Post by TF Admin on Sept 4, 2006 22:12:48 GMT -6
Rare photo of Steve Irwin and daughter, Bindi
Full Story from news.com Australia:
tinyurl.com/zp2ex
Today is a sad day. I have watched Crocodile Hunter since they began airing it on Animal Planet. Steve Irwin is one of my personal hero's. He left his mark on the world with animal conservation. No one really cared about the crocodile's in Australia until Steve came along.
He died doing what he loved to do, even though it was a freak accident, at least it was by a creature that meant no harm, and not a grusome end to his life. Stingray's run away from people and predator's by nature. The defense mechanism is to throw that sharp barb upward, and it just hit Steve in the wrong place, his heart. He pulled the barb out, which I believe is what actually killed him. Those barbs are like fishhooks, and they do much more damage coming out than going in. The poison in those barbs is protein based and can be diluted by soaking the affected area with very warm water for 45 minutes to an hour. It takes days for the poison to kill if left untreated.
It was a freak accident, but the legacy he leaves behind will be built upon and even in his death, he still teaches people about animals and their behaviors. That's the kind of man he was.
Many have only focused on some of his antics like when he held his baby and fed a croc. What they don't understand is that Steve had knowledge on his side. He knew that croc was only interested in one thing...the chicken he held in his hand...not him...not the baby. He had been working with that croc for years. Was it too risky? I don't think in his mind it was too risky. That croc wanted that chicken as he had basically been trained to do, Steve and the baby were a non-issue to it at that time. And those that focus on that incident really do not "get" what he was all about anyway.
God bless him, his family, and all the people that work at the Australian Zoo. He is going to be missed big time.
TF
