Remembering the Crocodile Hunter- Steve Irwin

September 19, 2008

Two years ago this month, Steve Irwin, Animal Planet's "Crocodile Hunter," died from an improbable and extremely rare fatal encounter with a stingray. Steve is in the news again this week, as an unusual turtle he and his father Bob discovered faces extinction. You can read the entire story here.

I never met Steve through Discovery or Animal Planet, but rather through a Warner Brothers talk show where he appeared as a guest back in the 90's. He was such a genuine positive force of energy. Kind to everyone and with a great, warm sense of humor. I'll never forget his hands and arms- strong and confidant, but full of cuts and battle scars from his very real adventures in the wild, both on and off camera.

It was even during one such family gathering that he discovered Elseya irwini, which he jokingly called a "bum-breathing turtle," since this species can take in air through its rear end or, more technically, its cloaca.

(Credit: James Cook University)

Television can play odd tricks on us, I think. While it allows us to witness people and events that we wouldn't otherwise experience, it can fool us into thinking dangers and emotions aren't real. There's also so much pseudo reality on TV that it's hard to tell what's real and what's fake.

Irwin lived much of his adult life in front of a camera, so even very intimate, real moments like the below were captured.

His concern for all of the animals he worked with was genuine. Few people realize how hard he worked, when the cameras weren't rolling, for charitable causes, conservation issues, the Australia Zoo and more. He always dedicated himself to tasks at hand with incredible, heartfelt passion, as though each day would be his last. He crammed a lifetime of living into his far-too-short time here.

It would be a fitting tribute and appropriate legacy if his namesake turtle could be brought back from the brink of extinction. 

Comments

[Cheeseman]

This is really sad....

[Jen Viegas]

Thanks for checking in, Cheeseman. I still miss Steve Irwin. Like so many other greats who died too soon, you wonder what else he could have accomplished. But he leaves behind an important legacy, particularly over at the Australia Zoo and with the conservation groups he supported.