I'm going to be honest- I thought he was a goddamned idiot when he fed those crocs while holding his infant son. Even so, he was a bit of an icon, wasn't he? I am sorry to see that he has passed. He had an enthusiasm for life and all living things, and I really am sad that he has died.:(

Tis true, I'm afraid.

He was stung in the chest by a Ray,while filming and suffered heart failure.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/...222051512.html


RIP Steve - I'll miss you. :(

CRIKEY!

I guess he wasn't kidding when he said not to try this at home.

I am in so much shock over this right now. Steve Irwin was a pop culture icon over the past decade, and it just doesn't seem at all real.

Back when I was in college, a group of us watched his show on the Discovery Channel, and he was always so out there, and did some of the wackiest stuff that we had ever seen.

In fact, one night, there was a Crocodile Hunter marathon, and we kind of made up a drinking game, where we would take a drink for every Crocodile Hunter-ism out there (a drink for Crikey, a drink for wrestling a croc, etc...). I know that this memory seems a bit odd to mention in this particular post, but at the same time, his show really did entertain me.

I feel so horrible for his wife and children right now.

I had forgotten about that.

He was so charismatic, and his enthusiasm was simply unmatched. I wonder what will become of his zoo.

Maybe his wife will continue to run it or something to that extent. Or, maybe it'll be renamed after Irwin.

This is weirding me out, because we were talking about him yesterday ... and I had not thought about him for years. So the minute he's brought back into my consciousness, he turns up dead ... and that kinda freaks me out .... apart from the fact that, well, he's dead.

But, yeah, what did we expect? Killed by a wild animal, d'uh. And far from it being too early .... I'm really quite surprised he lasted this long.

Some of the quotes and observations in this article really annoy me.

Yes, the man lived a dangerous life. But a victim of "voyeuristic wildflie TV"? This man was a victim of nothing. TV gave him an avenue to share his passion with millions upon millions of people. He would have been doing what he was doing with or without TV (though not filming a documentary) because it was what he loved.

There's this quote - "It's a shame that television audiences need that to be attracted to wildlife." Passion about a subject makes other people interested.

Some people annoy me.

I remember spending many a teenage day watching his shows and laughing at what an idiot he was for the risks he took. But hey, he loved those animals and who am I to deny his impact in the world of wildlife education. many of us may have been laughing at him, but I'm sure we picked up some knowlegde while we were at it, and that is what he wanted I'm sure.

All in all, I find it just a little bit ironic that after cheating death so many times with so many extremely dangerous creatures, it was a sting ray that finally took him out.

RIP Steve. My thoughts go out to his family as they attempt to continue his work.

I think Steve Irwin rocked. He did loads for animal conservation. I'll miss him. My thoughts to his wife and kids.

(BTW, the article Prudence posted said that Terri had been notified.)