Goodbye Steve

[den]

To be injured by a stingray is rare, but to be hit in one of the few places on the body here the barb is lethal is just freakishly bad luck.

He made conservation accessible to everyone, and made people here (in Australia) think about the environment. Until the mid-60s we only had The Bush. Then Vince Serventy, Rolf Harris, and The Leyland Brothers started making documentaries and suddenly we had Nature. Through the 70s and 80s we got an Environment, but the average bloke saw environmentalists as either scientists in lab coats or fluffy tree huggers.

Then Steve Irwin turned up. Everyone saw a bloke like us in khaki talking about conservation and saving the environment. He made people care about the animals, even the ugly ones. He saved patches of bush, even the useless stuff like rainforests and swamps. He got everyone thinking about the world we should be caring for.

I'm going to miss him.

Douglas Adams wrote in "Last Chance To See" that losing a species makes the world a poorer place. I think that would apply to Steve Irwin.

Comments

[weyrdbird.livejournal.com]

Steve and Terri Irwin, Gerald Durrell, Jacques Cousteau....all working do de-mystify the creatures with which we share the planet, and encroach upon. Whose habitat we destroy and which we drive to extiction for feathers, coffee tables, and exotic culinary tidbits. It's true, if it weren't for them, their television, books, documentaries and scientific study, we'd still be oblivious to our responsibility. Much of which humans choose to ignore. I feel priveleged to live in a neighborhood where I get to see so much birdlife and the common critters I do. And even they are threatened by need for pretty lawns and perfect flowers. This is why what conservationists do is so critically important. Steve will be missed, but not forgotten.

[hedgegoth.livejournal.com]

He loved what he did, he took a lot of flack but I always enjoyed watching him.

[dizzdvl.livejournal.com]

And he was fun. Crazy, but fun.

*sad*

[odiedragon.livejournal.com]

Every time I see someone mention his passing, or a post about it, or anything, I get a little choked up inside.

The whole world is grieving for ya, mate. And if that ain't a mark of success, I don't know what is.

[zibblsnrt.livejournal.com]

The number of people who've gone out of their way to get their hate on about thet man in the last twelve hours mystifies me. I'm trying to figure out just where the hell people are finding support for the idea that he "set environmentalism back decades," but I suppose some people just have to be contrarian when a widely-acknowledged-as-good person dies. :P

He was definately seen in vastly higher esteem in my neck of the woods than most of the domestic conversationist types, who tended to stick either to ridiculously boring eighties-esque documentary styles, or who wandered into the realm of misanthropy. This guy was definately well above most of them.

That said, as a friend of mine pointed out the idea of "natural causes" appearing in his obituary just ain't right. I would've rather he got devoured by something in his eighties than his forties, though. :P

[hespa.livejournal.com]

The only item I'm aware of in the less-than-environmental description is an article I saw somewhere about him and cattle farming. Apparently his views on that kind of widespread agriculture were that it's a natural and wonderful part of the Australian environment now, which ignores a lot of issues to do with defoliation (um, did I just make that word up?), erosion, etc.

Which wouldn't surprise me. I think Steve Irwin had a real passion for Australia's environment, and he did a hell of a lot to conserve and promote it to others. My impression of him has always been one of vast enthusiasm, energy and fascination... but not necessarily education. His approach was that of a wildlife enthusiast, not an environmental scientist, so maybe he did have and promote some views on environmental issues that weren't entirely accurate.

But he still did a hell of a lot for environmental awareness and conservation, not to mention approaching life with unbelievable passion and just so much energy. Yes, I do think we are the poorer for his loss.

[ursuscal.livejournal.com]

I agree about losing him being like losing a species. I read that one of his latest accomplishments was convincing the government *not* to back crocodile safaris for the rich. Good on 'im. I'll miss his disarming style, too. He made me smile.

[torakiyoshi.livejournal.com]

He certainly was a rare breed. And I have a special place for him in my heart, because his wife used to work here in Spokane (http://www.cattales.org/), and he gave a lot of money towards the cat rescue park when he took her away from them.

He will be missed, by many species out there.

The cry of hundreds of little critters around Australia: "He called me beee-yoo-tiful! Everyone else called me hideous, mean and nasty, but Steve said I was a real beauty."

Have teh best

-=TK

[tiado-ab.livejournal.com]

He will certainly be missed by me, I knew the things he did for conservation. He made people more aware of just how great the diversity of species there are, and with such enthusiasm too. I know that anytime I caught his show on TV, I had to watch it through, just to see what species would be his focus for that episode.

I had always wanted to, when I made a trip to Australia, make my way up to Beerwah, and visit the Australia Zoo, hopefully to have been able to see Steve, and if I were lucky enough, meet him. Unfortunately that won't happen now, but I'll try and make my way to Australia Zoo sometime in my lifetime... Hopefully the Zoo will still go on. :/

[jasonhackwith.livejournal.com]

I too will miss Steve greatly. I remember friends of mine cracking jokes about me back in college, when I would make a point of catching his show just about every time it was on. You couldn't watch Steve without immediately knowing that he loved, sincerely loved, every single animal that he encountered. Even his critics knew that.

I once missed Steve and his family by about a half-hour... they did a show in Eugene, Oregon (where I went to college) and I went to a restaurant they visited about a half-hour before they did.

My thoughts & prayers go out to Terri and the little ones.

[lilangelwings.livejournal.com]

When I first heard I thought it was an awful hoax. Then I found out it was true and even though I never knew him, I still cried. He was such a wonderful human being.

The only thing that I can think is that he died doing what he loved.

[falconea.livejournal.com]

You left Harry Butler off that list!

Audrey

[dewhitton.livejournal.com]

Harry "Sell-out bastard" Butler?

I forgot about him. I used to watch his show every week.

[tigermorph.livejournal.com]

:-(

I just keep thinking about how FREAKISH the accident was... A damn STINGRAY... yeesh...

And Terri...

[jenny_evergreen]

Yes...we all may be unique, but Steve Irwin was truly in a class by himself.

I only hope somewhere down the line, the genes play out, 'cause Steve wasn't done.

[kamau-d-lyon.livejournal.com]

Douglas Adams wrote in "Last Chance To See" that losing a species makes the world a poorer place. I think that would apply to Steve Irwin.

All too true. He will be missed and I just hope someone will take up the cause and keep his work moving ahead.

*Bows head in prayer for Steve, his wife and family*