Steve Irwin taught me things about animals that I never knew existed

[mtnsnake]

and I thought I knew a lot. Same for Jack Hanna, only no one did it as enthusiastically as Irwin. What a glorious opportunity it was for me to watch his fascinating shows, especially the ones about reptiles.

I'm a lover of wild animals, and I for one appreciate all that Steve Irwin has taught me and done for me. In his short life, he educated a great many of us about what makes animals tick, and he enlightened just as many of us about the important role of wild animals and their ever shrinking environment. For anyone who consistently watched his shows, you couldn't help coming out of them without having a stronger sense of the need to conserve our wild species of animals.

It's really sad and ironic how many people are using this guy's death as a means of expressing their agenda for animal cruelty or animal rights in general. When it comes to the welfare of animals, their rights, or their general well-being, few have brought those issues more to the forefront than Steve Irwin did.

It won't just be his other fans who will miss him as much as I do already. The wild animals of the world just lost an important ally.

Most of us will never get a chance to see the animals in person that Irwin brought to us on his shows in such a delightful and informative way.

To bash Steve Irwin is to mean that you never knew him.

Thank you, Steve, and may you rest in peace.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

1. K&R - Couldn't have said it better.

[wtmusic]

2. Did you know Steve Irwin?

I never knew him, but my kids watched his shows a lot.

Most of what Steve accomplished re: conservation issues could have been better accomplished by keeping his friggin' HANDS OFF the animals and respecting their place in their habitat. Instead, Steve chose to turn it into a stick-my-head-in-the-lion's-mouth freak show from which he and his family profited greatly.

I have no doubt he was trying to manhandle the stingray which killed him, and it's an odd but appropriate justice.

[seabeyond]

4. wow wtmusic..... that you should see the world from your eyes

a very sad place to be, from my eyes.

[mtnsnake]

5. How the heck could he bring the animals to us if he kept his hands off?

If he did it like you suggest, no one would watch and no one would learn. He was just as good an entertainer as he was a conservationist. The few animals he touched, or "manhandled" as you say, will more than benefit from the exposure he gave to their existance. It's a shame you don't appreciate that.

[wtmusic]

6. Two words: Jacques Cousteau

Millions watched, millions learned. He accomplished more for conservation than Steve Irwin ever did, and did it without encouraging weekend "explorers" to go out and put their grubby hands where they had no place putting them.

[mtnsnake]

7. Cousteau is arguably the best, but I think you're still wrong about Irwin

Steve Irwin brought a level of enthusiasm and awareness to wild animals that's unsurpassed. His "hands-on" method did no harm to animals; it only enlightened us about them.

Both Cousteau and Irwin cared about animals and cared about educating us about them. They used different methods for sure. I'm a huge Cousteau fan, btw. I grew up watching his wonderful shows.

Peace

[wtmusic]

9. I hear you

and there is no doubt he was entertaining. My kids watched his shows all the time, when they were younger.

Peace backatcha.

[ScreamingMeemie]

12. and BOTH put their hands on them...

I'm completely with you mtnsnake. My son learned more from this man than from the run of the mill field trip to the zoo. May Irwin rest in peace, while we mourn a true animal rights activist. He was out there...while we sit secure behind computer screens that allow us to spread as much misplaced hatred as we wish.

[ancient_nomad]

10. READ and EDUCATE Yourself....

It was a freakin' ACCIDENT. The man died as the RESULT of a FREAK ACCIDENT!

Your quote:
I have no doubt he was trying to manhandle the stingray which killed him, and it's an odd but appropriate justice.

Before such-ill informed statements are made one should READ!!

From CNN: http://www.cnn.com/2006/SHOWBIZ/TV/09/05/irwin.death/index.html

snip....

Bad weather for the past few days had made it impossible to proceed with a planned taping for the Animal Planet channel, so Irwin instead chose Monday to shoot "a couple of soft stories for a new TV show we're doing," Stainton said.

"He and the underwater cameraman went out to do some pieces on the reef and coral and stuff good for the kids' show and, unfortunately, he came out over the top of a stingray that was buried in the sand and the barb went up and hit him in the chest."

I rarely post, but I am sick of all the hateful posts re: Steve Irwin's death.

If you can't say something respectful, then shut the hell up!

You owe an apology right here, right now!

[LostinVA]

11. What you said, AN...

[ScreamingMeemie]

13. And I am sick of that non factual statement in particular.

:yourock: Thanks! :hi:

[wtmusic]

14. Hmm

It's not freakish at all that these extremely rare "accidents" happen to people like Steve (who has been injured many times before, and who I have seen intentionally provoke animals into defense responses to titillate viewers like you).

But whatever. I'll take your demand for an apology with all the consideration that you and your 113 posts deserve.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

16. So let me get this straight...

You've never picked up a frog? Or a garter snake? Or a bug to examine?

[Name removed]

21. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[wtmusic]

25. So you admit you never watched him

but still feel qualified to voice an opinion? And attack others for being ill-informed and ignorant? How? :shrug:

[seabeyond]

27. he is calling you on saying irwin manhandled the ray. he didnt

not a matter of having ever seen the show or not. it is calling you on a trashing comment about the dead man that isnt true. and still you ignore.

[ancient_nomad]

31. Thank you, Seabeyond.......

and LostInVa, MrsGrumpy, and Bornaginhooligan, for seeing my point.

Peace!

[ancient_nomad]

30. There you go again.....

Didn't say NEVER!

The man is dead from an accident.

Show some respect for his work (yes, I am aware of his good works) and his life. And, stop this ridiculous bickering. Each person here is entitled to his opinion. There is a time to be respectful, and IMO your ill-informed assumptions have no place in this thread.

[Name removed]

32. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[woodsprite]

20. That's funny. The news said today that despite what

people are saying, there was no evidence on the video that he was provoking the animal at all. He's swimming over the animal, the animal flicks the tail, Irwin pulls the barb out of his chest and collapses. Approaching the large ray from the top in 6' of water was not a smart thing to do, but it doesn't mean he was provoking it.

[wtmusic]

23. Now that I wasn't aware of

and if that is what the video shows, I take it all back (well, almost all).

[greccogirl]

26. And just how do you know that?

I think Irwin did a great deal for conservation and for animals. I believe he DID push the envelope, especially in the stunt he pulled with his son and the croc. However there isn't a single piece of evidence that he "manhandled" the ray that took his life. People swim with rays all the time. This was just a freak accident, period.

[buddhamama]

29. your subjective opinions aside

i invite you to discover the conservationist, Steve Irwin.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=2047948&mesg_id=2047948

[madokie]

3. Peace Steve Irwin

I loved you then
I love your spirit now

[zcflint09]

8. Steve is the man

A true conservation hero for today's age--his enthusaism was unsurpassed. You could tell he loved what he did--and he loved the animals he helped support. He brought wildlife education to a whole new generation of Americans and individuals worldwide with his enthusaistic approach and putting his money where his mouth is--running zoos, purchasing plots of land to help preserve nature--he truly fought for what he believed in. RIP Croc Hunter

[datasuspect]

15. what's his birthdate?

where did he go to highschool?

what were his parents like?

what scared him?

what infuriated him?

what was his favorite dish?

you didn't know him.

for anyone to be that presumptuous would have probably insulted him.

you got the television, highly edited version.

[mtnsnake]

17. WTF are you ranting and raving about??

Did you assume that I implied that I knew him personally or something just because I said "To bash Steve Irwin is to mean that you never knew him"?

Good gawd, man.

[datasuspect]

19. so again (and i wasn't ranting, i was asking QUESTIONS)

how precisely did you KNOW him? do you mean that you watched him on television, if so, why not say that? i watch batman on teevee, doesn't mean i KNOW adam west.

you are the one who said you knew him.

or does the work KNOW mean something else nowadays?

on edit:

you wrote this nonsensical statement: "To bash Steve Irwin is to mean that you never knew him."

what precisely do you mean by this?

[OzarkDem]

22. A quote for you

“Let us dedicate ourselves to what the Greeks wrote so many years ago: to tame the savageness of man and make gentle the life of this world.” Robert F. Kennedy

Taming the "savageness" of DU'ers is an honorable Democratic tradition.

[datasuspect]

24. there is nothing savage about what i am writing

i'm not pathologically maudlin though.

asking questions is not verboten yet.

[Jacobin]

18. He was an energetic, fun-loving guy

who I enjoyed watching.

He was a risk taker and working closely with dangerous animals was bound to have a serious consequence at some point and I'm sure he knew that on some level.

He died doing what he loved doing and as far as I'm concerned you can't go any better way.

May he rest in peace. I'll miss his enthusiasm and his contagious love for the animal kingdom.

[onenote]

28. for those who are quick to criticize Steve Irwin's work and life

No, I didn't "know" Steve Irwin. And I was a particular fan of his show. But I think some of the crap being spewed here deserves an answer. Apart from the apalling lack of empathy displayed by some DUers who express the view that its silly to feel an emotional connection to someone you don't know personally, and the repeated misrepresentations of the circumstances of his death (he was not, by all reports known thus far, "manhandling" the stingray or, for that matter, doing anything more than what hundreds of thousands of divers and snorklers have done...I daresay that as I write this, there are several dozen people interacting with stingrays at "Stingray City" in Grand Cayman.

In any event, according to an acquaitance from Australia, a signficant amount of the money produced by Irwin's shows was used to purchase parcels of land all over the world to protect natural habitat of widelife In addition, the Australia Zoo with which Irwin was associated has the largest animal hospital in Austrilia. Irwin was responsible for the establishment of the Wildlife Warriors Worldwide, International Crocodile Rescue, and the Australian Wildlife Hospital. His conservation work was not just centered on crocodiles, having made noteworthy contributions to the preservation of many other endangered species, including koalas and wombats.