So by now I figure everyone knows about Steve Irwin’s shocking death, which occurred Monday morning. Irwin, known to the world as the ever-exuberant, fun-loving “Crocodile Hunter,” was snorkeling off Batt Reef, part of the Great Barrier Reef, when he was killed by a stingray barb that pierced his heart, according to Cairns police officials.
Irwin was in Australia filming a piece for a show called “The Ocean’s Deadliest” with Philippe Cousteau. Yes, that Cousteau, grandson of Jacques. But, due to weather constraints he decided to film some “softer” features for a new children’s program he was doing with his daughter, Bindi. That’s when the trouble began. Irwin “came over the top of the stingray that was buried in the sand, and the barb came up and hit him in the chest,” said John Stainton, Irwin’s longtime manager and friend.
Irwin was not only the star of many TV shows featured on Animal Planet and the Discovery Channel but also the director of the Australian Zoo in Queensland. He is survived by his two young children, Bindi and Bob, and his American wife, Terri. “Steve was a larger-than-life force. He brought joy and learning about the natural world to millions and millions of people across the globe,” said Discovery Communications founder and Chairman John Hendricks.
Stainton said, “The world has lost a great wildlife icon, a passionate conservationist and one of the proudest dads on the planet.”
There are many people who feel Irwin left quite a mark on the world and all the animals in it. “His message is really about conservation: He really wants to leave the world a better place for everybody,” Animal Planet’s Maureen Smith told CNN.com in April.
Stainton says “He has left a legacy: That people do love some of the unloved animals like crocodiles and reptiles that people wanted to kill.”
Wow. I don’t know about you guys, but I always thought of Steve Irwin as the goofy, often crazy looking Australian dude who spurts out random phrases like “crickey!” and holds his baby while feeding a hungry crocodile.
But now I see that he was so much more than that. I had no idea he was such a conservationist, let alone that he ran an entire zoo in Australia. I didn’t know that so many people actually respected him and all his accomplishments to help the natural world. I mean, even the Prime Minister of Australia John Howard, had something to say about Irwin’s appalling death. Howard says he was “shocked and distressed at Irwin’s sudden, untimely and freakish death.” Howard declares, “It’s a huge loss to Australia.”
I know many people here in America find the news strangely funny, almost ironic, in a way.
Crocodile man killed by a stingray? “What an idiot!” they say. What a stupid way to die. Then they laugh, and because they don’t know him, they don’t know the impact he made, and people are afraid to actually believe that their favorite funny man is gone forever.
Well, I think we should all just take a moment to pay our respects to Steve Irwin. He may not have influenced any of us directly, but indirectly, who knows? He may have just changed our world.
Aneya Fernando is a sophomore journalism major and the assistant opinion editor for the Daily Forty-Niner.