That’s A Croc

Kids, in particular, will have to be crushed to learn of the death early this morning of “Crocodile Hunter” Steve Irwin, stung fatally by a stingray while filming a documentary. Like Dale Earnhardt, Irwin made his name by taking risks in full view of the public, so you can’t really separate his death from the way he lived.
UPDATE: CNN headline: “‘Crocodile Hunter’ Steve Irwin dies, Al Qaeda official captured”
And here I had thought the two stories unrelated …

5 thoughts on “That’s A Croc”

  1. Have to agree. The guy made his living annoying dangerous animals. Plus, let’s not forget that idiotic stunt with his 2 year old son a few years back.
    I can’t really say I’m seeing a tragedy here. And that’s putting it kindly.

  2. I agree, Mike. The thing that shocks me is how he went. It was unlucky, improbable. I expected him to slip on the bank of some river, and have the croc he was tauting do what they do. The thing with his son was incredibly stupid. Must say he left quite an impression, John Howard’s comment were quite complimentary.

  3. One of the first reports I heard about this this morning said that people would be shocked to learn of his death. I was thinking, shocked? Heck no. Mildly stunned the way one normally is when one hears about a celebrity who dies young, but not shocked, or surprised more accurately. Not given what he did for a living. If there’s anything shocking about his death, it’s that it didn’t happen years ago, more violently.

  4. Well, I cannot say I’m surprised, that would be like being surprised that a skydiver died, but I will say it’s a shame…
    No, it’s not a tragedy, the guy took risks, but he certainly seemed to love what he was doing, and the animals he interacted with. He did a lot of good for many species of endangered animals, employed hundreds in his zoo, raised awareness and educated millions.
    He was a showman to be sure, and often hyped the drama of the scenes he filmed, but that’s why people watched —the “this guy’s nuts!” factor…
    God, you guys sound like he was teasing YOUR crocodile through your fence…

  5. This summer I had the pleasure of spending some time in a stingray pool. It was the most fun I had on my vacation. I found them to be very social animals. That being said from what I heard, he had apparently put the stingray in a position that it felt threatened.

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