Im upset,another good guy, fighting the good fight for animal welfare ,dies, and we need more like him,

He understood animals behaviour well but I could never watch him just in case.  It is absolutely ironic that a normally non-agressive animal was his killer.  They have rays swimming around in a pool in Seaworld that one can dangle hands in the water to touch - OK much smaller creatures.   News is now someone is talking about showing the film of it happening. I certainly don't want to watch that.

Great guy, will be sorely missed, his documentaries made for great family viewing, one of the only programmes my son insisted on watching, he thrilled him to bits, a great compaigner for animal rights and the fair treatment of crocs especially, feel so sad for Teri and the kids, wot a way to go, but at least he died doing wot he loved best. There will never be another like him. RIP Steve. God Bless.

Got this through from an Aussie mate :-

THE CROCODILES ARE CRYING

Endless visions fill my head - this man - as large as life
And instantly my heart mourns for his angels and his wife
Because the way I see Steve Irwin - just put everything aside
It comes back to his family - it comes back to his pride

His animals inclusive - Crikey - light the place with love!
Shine his star with everything he fought to rise above
The crazy-man of Khaki from the day he left the pouch
Living out his dream and in that classic 'Stevo' crouch

Exploding forth with character and redefining cheek
It's one thing to be honoured as a champion unique
It's one thing to have microphones and spotlight cameras shoved
It's another to be taken in and genuinely loved

But that was where he had it right - I guess he always knew
From his fathers' modest reptile park and then Australia Zoo
We cringed at times and shook our heads - but true to natures call
There was something very Irwin in the make up of us all

Yes the more I care to think of it - the more he had it right
If you're going to make a difference - make it big and make it bright!
Yes - he was a lunatic! Yes - he went head first!
But he made the world feel happy with his energetic burst

A world so large and loyal that it's hard to comprehend
I doubt we truly count the warmth until life meets an end
To count it now I say a prayer with words of inspiration
May the spotlight shine forever on his dream for conservation

...My daughter broke the news to me - my six year old in tears
It was like she'd just turned old enough to show her honest fears
I tried to make some sense of it but whilst her Dad was trying
His little girl explained it best...she said "The crocodiles are crying"

Their best mate's up in heaven now - the crocs up there are smiling!
And as sure as flowers, poems and cards and memories are piling
As sure as we'll continue with the trademarks of his spiel
Of all the tributes worthy - he was rough...but he was real

As sure as 'Crikey!' fills the sky
I think we'll miss ya Steve...goodbye

RUPERT McCALL 2006

That's lovely Margot (bubbling now).

Teri

Steve was a genuine animal lover and I think his passion sometimes came over as abit OTT sometimes but that was just HIM! I never really enjoyed his programmes except for the episode I watched one day while I was stuck in doing the ironing. It was the one where he lost his little dog which he'd had for years and he was absolutely heartbroken. I got the impression he was a totally genuine person and he will be sadly missed. It seems so unfair to lose someone like him :(

I am still in shock - he was so full of life, and although he could be annoying, his enthusiasm was definately infectious.  My boys loved watching him, and he has taught a generation of children so many things.

I think that far from being selfish and irresponsible, Steve was a great example to his children, and I am sure they will be very proud of all he achieved.

>far from being selfish and irresponsible

Michael Jackson dangled his baby over a balcony; Steve Irwin dangled his baby by a crocodile. He said, after the outcry, that the only thing he'd do differently was make sure there weren't cameras around. :rolleyes: That's responsible?

Steve's point was that the children are going to live in a world inhabited by these creatures anyway, better to grow up understanding them.  He was introduced to crocodiles at a very young age by his father too.  The crocodile does look very focused on the meat, perhaps having been fed in this way hundreds of times so there would have been some calculation to the risk much as we put babies in cars and drive them about knowing there is some element of risk to it just one we are more familiar with.  Not sure what Michael Jackson's point was :)

A month-old baby can't even smile - it's too young to be able to focus its eyes at more than a couple of feet. How the dickens is it going to be able to understand crocodiles? :rolleyes:

I did cringe to see the teeny thing flopping around in his arms whilst he was dangling a chicken the other side... but I found the dangling legs of the MJ baby with the blanket over his head extremely disturbing!!

You're right, he should have waited another couple of months :) ;)

About 6 months would have been reasonable, before the child enters the eight-month 'fear period'. At 6 months it'd at least be able to see the darned thing!

As for growing up in a world with crocs so should get used to them early - it's going to grow up in a world with cars too. It's just as sensible to accustom our babies to those by walking over the motorway with them in our arms.

and of course if the croc is used to being hand fed pieces of dangling meat I would have been concerned that it might view the baby as the next morsel?

Absolutely. It was a highly irresponsible and dangerous thing to do.

Having watched the clip, I would say he was doing some pretty deliberate stuff regarding how he held the bady, position of his body etc.  I'm sure he understood what might happen and how likely, much as people who choose to cycle on our busy roads in this country with babies strapped to the back of their bikes.  That's their lifestyle and they want their children to grow up doing it.

If you or I had done that with our baby it'd have been taken into care before the day was out - and rightly so.

I expect they would :) Clearly, they don't in Australia.

Well one thing's for sure - he won't be doing it again.
R.I.P. Steve.

Probably only because of his father's celebrity status. The Australian Family authorities called it child abuse. If Mr Ordinary-Bloke had done it he'd have been in deep trouble.

He's dead probably not a good time to criticise him.  He had been showing the croc for a while before he brought the baby out so the Croc was tired and they are not as quick on land as in the water in truth it was a silly thing to do but I have seen idiots allow there children to stroke strange dogs tied outside shops without talking to the owner to check how friendly the dog is we can all be a little silly at times can't we.

He actually filmed his own death as well.
He tuyrned the camera he was holding on himself and recorded himself taking the Barb out.
Now his family are going to respect his wishes and show his final moments.
I dont know whether thats good or bad.
If he actually told them to show it, it sounds as if he knew he was dying.
Make of it what you will, but I will watch it.
Lea.

I had to actually read that twice - are they really going to show his last moments?!

So I heard on the local radio today!!!
I stopped working when i heard it. couldnt believe my ears!!!
lea :)

That is a bit too much IMHO.

He is dead and thats how it should be left. Not then shown on the world stage even if it was his last wish, think of his children :(

Lucy
xx

It was filmed, but by the cameraman that was with him, according to the report I read on The Australian's web site.  I doubt he would have had any more conciousness than to just pull the barb out before he passed away as it had pierced his heart.  The Australian seems to have been following this pretty closely but I have not seen them report that his wife had decided to allow it to be shown.  I would have thought the regulatory bodies would have something to say about it being shown on TV too.  I think this may end up along the lines of Princess Diana Legends :)

:( :( The cult of celebrity again :(

Daisy

Just in case any of you get pierced in the heart ( or anywhere else) by a sting ray barb ( or such like...DO NOT PULL IT OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If the object is left in place it can stem the bleeding and save the life. Same goes for knives etc. I work in a heart surgery unit and have seen knives in hearts be fine, provided no well meaning first aider pulls it out. Perhaps if he had left it there he could have lived :(

Yes, I have heard that advise before and perhaps Steve had too, but it's having the presence of mind isn't it or even being aware it had pierced the heart :( 

The barbs inject poison and the pain is excrutiating.  When daughter went to Australia I read up on Australian things (just to torture myself with more worry).  When stung by a stingray you are supposed to put the affected area (usually it's the ankle which is why it isn't usually fatal) in hot water rather than cold in order to encourage the blood to flow out of the wound taking poison with it.  I am curious to know what happened because I thought the barb remained attached to the tail.  I must have that wrong then do I?

I did wonder that too, is it a bit like a bee sting, they can only get you once?

So Sad, I liked the guy :(  RIP :(

If the barb punctured deep enough the spine would have pulled out of the ray causing it to get embedded which what I gather must have happened :(

I wouldnt have thought he survived long enough to be able to pull the barb out?? I dont understand either how it would have detached from the ray

jeangenie i think you've made your point over and over that you didnt like steve irwin,but millions did!He did so much good and some people are just concentrating on the small handful of controversial stuff he did. Speaking ill of the dead is in really bad taste! :(

We're all entitled to our opinions, Ktee, whether or not you think they're in good taste. ;) Changing one's opinion when someone dies is the worst kind of hypocrisy IMO. :)

It may be the worst kind of hypocrisy, but no point keep banging on about the 'wrongs' that happened is there?  I'm sure all the folk on here can admit to mistakes they have made as parents because no one is perfect.  Let him rest in peace and think of those poor children, one of the worst blows to a child in this world is having to grow up without a parent, especially one that so obviously loved them. :(

Well said, Ktee and MollMoo.

Also surely everyone is entitled to make mistakes in life, nobody is perfect, and it seems to me Steve Irwin had far, far more GOOD points than bad and did a lot of good work, some of it on the quiet. Michael Jackson he is NOT -what good has HE ever done?

Sure, everyone's allowed to make mistakes, and they'd be odd if they didn't. But they need to be recognised as mistakes and learned from, not to try to justify them. You can do what you like with your own life, but you're not entitled to risk anyone else's. And nobody deserves to be portrayed as a saint and hero just because they've died - and if the publicity's to be believed, Steve Irwin would himself hate it. ;)

I am impressed with Widipedia.  They've updated their bit on stingrays to include Steve Irwin already.  Seems that stingrays do leave parts of the barb in their victim.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stingray

Apparently the film will not be shown, according to his manager, John Stainton in an interview with CNN television network..

He said that the tape was currently in police custody and should be destroyed. The tape apparently shows Mr Irwin pulling the barb left by a stingray's tail from his chest moments before his death.

John Stainton said "It should be destroyed, when that tape is finally released it will never see the light of day, ever. I actually saw it and I don't want to see it again."

If his family wish it, there will be a state funeral - but it is up to his wife and family.

Margot

I agree. I don't think it should be shown. They said he filmed himself removing the barb, but even if he did I very much doubt he knew he was about to die...

Very sad, very shocking, but when your times up its up!!

I think he has worked wonders in rekindlin peoples interest in wildlife, particularly for children.  I found his zest for all animals gripping and infectious and he will be a great loss to the world of nature.  I think what many of us consider to be a risk, Steve didn't, purely because he had grown up with these creatures and it is ironic that he died as he did, although probably the most fitting end for him.

My 30 year old brother in law died while sitting on the sofa when his only daughter was six.  I know which way I would prefer my father to have died.

Just watched a program about him and the baby and croc incident was explained.  The crocs behave in a set pattern as this feeding demonstration is done all the time.  Also there were eleven people a few feet away ready to act at the slightest hint of anything going wrong.  The cameras that the media picked up on only showed one angle and the aides were not shown.  Yet another case of people judging one side of a story without hearing the whole thing and the media and do-gooders getting involved without knowing all the facts.

Debs

Yes just watched that too. it made me feel so sad, he was a real character and it is such a sad loss.He had such an honesty about him, it was refreshing.

Oh what channel was that on? I would have liked to see that. :( Was it a sky one?

Think it was 535 on Sky

Just watched a program about him and the baby and croc incident was explained.  The crocs behave in a set pattern as this feeding demonstration is done all the time.  Also there were eleven people a few feet away ready to act at the slightest hint of anything going wrong.  The cameras that the media picked up on only showed one angle and the aides were not shown.  Yet another case of people judging one side of a story without hearing the whole thing and the media and do-gooders getting involved without knowing all the facts.

Debs

Hi Debs

To you it has been explained and to us now but was it to the millions of people it was broadcast to No :rolleyes: There are so many gullible people out there , imagine the audience and the volume of people :rolleyes:

Also just a point wild animals can never be trusted even in 'human controlled' environments :)

Just as Steve has tragically found out :(

Lucy
xx

>wild animals can never be trusted even in 'human controlled' environments

Absolutely. John Aspinall discovered that, and so has Steve Irwin. And even in controlled environments you can never guarantee that you won't trip, for example. For yourself, it doesn't matter because it's your conscious decision. For someone who doesn't yet have a consciousness ...

But they died doing what they most wanted to, so I can't feel sad for them. I feel sadness for their families though, whose lives will never be the same again.

So true JG :)

I had forgot about JA :)

Sad is not a word I feel for either of them Yes right at this moment Steve wife must be devastated :(

I would feel proud if I had been married, worked or even known him :)

Its a tragic thing to lose another person who truly wanted to help, but then he died doing what he loved best, it was his time and he went happy, i do feel for his family. You could so easily see from watching that he absolutely loved what he was doing and always put his full effort into it, he was so full of energy and passion for all the animals he filmed. No one will ever fill this great hole that has been left, he will be sadly missed. R.I.P x
Fiona