Crikey! Steve Irwin is dead!

[Sanis Prent]

Done in by a stingray (http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060904/wl_asia_afp/australiapeopleirwinwildlife_060904045124)

Well at least it wasn't a croc.

:(

Hehe, "mortal" tag

[Lilaena De'Ville]

OMG. I can't believe it. :cry

[Rod Stafford]

That is really striking. He was one of those larger-than-life characters who seemed to be untouchable; the kind of guy you'd never expect something bad to happen too and despite his respect for wildlife, even he can fall victim to it. Very sad to see him go in such a way.

[Liam Jinn]

Nooooo! I'm gonna miss him :(

[Estelle Russard]

wow, thats a shame :(

[Jedi Master Carr]

Wow this is shocking
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060904/ap_on_en_tv/obit_irwin

[Lilaena De'Ville]

http://sw-fans.net/vb3root/forum/showthread.php?t=15329 You were beaten to the punch, Carr.

[Jedi Master Carr]

LOL and It just it hit the ap wires, I guess it shows I am not the only one up late heh.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Merged threads. :)

[Jedi Master Carr]

It is very shocking. Would never though a stingray could be so dangerous.

[Jaime Tomahawk]

You play with Australian wildlife with the utmost disregard to personal safety, it WILL kill you and thence Darwin got another one. Wether it's a 'big' name or another German tourist, they die due to their own recklessness.

No one here really thought that highly of him. But then again, most of us have the commonsense not to pick up taipans.


It is very shocking. Would never though a stingray could be so dangerous.

People being stuck by sting rays arent uncommon. It's a well known fact they are dangerous....?

[Sanis Prent]

Oh god, these things always happen in threes don't they? :cry


Actor/Musician Will Smith, Dead At 37
Monday, September 3rd, 2006 Posted: 11:42 PM EST

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (AP) -- Will Smith, the famous actor and musican, has died late Sunday night in his home town of Philadelphia.

Smith, 37, was killed in a car accident late in the evening. Smith was stuck by a taxi cab while speaking with his wife Jada Pinkett Smith, the cab was speeding and came onto the sidewalk striking Smith and throwing im face first against the windshield. Smith was killed instantly.

One eyewitness who will remain nameless stated "The last thing he saw was the dice on the mirror".

"This is a long sad day for us." Wayne Phillips Philadelphia cheif of police said.

Will Smith was the second of four children of Caroline and Willard Smith Sr. He grew up in middle class West Philadelphia and got the nickname 'Prince' because of the way he could charm his way out of trouble. Pursuing music, he met Jeff Townes at a party and they soon began performing together as DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince. After his music sales stated to slide Will began an acting career on the hit TV Show "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Will basically played himself; a street-smart West Philly kid transplanted to Beverly Hills. The series lasted 6 years. During that time, he ventured into movies where the critics took note of him. In 1996 he had a huge hit with the Blockbuster Independence Day where he played the alien-battling Marine Corps Captain Steven Hiller.

The accident was a hit and run and the perpetrator is still at large. According to eyewitnesses the license plate on the vehicle said "FRESH".

Phillips said "It's a really sad moment for us."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

You play with Australian wildlife with the utmost disregard to personal safety, it WILL kill you and thence Darwin got another one. Wether it's a 'big' name or another German tourist, they die due to their own recklessness.

No one here really thought that highly of him. But then again, most of us have the commonsense not to pick up taipans.



People being stuck by sting rays arent uncommon. It's a well known fact they are dangerous....?


Regardless of the man's methods, he did do alot for animal conservation and wildlife in general by really reviving people's interest in nature. And even if you don't think highly of him, at least be aware of the pain his wife and children are feeling.

[Rod Stafford]

Charley, do you have a link to that article? I'm finding all this bad news hard to believe and digest.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Charley, do you have a link to that article? I'm finding all this bad news hard to believe and digest.

Charley thinks joking about death is funny.

[Rod Stafford]

Well, it's not.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

I agree with you.

[Sanis Prent]

Sorry for trying to add catharsis into the mix, you stern-faced prudes. If you'd actually read the thing, it would be obvious in the first place.

[Jaime Tomahawk]

Regardless of the man's methods, he did do alot for animal conservation and wildlife in general by really reviving people's interest in nature. And even if you don't think highly of him, at least be aware of the pain his wife and children are feeling.

Conservationists here would disagree - the consensus is that he did not much at all that was of real benefit. What we have noticed is more tourists getting hurt or killed trying to be Steve.

That last bit wasnt a joke either, nor was the previous comment about German tourists as flippant as it seemed. We HAVE had german tourists thinking the Outback is just a TV episode and got themselves killed.

It's easy to be blaise about the place I live, but I do have Syndey Funnel Web spiders in my backyard - there may be lots of jokes about how God filled Australia to the brim with stupidly over the top deadly creatures but just stop and thinking about it, I regularly come across the second and third most dangerous snakes and the Funnel web isnt exactly nice. You have to have a degree of caution and Irwin just plain didnt respect these creatures enough.

[Zereth Lancer]

Awww.... I am saddened by his passing...

[Sanis Prent]

Conservationists here would disagree - the consensus is that he did not much at all that was of real benefit. What we have noticed is more tourists getting hurt or killed trying to be Steve.

That last bit wasnt a joke either, nor was the previous comment about German tourists as flippant as it seemed. We HAVE had german tourists thinking the Outback is just a TV episode and got themselves killed.

It's easy to be blaise about the place I live, but I do have Syndey Funnel Web spiders in my backyard - there may be lots of jokes about how God filled Australia to the brim with stupidly over the top deadly creatures but just stop and thinking about it, I regularly come across the second and third most dangerous snakes and the Funnel web isnt exactly nice. You have to have a degree of caution and Irwin just plain didnt respect these creatures enough.

I don't know. The best comparison I can think of would be to compare him to trick shooters like Bob Moundon and Jerry Miculek, who both do some extremely crazy things with guns, but yet are extremely well vetted in what they do. If one of them dies in a firearm-related incident, did they bring it upon themselves? I have a hard time saying that they would. Same in rally. There's insane risks there that people willingly shoulder too.

[Yog]

It's easy to be blaise about the place I live, but I do have Syndey Funnel Web spiders in my backyard

Remind me to put my shoes in a plastic bag and shake them before I put them on, when I visit Australia >_<


You play with Australian wildlife with the utmost disregard to personal safety, it WILL kill you and thence Darwin got another one.

I guess its not that surprising when you think about how he handled some of these creatures. I remember one incident in particular, where he by dumb luck somehow did not lose his leg to a crocodile. If he did not get killed, he could very well have ended up in a wheelchair.

I did think his antics were entertaining though, and this is very sad for his family and his 2 year old son in particular, who will only know his father through stories and these TV shows.

[TheHolo.Net]

He had a ton of charisma and my family and myself will miss being able to see him in new things on TV. :cry

[Dasquian Belargic]

You have to have a degree of caution and Irwin just plain didnt respect these creatures enough.

From what I have seen of him, I never got the impression that he didn't respect the animals he was working with.

Also, I don't think it's fair to blame him for tourists doing stupid things like sticking their heads in crocodiles mouths (or whatever they actually did). I'm sure he didn't encourage people to do that kind of thing, and if they decided it was a good idea it was of their own accord, and their own fault for being so stupid as to attempt something that only a professional should even consider.

[Jaime Tomahawk]

From what I have seen of him, I never got the impression that he didn't respect the animals he was working with.

That is because you dont see or hear the real professionals. You dont get to hear the other side of the story anywhere else. And I dont think it will be highlighted ever outside of Australia, because who's going to listen now? For instance, the sting ray is not a creature that attacks, it prefers to run if disturbed. To be killed by one, your not leaving it alone by any stretch of the imagination.

Respect is not just about leaving them unharmed - its about leaving them alone and staying away. Something I think his death should in fact emphasise, because the creatures he made playthings kill regularly.


Also, I don't think it's fair to blame him for tourists doing stupid things like sticking their heads in crocodiles mouths (or whatever they actually did). I'm sure he didn't encourage people to do that kind of thing, and if they decided it was a good idea it was of their own accord, and their own fault for being so stupid as to attempt something that only a professional should even consider.

Simply put, people who watch his shows and see what he does think that they can as well. They swim in waterholes clearly signmarked to stay out of and when they are told to leave they say "Why? Steve does it, why cant we?". His recklessness was a example others followed and yes, others got killed.

He had some respect in Australia, but he certainly was not idolised as he is around the world. Which as a collective, Australians never can understand why.

Altho I will raise a glass of New to Steve Irwin for getting me out of trouble in Pensylvania. Everyone thinks Australians are mad as a result and the situation in that bar could have been worse if the bar didnt hear the accent and think "This guy comes for the same place as Irwin. We are NOT messing with him!"

[Kelly Perris]

I see your point, and raise you another...

The thing is people do stupid things because what is called common sense clearly isn't so common. They're like toddlers...You do something retarded, they don't know it's wrong! They learn from example. It's a whole load of brainwasing, I tell you. You're wondering if you're equipped for when the zombies attack?

Ha.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

You got so much amusement out of the reactions to your accent here :p

My mother got such a kick out of Steve; I even bought her a Steve Irwin action figure and to the best of my knowledge she has 'him' in a longeberger basket that's hanging on her kitchen wall right now (you will be able to see it if'n you visit next summer ;) ).

True, us Americans don't know what went on behind the scenes, but it was easy to see - for me at least - the genuine enthusiasm that was in his eyes when out with nature.

To learn that he has died is a very sad thing, and I can only feel terribly for his family. When you bring it down to brass tacks, I don't care what kind of TV personality he had; my sympathies go out to his surviving family and the pain that they are going through right now.

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

Marcus, please address my post if you will :)

[Jaime Tomahawk]

I don't know. The best comparison I can think of would be to compare him to trick shooters like Bob Moundon and Jerry Miculek, who both do some extremely crazy things with guns, but yet are extremely well vetted in what they do. If one of them dies in a firearm-related incident, did they bring it upon themselves? I have a hard time saying that they would. Same in rally. There's insane risks there that people willingly shoulder too.

Except that your trick shooters train and train and train to minimise chances of mistakes, while also rally drivers encase themselves in meters of steel tubing, strapped into carbon fibre seats with harnesses designed to specifically deal with huge crash loads to reduce the risks.

I would also say as a rally driver if I died due my sport... well yes, I diid bring it on myself. I'm a fool if I say anything else. I know the risks, I minimise as much as possible so that I could roll off a cliff and still walk away.

Everyone who does something dangerous brings it on themselves - and God knows lately I am firmly in the ranks of doing dangerous things - but where risk taking becomes foolishness if you dont take the precautions, dont train and rush on in. Irwin did the kind of stunts that professional animal handler would not contemplate for reasons of excessive risk that went into foolishness.

My latest thing is mountaineering after dark, which is frankly not rational in the slightest. It is foolish. And feel free to call an spade a spade on it too - it's known to kill people. But why i do it is for another time and a much longer post. But it is for idiots only, lets be clear about that :)


You got so much amusement out of the reactions to your accent here

To begin with. But I was glad to be back home and not stand out of the crowd so much, it did get tiring.

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

I guess. I'm just not sure where to separate us from him. We're all crazy bastards anyway.

[Jaime Tomahawk]

I guess. I'm just not sure where to separate us from him. We're all crazy bastards anyway.

For one, you personally, your not crazy. Your in fact a rational, adjusted man who just also happens to like blowing the crap outta stuff with guns. You'll be married soon to a wonderful girl and who knows what the future holds from there?

As many could notice in the last two years, I've gone quite cynical and barbed - while those would ask there's a difference...? and quite justifiably, the fact is that I am. I dont really talk much about it but the last year and a bit has rubbed out much of what I thought I was and left something quite different.

Stay with me for a second, this does have a point.

Why does Steve Irwin strike a chord? Because he is a person who utterly refuses to sit to one side, who lived his life to the fullest, who pursues his loves and passions with all of his strength no matter the cost. In this is an example all could learn. And to be honest, this was the lesson I bought back from the USA. I met too many people who knew nothing about the world around them, too many who will be born, live and die within 100 miles of their home. Too many who compromised, too many who looked down and were beaten before the race even begun. For them, their only knowledge of Australia is a crazy guy on the TV - until they came across the real thing.

What seperates Steve Irwin from the rest of the world therefore is the way he explores his world, to learn and to know more. To dare to dream and then when the dream seems too big, to go for it anyway. To have a passion and not to compromise in any way for it. To not let life get in the way of that passion, but sweep life away in with it.

Another Steve is my personal hero as such if I have one - Steve Waugh - who has a similar attitude, never say die, to never be beaten and damn what others think.

Last year I achieved one of my goals in life. This year, I do another, Friday in fact it looks to be happening. It's not much, but it's something I've always wanted. Next year...? Who knows. I've got something in mind, some dream I know is impossible, but I'll do it anyway.

This is the thing that Steve on reflection really leaves behind - an example of how to go for it, to live and never step backwards. I'm not saying this Australian wasting time on the keyboard is the same, but the fact is I see what seperates Irwin from the rest of us and that also on refection he IS someone I should use an example on how to live.

Going back to my second paragraph, I think that the different person, a more driven person that I became isnt a particularly pretty person. I fully realise I've lost a lot of empathy. Steve however, no matter how driven he was, had that spark of empathy and it showed.

And going back to point one, your going to be a family man, something I'm not. I havent got time or space in my life for that in amongst the WRX's, the rally cars, the 1000 dollar invoices for a day's work and my life will be poorer for it. Yet Steve once again managed to.

These things all seperated Irwin from the rest of us.

I could add some other things that have been on my mind lately, but the proof is not in writing, it is always in actions.

[Rutabaga]

I'm not going to get into a debate about whether what Steve Irwin did was "right" or "wrong," because I simply don't have the knowledge to be able to debate that. Although I was one of those people who was horrified with the whole baby and feeding the croc at the same time incident....

That said, the news of his death was the first thing I saw when I went online this morning, and I was shocked. Absolutely shocked. As was said earlier in this thread, Irwin was one of those people who had a larger than life, boisterous personality that couldn't help but draw people's attention, whether you liked him or not. And whenever someone who has such a zest for life is cut down, especially at such a young age, it's always a sad, sad thing.

RIP, Crocodile Hunter, and my prayers are with his family at such a sad time.

[JMK]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14663786/


Horrible news. I'll miss this guy like crazy.

[Liam Jinn]

Already a thread on this, buddy.

http://www.sw-fans.net/vb3root/forum/showthread.php?t=15329

[Jedi Master Carr]

You play with Australian wildlife with the utmost disregard to personal safety, it WILL kill you and thence Darwin got another one. Wether it's a 'big' name or another German tourist, they die due to their own recklessness.

No one here really thought that highly of him. But then again, most of us have the commonsense not to pick up taipans.



People being stuck by sting rays arent uncommon. It's a well known fact they are dangerous....?

Well I should have rephrased that, I meant fatal. I always thought they were like Jellyfish if they sting you it hurt like hell. I just never saw them as fatal like Sharks (their distant cousin). I have actually seen the Devilray (which I guess is related to them) and I my nephew was even allowed to touch them. My guess is because it hit him the heart that is why he died. As for what he did to cause it who knows. He could have been following another predator like a shark and went straight into a StingRay nest or any number of things. He did play things dangerously but that was the kind of person he was.
Here is one interesting thing, probably the best animal handler in the world Jack Hanna had this to say.



Wild animal expert Jack Hanna, who frequently appears on TV with his subjects, offered praise for Irwin.

"Steve was one of these guys, we thought of him as invincible," Hanna, director emeritus of the Columbus (Ohio) Zoo and Aquarium, told ABC's "Good Morning America" Monday.

"The guy was incredible. His knowledge was incredible," Hanna said. "Some people that are doing this stuff are actors and that type of thing, but Steve was truly a zoologist, so to speak, a person who knew what he was doing. Yes, he did things a lot of people wouldn't do. I think he knew what he was doing."

[Lilaena De'Ville]

http://www.cnn.com/2006/SHOWBIZ/TV/09/04/australia.irwin/index.html

CNN has a decent article up about Steve.



Irwin, 44, was killed by a stingray barb that pierced his chest, according to Cairns police sources.
Irwin was in the area to film pieces for a show called "The Ocean's Deadliest" with Philippe Cousteau, grandson of Jacques, according to Irwin's manager and friend John Stainton. But weather had prevented the crew from doing work for that program, Stainton said, so Irwin decided to do some softer features for a new children's TV show he was doing with his daughter, Bindi.

"He came over the top of a stingray that was buried in the sand, and the barb came up and hit him in the chest," Stainton said.
Wildlife documentary maker Ben Cropp, citing a colleague who saw footage of the attack, told Time.com that Irwin had accidentally boxed the animal in. "It stopped and twisted and threw up its tail with the spike, and it caught him in the chest," said Cropp. "It's a defensive thing. It's like being stabbed with a dirty dagger."

Hanna, a friend of Irwin's, noted that Irwin's persona of the Crocodile Hunter was no act. Irwin grew up around crocodiles, snakes and other animals at his parents' Queensland Reptile and Fauna Park and had been handling such creatures since he was a child.

"Steve really knew what he was doing. He was one of the finest reptile people in the world. He knew more about reptiles than anybody did. He was raised that way," said Hanna.

Though stingrays can be threatening, their sting -- usually prompted by self-defense -- is not often fatal. The bull ray that apparently stung Irwin was "a one-in-a-million thing," Cropp told Time.com. "I have swum with many rays, and I have only had one do that to me."

The sting ray hit him so hard it punctured his chest and put a hole in his heart and that's why he died.

[Terran Starek]

It was the first thing I woke up to this morning on TV. 7:00 am - Steve Irwin dead. Good morning. :(


Though stingrays can be threatening, their sting -- usually prompted by self-defense -- is not often fatal. The bull ray that apparently stung Irwin was "a one-in-a-million thing," Cropp told Time.com. "I have swum with many rays, and I have only had one do that to me."

That's the part that gets me. I mean, despite your opinions about Irwin, we're talking about a "one-in-a-million thing." That's just a flat tragedy. Statistically speaking, Irwin's chances of getting killed in a freak animal accident were pretty high (considering his exposure to animals), but it still sucks. I'm definintely going to keep his family in my prayers.

[Darth McBain]

Just read about this this morning. Too bad, though I have to agree with some of the posters already - it was only a matter of time before something like this happened to him. Even if he treated the animals he worked with with respect (which is debatable), the fact remains they are wild animals and are unpredictable.

At any rate, it is a shame and I feel for his family.

[Jedi Master Carr]

I liked what Hanna said here
A wild animal is like a loaded gun -- it can go off at any time," Hanna said. "You have to be careful of that." But, he added, it's not the animals who are inherently dangerous, but the way they may react around humans. "People use the word 'dangerous,' and that sometimes is a word that's not fair to that animal, because that animal is only using the defenses that God gave it," said Hanna.

I agree with him wild animals are very unpredictable. I have heard him say many times he had close calls with different animals. It really comes with the what they do. If you work with wild animals you take a risk with doing it. Also it sounds like this was just a 1 in a million thing. That biologist who said that he has only seen one do it once tells you something.

[Park Kraken]

It was just a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Like swimming down a creek headfirst into the jaws of a waiting alligator.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8h6yXREbV0 The news report from Australia on Steve Irwin's death.

[JMK]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14675529/?GT1=8506


No funeral plans were announced but state Premier Peter Beattie said Irwin would be afforded a state funeral if his family agreed.

It appears as though someone in Australia appreciated his work.

Debate will rage over his methods, but the fact remains that Irwin was well loved, and he brought a boatload of awareness and attention to wildlife that sorely needs it.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060905/ap_en_ce/obit_irwin

After reviewing the tape (which I hope to God never gets onto the internet) it is shown that Steve did nothing to provoke the sting ray. So everyone who said that can just apologize to his family right now. :mad


"It shows that Steve came over the top of the ray and the tail came up, and spiked him here (in the chest), and he pulled it out and the next minute he's gone," Stainton told reporters in the Queensland state city of Cairns, where Irwin's body was taken for an autopsy. "If ever he was going to go, we always said it was going to be the ocean," Stainton said. "On land he was agile, quick-thinking, quick-moving and the ocean puts another element there that you have no control over."

[JMK]

Well it tough to say that he didn't provoke the animal simply because you'll never know how threatened a wild creature may feel by the presence of people, so its unfair to say Steve didn't do anything wrong, but he certainly didn't deserve to die.

[Jedi Master Carr]

I figure the sting ray seeing the camera man and all these people coming just got skiddish and reacted like most animals react in defense.

[Sansa]

I think it's totally fair to say he didn't do anything wrong.

I'm not saying that the stingray didn't get upset about something for whatever reason, but Steve wasn't in the water acting like an idiot, as some people choose to think.

[JMK]

I meant wrong in the eyes of the animal. :p

[Fiona Devlin]

I'm finally over the shock of it. Now I just feel sad. :cry

[Jaime Tomahawk]

Okay so what the hell did Australia do to lose Steve Irwin, who wasnt anywhere near as big in his own country as he was overseas... but one of our 20th Century's greats, Peter Brock?

No, I suppose you wont know but if you think Irwin was big news... it's nothing compared to Brock being killed to Australians :/

[Yog]

After reviewing the tape (which I hope to God never gets onto the internet) it is shown that Steve did nothing to provoke the sting ray. So everyone who said that can just apologize to his family right now

Errr.... actually, after reading that, I am more convinced he brought it on himself. If you read what the police officer said, Steve was "interacting" with the stingray. This means not only was he fully aware of the stingray, he probably even approached to touch it. Remember, you have to be very close to be caught by the barb. In previous reports, it was said that he swam across the sea floor and got caught by surprise. After reading this, that seems to be an inaccurate claim, at best. How is a police officer supposed to know what does and what does not provoke a stingray?

What we do know is, Steve knowingly and willfully interacted with a dangerous sea creature, filming a TV series called the "Oceans Deadliest". At least you gotta respect the Stingray enough to stay away from the barb.

My point is, you're not even supposed to interact with a stingray. If you want to make a documentary on sharks, barracudas, killer jelly fish and stingrays etc, you film them from distance with a zoom lens. You should not approach to play with them.

And when you do play with them, knowing what their barb can do, no one should be surprised that they use their natural self defense mechanism. They are wild animals after all, and its difficult to predict how they will react and what they will do.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

From my understanding, if he'd just left it in instead of pulling it out, he might've had a chance of surviving. Once he pulled it out, his heart just collapsed in on itself. Of course, that's all hearsay, but it does make sense.

[Jedi Master Carr]

Errr.... actually, after reading that, I am more convinced he brought it on himself. If you read what the police officer said, Steve was "interacting" with the stingray. This means not only was he fully aware of the stingray, he probably even approached to touch it. Remember, you have to be very close to be caught by the barb. In previous reports, it was said that he swam across the sea floor and got caught by surprise. After reading this, that seems to be an inaccurate claim, at best. How is a police officer supposed to know what does and what does not provoke a stingray?

What we do know is, Steve knowingly and willfully interacted with a dangerous sea creature, filming a TV series called the "Oceans Deadliest". At least you gotta respect the Stingray enough to stay away from the barb.

My point is, you're not even supposed to interact with a stingray. If you want to make a documentary on sharks, barracudas, killer jelly fish and stingrays etc, you film them from distance with a zoom lens. You should not approach to play with them.

And when you do play with them, knowing what their barb can do, no one should be surprised that they use their natural self defense mechanism. They are wild animals after all, and its difficult to predict how they will react and what they will do.

Well tell that to people like Jack Hanna and the great jacque cousteau, they both went near wild and dangerous animals. Cousteau, actually went very close to sharks and barracudas and never got hurt (probably more luck than anything). Jack Hanna has mentioned in past interviews that he has been very close to Lions and Tigers and other carnivours. There is a risk but that is what they do and they take that risk. Animals are just unpridictable even when people think they are caged. There have been countless deaths and maulings of lion tamers in the past. Finally, I disagree with you about the Stingray being called a dangerous animal. I was right in the first place. I read about them on the Net and watched some stuff on CNN they aren't dangerous. They aren't predators, those barbs are for defense like the spines on Porcupines are for defense. Deaths from Stingrays are very very rare. It was a 1 in a million for him to die that way the odds were better for lighting to kill him, which to me says how freakish the whole thing is and accidental, and I really can't blame him or the animal for it.

[Hera]

They are predators, those barbs are for defense like the spines on Porcupines are for defense. Deaths from Stingrays are very very rare. It was a 1 in a million for him to die that way the odds were better for lighting to kill him, which to me says how freakish the whole thing is and accidental, and I really can't blame him or the animal for it.


That pretty much sums up how I view things. Its sad for him to die so young. I felt he was always coming from the heart when he dealt with animals. He really loved them and loved how amazing they were. Cant fault the man for that.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

<a href=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5pBN3cE-2A>Bindi Irwin's memorial to her dad</a>

Very touching. :cry

[Wyl Staedtler]

She's going to be a wildlife warrior just like her dad.

Gosh I just want to cry when I think of those poor little kids and Terri (who looked so lonely at the memorial) :(

[Lilaena De'Ville]

:( me too :(