Tribute to Steve

Ok, I know I said that I'm not going to update my blog until my finals are over but this post is for a very special person, Steve Irwin better known as the crocodile hunter because he has just passed away fairly recently. Steve died after being stung by a stingray in the chest during a diving expedition on the Great Barrier Reef in Northern Queensland. His team called for medical attention but before the rescue helicopter could arrive, Steve died.

Stephen Robert Irwin, born 22 Febuary 1962 to parents Bob and Lynn in Essendon, Australia. Steve watched his father, Bob wrestle crocs and snakes and soon after, tried his hands on capturing those reptiles. Steve once said that even when he was a kid, his house was almost like a mini zoo nad wildlife hospital, with makeshift marsupial "pouches" slung over the bags of chairs and snakes stashed everywhere. As a young man Steve put these skills to work in the rogue crocodile relocation project run by the Queensland government. Although he eventually claimed the title The Crocodile Hunter, Irwin's methods differed drastically to those of earlier claimants to such titles. That is, rather than ending up as table fare and handbags, the crocs bagged by Irwin were later released, unharmed, in a new home deeper in the wild -- or at the Irwins' reptile park. Able to boast that he and his father had captured or raised every croc in the park, Steve Irwin took over management of the facility in 1991. In that same year he met a lovely American, Terri Raines, on vacation from her own wildlife rehab center in the U.S. Marrying eight months later, the pair opted to go crocodile trapping for their honeymoon. They invited a camera crew along to film the expedition, which later become the first episode of their hit television show The Crocodile Hunter. In 2002 Steve and Terri played themselves in Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course, a fictional tale of wildlife conservationists battling crocs and rogue CIA agents to retrieve a fallen satellite. However, Steve's career wasn't really smooth sailing and all. Steve came under criticism for his antics involving antarctic wildlife. While filming a documentary Irwin allegedly broke both international and Australian federal laws by coming too close to a pod of whales and even sliding down snowy slopes with a group of penguins. Again Irwin utterly denied any wrongdoing, and, after a careful review of the documentary, officials dropped the charges. However there remain those who claim the "real" story of what happened on location, and thus any condemning evidence, was simply edited out of the footage. The Irwins eventually released their own version of both these incidents in a special Crocodile Hunter documentary, Crocodiles & Controversy. Despite such controversies, and the embarrassment professed by many of his fellow Australians over his hyperactive high-risk antics and Dundeeish cant, Irwin continues to enjoy tremendous popularity and success, especially in the United States. According to Irwin however, the financial fruits of this success have not gone to fuel a lavish lifestyle, but have been channeled into purchasing tracts of endangered habitat to be set aside for wildlife conservation.

I feel quite sad upon reading about it on the internet. He always seemed so enthusiastic about nature and animals. It was so exciting watching him wrestle crocs and wrangling with snakes and other sorts of creatures. He thought me to appreciate nature for what it is and to respect the fact that every living thing should be treated as an equal because in reality, we humans don't own Earth. We share it with our animal counterparts and given the intelligence compared to them, we must protect them too!! But I'm sure he will be satisfied in the sense that he has already accomplished a lot and he died do what he loves best, Heck I wouldn't mind dying doing what I like most. I sure will miss you and I'm sure the crocs will too!!

Here are some pictures to pay tribute to the hero of animals, STEVE "THE CROCODILE HUNTER" IRWIN.



Haihz, Steve, you can fight sharks but you kena GG by a stingray?!?! How can man?!

You're gorgeous mate!!

WAH!! got action figure 1 ar?!?! I wonder if I go catch some ants can get action figure of me leh?

Ironically, Maybe he should have listened to the sign..

You're orite...you're orite....you want it?? come get it!!

Steve and Croc during happier times..