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You may have heard that Steve Irwin was killed on the weekend. He died the Death of a Crocodile Hunter, he was stabbed in the heart by a "harmless" stingray.

I never really cared for his act, and I watch almost no TV anyway. But, when I saw the scene where he teased a (harmless)crocodile while holding his infant son under his arm, well, I have no respect for that. I saw a few Salt Water crocs when I lived in the Northern Territory, nothing longer than say 6'. No way I was getting out of the boat. We have huge stingrays down here, some bigger than Dining Room Tables. We approach them, sure, but we never get within "barb's distance", that would be stupid.

On another Forum that I follow, I'm seeing a lot of posts from members who "mourn his passing" as it were. I'm curious to know what you guys think.
Doofus is right. He built a huge business empire on the back of taunting and teasing a variety of animals.
I don't know the particulars of his death. From reports here (US), you would think he was minding his own business, when a crazed sting ray somehow swung his tail up at his chest to sink that barb into his heart.

Given his MO, I have to assume he was harassing a wild animal, as usual, and ended up skewered on the barb. Sad for his family and loved ones, but please. Cry me a river.

Sort of reminds me of the nitwit who made a living getting up close and personal with grizzly bears in Alaska, and ended up mauled and half eaten.
Thanks, guys. I am getting lambasted in that other Forum for calling a spade a spade. Here in Samoa four year old kids know better than to fool with a stingray - you can get hurt. Same thing sharks, same thing Lionfish, same thing morays; leave 'em alone.
There was an ad on tv a while back, i believe a fed ex one, in which he was bit by a poisonous snake and said something to the effect that he would be ok, since the package with the snake venom antidote had already been ordered, then he was told it was shipped by someone else. Considering that from everything i had heard about him, this was not that far out. I had wondered with his atitude, how much longer he could keep that up. Sorry if this offends anyone, but (IMHO) he never seemed smart enough to handle the kind of work he was suppose to be doing. Im afraid his death only supports that idea to me.

Im not sure i would call him a doofus, because the doofuses of the world would be insulted to be considered on his level.
If you play with fire, you are bound to get burned, especially when you play with the fire incorrectly. Steve Irwin was no exception to the rule. Perhaps if he had handled the animals in the proper manner, instead of showboating them for entertainment purposes, "crickey!" eek this never would have happened.
I suppose this was just one of nature's methods for weeding out the doofuses.
Too bad Nature didn't do its weeding a little earlier, before he reproduced. Now he has offspring who may have inherited his traits. Let's hope their mother's DNA is strong enough to counterbalance his influence.
Ouch, AR, that is COLD. His kids may be so traumatized that they never get into the water again.
We'll never know why someone, who should have known better, went to such an extreme, would place himself at risk. It's said that a single stingray hit won't kill most people, but that the venom does have a cumulative effect. He was playing the odds, I suppose. Maybe his ratings were down, or a Sponser was threatening to pull out. Network Television; now there's a REAL Jungle!

BTW, the people attacking me all appear to be women. Irwin was, after all, a TV Package. Rumpled blonde hair, cute Aussie accent, khaki shorts. Plenty more where he came from.
The guy ploughed the money he made into buying up land for conservation purposes. His style brought many younger people to an appreciation of wildlife through his TV shows.

IMO he did a lot of good, despite being obviously insane. It's a sad loss.

Blacknad.
Quote:
Originally posted by Wolfman:
Plenty more where he came from.
Seems like the days when people showed respect for the dead are now long gone.

Blacknad.
Posted by Blacknad:
Quote:
Seems like the days when people showed respect for the dead are now long gone.
Many apologies, but our respect for the dead was stabbed by a malevolent stingray. wink
We should propose Steve Irwin for the Darwin award. Though having already reproduced it might not qualify him.
Nice suggestion!!! He would be an ideal canidate!
Everybody Loves Darwin! "The Darwin Award", are you kidding me?

Anyone ever heard of Wilfred Russel Wallace? He was a contemporary of Darwin's, but a far, far superior Naturalist. Darwin spent, what, six weeks in the Galapagos" Wallace spent four years in Indonesia, and then another four years in the Amazon. Wallace is credited with being the first White Man to see a Black Panther. The thing is, Darwin was from a prominent family. Wallace was just another guy, struggling to get by. Look him up.

In fact, Wallace came up with the Theory of Evolution before Darwin did. He called it something else, "Selective Variation" or something. Wallace is a truly awesome story, but nobody's heard of him.
Alfred Russel Wallace is not forgotten, but the squeaky wheel gets the grease.

Here's an interesting site about them:

http://www.life.umd.edu/emeritus/reveal/pbio/darwin/darwindex.html
Kudos, Soilguy, great post. See how overlooked Wallace is, I got his first name wrong! Something I will never forget - the evening, July 1, 1858, the night that Darwin's and Wallace's Papers were read in public at the Linnean Society in London, Darwin was at home, "attending to an illness in the family". Or maybe he was ashamed to appear in public. Wallace was in New Guinea collecting lizards and birds and butterflies. Just as he would the next year, and the year after that, and the year after that. Eating roots and tubers and nuts, swatting mosquitoes and dealing with Trenchfoot and skin ulcers and malaria. Darwin. What a wimp!
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