sgallan Posted September 4, 2006 Report Posted September 4, 2006 From the AP....CAIRNS, Australia - Steve Irwin, the hugely popular Australian television personality and conservationist known as the "Crocodile Hunter," was killed Monday by a stingray while filming off the Great Barrier Reef. He was 44. I am saddened but not shocked. You knew the odds would catch up to him at some point. Unlike others who want to survive this thing called life..... Irwin died while truly living life to it's fullest. I can't think of a better way to go.
boyando Posted September 4, 2006 Report Posted September 4, 2006 As an entertainer, his life had great value. His real strength might have been his desire to learn and his ability to teach. I didn't watch his show often . But his love for life was contagious. :)
Marsha Posted September 4, 2006 Report Posted September 4, 2006 It is such a tragedy. If only one person learns from this........I NEVER knew that sting rays were so deadly. We used to swim in Daytona Beach not giving it a second thought! Marsha
Fiannan Posted September 4, 2006 Report Posted September 4, 2006 I think all rays have poison stingers. When I was fishing for parahna in Venezuela I hooked one and one of the locals was very carefull to extract the hook and throw it back in the river.
babygirl Posted September 4, 2006 Report Posted September 4, 2006 i heard it was rare that they sting, and it usually isnt so deadly just hurts like nothin else...it was a friend of his i guess the news was interviewing and he said that it is unusuall that it would sting someone, usually in cases like this it was because the sting ray had just been chased by a shark or something else that likes to eat it, and then cant really tell the diff between you and a shark so it attacks not wanting to be chased...thats what he said, i thought that was interesting
john doe Posted September 5, 2006 Report Posted September 5, 2006 My understanding is that it was a fluke deal. The version I read said the stinger just happened to strike him between two ribs and either put a hole in his heart or the poison went to it pretty quickly. Apparently he was dead by the time the boat reached shore.
shanstress70 Posted September 5, 2006 Report Posted September 5, 2006 Is it sad? Uh, I guess. But is it a surprise? Heck no. This guy put his life in danger all the time. What makes me indifferent to him is the episode with his baby a few years back, dangling it in front of a crocodile. Quite an idiot if you ask me, and made me lose all respect for him.
sgallan Posted September 5, 2006 Author Report Posted September 5, 2006 My my Shantress - Must be nice living in a rock proof glass house. How do you ever handle the rest of us what with your obvious perfection?
Outshined Posted September 5, 2006 Report Posted September 5, 2006 I think it's a tragedy, but he died doing what he loved. He was one of the great conservationists of our time. (And I always thought the baby thing was blown way out of proportion.)
Lindy Posted September 5, 2006 Report Posted September 5, 2006 I know that sometimes parents do things that others think are wrong...I never saw the episode myself...but I can't see the man dangeling his child over a croc as M. Jackson dangeled his baby over a balcony.. S. Irwin took chances with his own life... but I'm sure that he never would have intentonally put his child in danger. The man loved his family as much (I mean more) as he loved his animal world. I mourn with the rest of those who have enjoyed learning about animals thru his eyes.
shanstress70 Posted September 5, 2006 Report Posted September 5, 2006 My my Shantress -Must be nice living in a rock proof glass house. How do you ever handle the rest of us what with your obvious perfection?It IS tough, let me tell you! Truthfully, I know I'm far from perfect. However, I will never do anything so unnecessarily stupid like that to put my child in danger. And can anyone really say that wasn't stupid? Really?Swim with crocodiles and stingrays and sharks all you want, but leave your innocent child out of it until he can make up your mind about whether or not to join you.
pushka Posted September 5, 2006 Report Posted September 5, 2006 Yet again I agree with Shanstress here...Steve Irwin, as far as I could tell from watching his programmes, and I believe from what one person who was interviewed said, antagonised the animals he was filmed with...it is no surprise to me that one turned on him, whether it was by accident or whether it attacked him because he was distressing him. No I don't think I'm perfect either, before you ask :)
sgallan Posted September 5, 2006 Author Report Posted September 5, 2006 I suspect that there would be naysayers against pretty much anybody, no matter what they did. Especially in the US. It is sort of a national tradition to find the bad in somebody no matter how good they are entotal.....
Ray Posted September 5, 2006 Report Posted September 5, 2006 I think all rays have poison stingers.Nope. You're wrong. This one, right here, doesn't have.And yes it is sad that Steve Irwin was killed. I'm just trying to find humor where I can.It's a jungle out there, but we can't avoid living just because we will die someday too.Here's to a man who lived life how he wanted and who got want he wanted from life.
StrawberryFields Posted September 5, 2006 Report Posted September 5, 2006 I was saddened to hear about this. Those who will hurt the most from this is loves who loved him and were left behind. When it is my time to leave this earth I can't think of a better way to go then to be doing something I love, they way he died.
Dr T Posted September 6, 2006 Report Posted September 6, 2006 That was funny Ray (without poisonous stingers) Dr. T
shanstress70 Posted September 6, 2006 Report Posted September 6, 2006 I suspect that there would be naysayers against pretty much anybody, no matter what they did. Especially in the US. It is sort of a national tradition to find the bad in somebody no matter how good they are entotal.....DUDE- he dangled his baby in front of a crocodile. Please don't turn this into an anti-USA thing. Heck, Pushka's not a 'bad American' and she agrees with me.We have to agree to disagree here. I'm glad there are some who thought the man was an intelligent being. I did not after seeing him do this.
Outshined Posted September 6, 2006 Report Posted September 6, 2006 DUDE- he dangled his baby in front of a crocodile. Now, he didn't really "dangle the baby in front of a crocodile"...he had the baby in one arm while he fed the animal with the other. Bear in mind that he dealt with them every day from the time he himself was a small child, and it was what he knew. The public blew that incident way out of proportion.From this angle he looks closer than he is. Seen from the other angle it's clear the kid was never within 8 or 10 feet of the croc.
shanstress70 Posted September 6, 2006 Report Posted September 6, 2006 From my own perspective of the video, it seems the baby was much closer to the crocodile than 8 feet. Also, did you watch the whole thing? Did you see where he put the baby's feet on the ground and walked him toward the water hole right in front of the croc? The croc doesn't see a baby. It sees that Steve is holding a piece of food, because this is how he typically fed them. I'll post the video, but I'm having a hard time finding it.
Outshined Posted September 6, 2006 Report Posted September 6, 2006 Yes, I've seen the video, but I believe he knew what he was doing. He knew his limits, and what the animals were capable of.I personally wouldn't take a baby (or myself for that matter)into a crocodile pen, but I lack his experience. I doubt there is a person on the planet who has more knowledge of crocodiles than Steve Irwin did. For over thirty years he handled them every day of his life. I don't think that one incident made him a bad father or a bad person. It was what he was raised with, and what he knew.
shanstress70 Posted September 6, 2006 Report Posted September 6, 2006 Yes, I've seen the video, but I beleieve he knew what he was doing. He knew his limits, and what the animals were capable of.I personally wouldn't take a baby (or myself for that matter)into a crocodile pen, but I lack his experience. I doubt there is a person on the planet who has more knowledge of crocodiles than Steve Irwin did. For over thirty years he handled them every day of his life. I don't think that one incident made him a bad father or a bad person. It was what he was raised with, and what he knew.Could you give me one reason why he would do that, other than to draw attention to himself? What was the benefit of that action - knowledgeable or not? Why did a baby need to be in that pen?
StrawberryFields Posted September 6, 2006 Report Posted September 6, 2006 I also think it was a poor move on Steves part. If he was the father of MY baby I would tell him over my dead body will you do that. It wouldn't be that I thought he was a bad father, I would think that it wouldn't be very accepted by the public and that it was an unnecessary risk.
Outshined Posted September 6, 2006 Report Posted September 6, 2006 Could you give me one reason why he would do that, other than to draw attention to himself? What was the benefit of that action - knowledgeable or not? Why did a baby need to be in that pen? There was no other reason; he was a showman, which drew attention to wildlife conservation. As I said I wouldn't do it, but there is no one more qualified to do anything in a crocodile enclosure than he was. He regretted it, as he said, but no harm came to anyone because of it. It's sad to me that after his lifetime of work preserving wildlife some choose to dwell on that one incident to define him at his death.
shanstress70 Posted September 6, 2006 Report Posted September 6, 2006 There was no other reason; he was a showman, which drew attention to wildlife conservation. As I said I wouldn't do it, but there is no one more qualified to do anything in a crocodile enclosure than he was. He regretted it, as he said, but no harm came to anyone because of it. It's sad to me that after his lifetime of work preserving wildlife some choose to dwell on that one incident to define him at his death.Well, as much as I love wildlife (and believe me, I do), I love babies much more. I'm not saying he didn't do any good in his life, but this baby incident did not help his cause for wildlife conservation. Nothing good came of it.
sgallan Posted September 6, 2006 Author Report Posted September 6, 2006 DUDE- he dangled his baby in front of a crocodile. Please don't turn this into an anti-USA thing. Heck, Pushka's not a 'bad American' and she agrees with me.We have to agree to disagree here. I'm glad there are some who thought the man was an intelligent being. I did not after seeing him do this.Like I said...... it is an American tradition to slam somebody for doing one stupid thing no matter how much good they otherwise did. But you being the absolutely perfect parent/adult, who never did anything dumb with regards to kids, would not be able to comprehend this....
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