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The
Crocodile Hunter
Steve Irwin, We Salute You
By D.W.
It was bound to happen. Australian animal handler Steve Irwin, 44,
aka the Crocodile Hunter bought the farm in the line of duty on
Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.
Anyone who has ever watched the caffeinated antics of Steve Irwin
knew in the back of their minds that this day would eventually come.
That is that he would die while being filmed handling wild animals.
It was never a question of if but how he would die and by what
animal?
I personally thought a crocodile would get him in the end but it was
an unglamorous and little known stingray who stabbed him in the
heart with its steely barb. In true super hero fashion, the
Crocodile Hunter ferociously pulled the barb out of his chest before
he passed away.
Irwin died while he was filming a new television show called Ocean’s
Deadliest, which sadly lived up to its name. Steve’s long time
manager, John Stainton, eerily predicted his fate in the ocean.
According to Stainton:
“If ever he was going to go, we always said it was going to be the
ocean… On land he was agile, quick-thinking, quick-moving and the
ocean puts another element there that you have no control over.”
Source: MSN.com
Steve Irwin leaves behind an American wife, an eight year old
daughter and a three year old son. The son was brought into the
world in grand celebrity fashion. While being filmed, Irwin helped
deliver the baby in his usual Outback adventure clothes as if it was
just another day in jungle with wild animals.
Steve’s son also appeared in several of his television shows. One
episode I can recall was a camping trip where the campsite was
surrounded by venomous creatures crawling around not far from his
infant child.
The most infamous incident occurred in 2004 when Mr. Irwin hand fed
a crocodile with one hand while holding his one month old infant son
in the other. This incident which was considered by the public to be
blatant act of child endangerment could have seriously jeopardized
his career.
Overall, the Crocodile Hunter was more than just a guy on television
doing animal tricks; he is a cultural icon, admired by millions. In
the age of reality TV, Steve Irwin had the original and ultimate
reality show.
Television shows like Fear Factor, where participants do really
gross stuff for fame and money, don’t compare with the Crocodile
Hunter. Reality television is perfectly choreographed to preclude
any real danger to the participants.
Instead, the Crocodile Hunter really took reality TV to the edge as
we all know now.
Steve Irwin’s work also benefited the world by highlighting the
plight of endangered species and exploited animals. He showed us
that even dangerous animals were just a natural part of our planet
and that they were not inherently evil as some may believe.
Perhaps his greatest contribution was his fight against poaching and
the international trade of protected animals. He also founded the
nonprofit conservation group Wildlife Warriors Worldwide to combat
poaching.
In his native Australia, he is most famous for his conservation
efforts where he was director of the Queensland Zoo. In his home
country he is considered a national hero to be revered in a state
funeral by the Australian government in recognition of his extensive
conservation efforts.
Now I don’t feel sorry for the Crocodile Hunter although I do
empathize with his family as I would with any family which lost a
father and a husband. Steve Irwin was a real trooper and a
professional animal handler. He was confident in himself and it
showed; perhaps he was too confident for his own good. He knew what
the risks where and he inherently accepted the consequences of his
apparently crazy stunts.
I don’t know what happened behind the scenes of his shows but I am
certain that they were carefully planned and assessed with a full
complement of support personnel to manage the risk that are a part
of doing crazy stuff like grabbing snakes and picking up lethal
spiders.
At least I would hope that he managed his risks in a calculated
manner.
Admittedly, it does take a special breed of man to wrestle
alligators and to tease poisonous snakes and any dangerous animal,
which by all accounts is absolutely crazy. Perhaps Australian’s are
more prone to insanity than the rest of us, being descendents of
criminals and adventurers.
While I am not going to shed tears over the Crocodile Hunters fate,
I will honor his life’s work and admire his bravery. Steve Irwin,
this Bud’s for you!
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