his family. Treadwell on the other hand got what was coming to him and I have no pity for stupidity.
-Jared
And what made Steve Irwin a professional? Treadwell had been going to Alaska for 13 years without incident. If Tim Treadwell got what he deserved, so did Steve Irwin.
Tankerhoosen
09-05-2006, 12:35
Lets see, Irwin ran a zoo and had been involved with wildlife rescue and conservation since a child. Treadwell was an ex junkie who thought the bears were his friends........
Gray Blazer
09-05-2006, 12:37
What a feisty little rippah he was!
I really enjoyed watching him here and there - very entertaining guy.
Hope he is up in Heaven looking after our beloved pets who have gone before us.
Happy hiking!
TTF
I told my grandkids, he's helping Noah now.
Just Jeff
09-05-2006, 12:40
As hard as it may be to watch that footage, knowing what the outcome was, it may hold the only clue as to why this accident occurred.
True, and they turned the tape over to the police who said that he didn't provoke it.
But I was talking about Terri and the kids. If this happened to a member of my family, and I already knew the outcome, I'm not sure actually seeing the images would do me much good. Or maybe it would. Like I said, I'm not sure if I'd want to know what it looked like or not.
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</td> </tr> </tbody></table> I think Irwin's legacy is a mixed bag.
I always felt that he took liberties with animals that should have engendered more respect. Animals often seemed like a platform to excercise his overly large personality.
He did educate many numbers of people about many kinds of animals, but I always thought he was on a bit of an ego trip that might have given many people the wrong idea about how to relate to wildlife.
Can anyone say "Hubris?"
In the end, his life was sadly cut short because of the sensational and sometimes irresponsible way he interacted with wildlife... I'm not particularly suprised by his end.
As to all the accolades for his living life to the "fullest", well... I view it differently: When a man has a family that depends on him taking unecessary risks is selfish. I suspect his young boys would rather have a flesh and blood father than a legacy...
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Just Jeff
09-06-2006, 13:15
<TABLE class=ev_msg_rowcolor2 style="WIDTH: 100%" cellSpacing=0 align=center><TBODY><TR><TD class=ev_msg_userinfo>
</TD><TD>...his life was sadly cut short because of the sensational and sometimes irresponsible way he interacted with wildlife...
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According to the news, the tapes show that he was just swimming above it and not trying to provoke it or be sensational. Obviously he made a mistake, but transfering other aspects of his life onto this event is unfair - it wasn't his sensationalism that ended his life.
berninbush
09-06-2006, 14:03
Every aspect of life involves some form of risk. Getting out of bed in the morning involves risk. (Staying in bed permanently would involve different risks, like muscle atrophy!) Getting in a car involves risk. Working in a city office involves risk. Hiking the Appalachian Trail involves risk.
It's a part of human nature that we tend to evaluate risks not based on the actual statistical probability of something going wrong, but on how familiar or unfamiliar the task is. For most of us, driving in traffic is an (unfortunately) familiar risk, while interacting with wild animals is decidedly unfamiliar. The more information you have on a subject, the better you are able to understand what is and is not actually likely to happen, and the steps you need to take to protect yourself. The less information you have, the more likely you are to waste time worrying about things that probably won't happen, and the more likely you are to ignore actual warning signs of danger because you don't recognize them.
Steve Irwin, for all his apparently flamboyant risks, knew his subject matter extremely well. He knew what was and was not safe to do with animals. He knew their habits, their needs, and the warning signs when they were irritated. He took a lot of safety precautions that never appeared on camera. Was his job risky? Absolutely. But no more so, I think, than the construction workers who dangle off girders hundreds of feet in the air, or the firefighters who go into burning buildings. Fathers of small children are not criticized for pursuing these professions.
The fact that Steve Irwin handled wild animals for 40+ years with a minimum of harm to himself or to them speaks volumes. The accident that ended his life was a wildly improbable fluke. Sting rays don't usually sting divers who merely swim alongside them several feet away, and if they do sting, they don't usually cause any kind of permanent harm (even though it's painful).
Of course Steve must have known that he might possibly get stung, but he was willing to risk a certain amount of pain. He couldn't have had any way of forseeing a fatal injury from that particular encounter. It wasn't hubris. He wasn't being careless. It was just an accident.
My heart goes out to his wife, daughter, and son.
Tim Treadwell .
man.....I going to ramble here
TT and Steve Irwin were two different animals. They may have been together in the same vein as far as the proxcimity that one studies their animal subjects however thats where the similarity ends.
TT was a reckless wanna be who blamed everything on society. Who moved in to Beartown and squatted.
.
TT was self serving animal rights activist who in his incomprehensionable way turned all and everything he did into a battle against society, especially the park service. Yes he had this uncanny ability to be with those bears and be tolerated. Once he stayed too long to watch the bears he studied go off on their migration for hibernation and other inland sources of food along the way, he became in over his head.
He failed to respect the animals and their place. Unfortunately his seat of the pants antics were not enough to sway the inland bears that moved to the area into his nice warm comfy feeling place. In short aside from what he knew and did, he became incapable of understanding that sooner or later no matter how nice you are to the animal (in this case THE animal) nature will always revert to its need this need was food.
Steve Irwin has been the world over on many different fronts. Of course he was a character, one needs to be if they are going to be in the public eye. More so with animals, they need the respect of others in the associated fields and the viewers. Irwin had this. One might say - well he went into the movie business, that was a marketing tool he used to get more notice. Also he would only do it if he was able to in some way to show that audience what he is about. He didnt want to be an action hero that the movie people initially wanted, he just wanted to be himself.
Irwin was much more in tune with his subject wildlife than TT. Treadwell did not grow up with bears as a second nature, his father did not impart great knowledge of the bears into him. Irwin on the other hand grew with all this. His 6th sense was the wildlife. He did not stay MONTHS on top of a subject animal, he showed, captured or released it and that was that.
Irwin was a trained professional who wanted to show the world the wonders of the creatures he showed. It just so happens Crocodiles will beef up someone who works with them as a "Crocodile Hunter", it sounds macho and selfserving but that is the animal that he started with and gained fame in.
Irwin showed us and our kids and the person just flipping channels the insides of these animals world. At times he was corny, sure. He was "crazy" to do some of the stuff however it was with knowledge...not "gee I wonder if I set my camp up on a croc nest if the croc will leave me alone and not eat me"
Treadwell by camping in that confluence of bear trails signed his death warrant through his ongoing ignorance.
Irwin by swimming with the stingray was doing what he was experienced in doing. Via a fraction of a seconds lost focus he unfortunately is dead and also becomes the next line item in the historical record keeping of this freakish happenstance of death to a stingray.
whew nuff said
Blah, blah, blah....
whew nuff said
Yup
yyyaaawwwwnnn! Is it over yet?:datz
And I guess all the members of the military that have families should get out because of the risk of dying serving/protecting your country? drivel.
Just Jeff
09-07-2006, 12:02
Terri turned down the state funeral offered by Australia's govt b/c it's not what Steve would have wanted.
And I guess all the members of the military that have families should get out because of the risk of dying serving/protecting your country? drivel.
If you can't see the difference between intentionally putting yourself in harm's way because of ego gratification versus a man or woman doing everything they can to limit their exposure in a potentially dangerous job that is actually necessary... well, you may just be stupid.
berninbush
09-07-2006, 17:02
If you can't see the difference between intentionally putting yourself in harm's way because of ego gratification versus a man or woman doing everything they can to limit their exposure in a potentially dangerous job that is actually necessary... well, you may just be stupid.
I suppose that depends on what you think Steve Irwin's "cause" was.
If you believe that he went out and irritated crocodiles, snakes, spiders, etc. for the sole purpose of making entertaining television, and making himself famous, then yes he was stupid... and cruel to the animals.
If you believe that his purpose was 1) to teach people about animals so that they would want to protect them and their habitats, 2) to take care of sick/ wounded/ endangered animals so that they and their species would have a chance to survive, and 3) to carry out necessary day-to-day tasks handling animals in the zoo, then he WAS "limiting his exposure in a potentially dangerous job that was actually necessary."
Steve didn't run out and wrestle crocodiles for the fun of it (though clearly he did have fun doing it). Each time he made physical contact with one, it had a purpose: bringing it to the zoo, moving it from one enclosure to another, radio tagging it so that scientists could understand crocs and their needs better, caring for injured crocs, etc. He filmed these encounters because they did make good TV, and made people interested in crocs and less eager to kill them. Ditto on the myriad of other dangerous creatures he handled. He didn't just jump into swamps and start grabbing animals, either; each encounter was carefully planned, particularly with the large crocs that required teams of people. He took lots of steps to protect himself, other people, and the animals while achieving his goals.
It's ironic that you consider him a protector of wildlife. He was devoutly anti-hunting, yet sport hunting has essentially saved African Wildlife in huge portions of Africa no thanks to the unenlightened attitudes of those like Irwin who would rather cling to a concept rather than pragmatically endorse what works for wildlife's benefit.
I'm still of the opinion he often taught innapropriate and arrogant interaction with wildlife.
neighbor dave
09-07-2006, 18:31
:-? law of averages:D
boarstone
09-07-2006, 18:34
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</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>I think Irwin's legacy is a mixed bag.
I always felt that he took liberties with animals that should have engendered more respect. Animals often seemed like a platform to excercise his overly large personality.
He did educate many numbers of people about many kinds of animals, but I always thought he was on a bit of an ego trip that might have given many people the wrong idea about how to relate to wildlife.
Can anyone say "Hubris?"
In the end, his life was sadly cut short because of the sensational and sometimes irresponsible way he interacted with wildlife... I'm not particularly suprised by his end.
As to all the accolades for his living life to the "fullest", well... I view it differently: When a man has a family that depends on him taking unecessary risks is selfish. I suspect his young boys would rather have a flesh and blood father than a legacy...
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I'll 2nd that........
Blue Jay
09-07-2006, 18:41
Irwin was much more in tune with his subject wildlife than TT. Treadwell did not grow up with bears as a second nature, his father did not impart great knowledge of the bears into him. Irwin on the other hand grew with all this. His 6th sense was the wildlife. He did not stay MONTHS on top of a subject animal, he showed, captured or released it and that was that.
First you make an obviously false statement and then 3 sentences later you directly contradict yourself. Treadwell was obsessed with one species. and spent not months but years total living with it. Irwin went with any one that happened to be the most dangerous he could find. I've seen video of Irwin getting dangeously close to hundred of different species. It is simply not possible to be that familiar with any one of them. If you are going to make stupid comparisons of people lives, at least be consistently stupid.
Blue Jay
09-07-2006, 18:44
Sorry, many typing errors on tha last one. I miss the edit button.