Very brave of "The Australian"

[Zplus]

Hi there, experts like Dr Brain Fry already said that it was a freak accident as stingrays are not known to cause deaths and is a passive animal. So was an accident and it was classified as an accident by the aussie police and international news.

News reports that he was struck by a 2.5m stingray while swimming over it in waters about 2m deep. That means, he did not touch it or handle it. So isn't it like being hit by a car?

Whether he is very close to the stingray or not, no one knows till he/she seen the footage.

There are many styles and method in doing a job. It so happens that some people seem Steve's style dangerous. Love him or hate him, it was classified as an accident and there is no 2 ways about it.

Dude! Find out more about the facts.... he was swimming 1 m above the stingray. The camera man filming it was blocking the stingray's escape path. Basically, the creature was boxed in and had to use its only defensive mechanism. The "accident" was that it struck the heart rather then the foot. Which is what you would get if you step accidently on a stingray.;p

And if you see any of his TV exploits you would see that he literally taunts the snakes to strike him. Yes, its great for "Wow" factor but I would think the approach is controversial.

Yes, its a sad lost of human life. Yes, the programs do bring more awareness. Yup, I was shocked for a while. But I also maintain that his approach was controversial.:cry:

Gimme David Attenborough or David Bellamy any day.:thumbsup:

 

[centuryegg]

Many facets to the story, in a way yes, the animals he handled were damn stressed out by him. Imagine a strange 2 legged creature making strange sounds non stop running after you and trying to grab you. How would the crocs, snakes etc feel? And in a way you cant help think was it all to prove the gung ho, Aussie, no holds barred, go for it mate mentality.

And well for all who do dive, I believe swimming 1m above a sting ray esp a large one is not exactly something you are advised to do.....

Once read a story about a guy who encountered a herd of wild elephants while on a safari. He saw the bull elephant look at him and had this idea the elephant was talking to him. So he started to recite this ancient greeting to Ganesh, the elephant headed God of Hinduism to the elephant. The result was.... the bull elephant charged at him. The reason why the elephant was looking at him was because our friend was intruding in his territory! So when you forget that animals are dangerous, you pay the price.

 

[Cheesecake]

:cheers:

for Steve Irwin.


:thumbsup:

 

[freebsd]

Even regarding his own death, Irwin displayed a sense of humour. He once insisted, "My number one rule is to keep that camera rolling. Even if it's shaky or slightly out of focus, I don't give a rip. Even if a big old alligator is chewing me up I want to go down and go, 'Crikey!' just before I die. That would be the ultimate for me."

 

[tan131]

I don't think its for us to judge whether he's right or wrong in the shows he did.. Let the man go away in peace..

Like what his family said.. he's an ordinary man and would be remembered as one.. however, an ordinary man who lived an extraordinary life

He lived his life and his dreams, for this i respect and salute him..

 

[Cheesecake]

I don't think its for us to judge whether he's right or wrong in the shows he did.. Let the man go away in peace..

Like what his family said.. he's an ordinary man and would be remembered as one.. however, an ordinary man who lived an extraordinary life

He lived his life and his dreams, for this i respect and salute him..

:thumbsup: :thumbsup:

 

[redipsvu]

Dude! Find out more about the facts.... he was swimming 1 m above the stingray. The camera man filming it was blocking the stingray's escape path. Basically, the creature was boxed in and had to use its only defensive mechanism. The "accident" was that it struck the heart rather then the foot. Which is what you would get if you step accidently on a stingray.;p

And if you see any of his TV exploits you would see that he literally taunts the snakes to strike him. Yes, its great for "Wow" factor but I would think the approach is controversial.

Yes, its a sad lost of human life. Yes, the programs do bring more awareness. Yup, I was shocked for a while. But I also maintain that his approach was controversial.:cry:

Gimme David Attenborough or David Bellamy any day.:thumbsup:

Agreed, particularly the last sentence.

 

[Cathexis]

Glad to know this perspective about the author who wrote this article...

Regardless of Steve's controversial approach, his contribution to heighten the awareness of wildlife conversation cannot be written off just like that. A great loss indeed...

I have to agree...I admit he was a little unorthodox, but he was an amzing man with a passion in life that drove him everyday. He was one lucky man I can tell you that. He will be soulfully missed and I hope that everyone will one day understand what it means to have a passion in life and die doing it. :cry:

 

[Wisp]

I happen to be a friend of mate of Dr Bryan Greg Fry. From what I read, it is 'freakish' to be stabbed in the heart, but as goes around in circles, as Terence said, we all knew he would get it one day from his subjects.

We both speculated that Irwin must be doing alot more than just hovering the sting ray..you basically have to be almost hugging the sting ray to get that one through the rib cage. My friend currently is waiting for the autopsy report out of interest as well as conversing with Dr Fry over this matter sooner or later.

Esp in herp circles, and especially among people who keep venomous snakes and lizards, it is IMPERATIVE you don't manhandle those animals. Especially venomous ones. We have alot of gadgets specifically so we have as little exposure to these animals (tubes, trap boxes, hooks, spreaded tongs), as well as not to provide any sort of pain and minimal stress of these animals. They are wild creatures, and we are constantly reminded to respect that.

As in the case for those that could kill you, to put it in prespective, it's basically like handling a loaded rifle. You can point it and it won't fire if the safety is on, provided you make sure it's always on safe. If you get complacent...and if you get careless...well..
it goes without saying.

The mindset , to put in a better analogy, is akin to (those in the army) being at the range with live ammunition. All that paranoid safety, is really needed. Steve, in a way is like some dude pointing his rifle at himself out of a joke...and he thinks the safety is on.

Except, in a wild animal, you don't know if the saftey is on or not. I've seen pit vipers go absolutely placid to wacko within a split second for no apparent reason.

Fear is that for a reason. Whenever my friend or I approach a snake for even just a photograph, we always mantain that 'fear'. While Irwin is somebody I respect as somebody who brought people closer to the conversation message, we are often leery that some folks may try to do his stunts one day.

Many often don't realise how painful a snake bite or a monitor lizard bite is (I think the monitor felt alot worse..), or the cold stab of ammonia when you realise that animal you thought you could handle is going out of control and about to nail you.


So, in essence to this, I wish to say: YOU DO NOT GO PICKING A TAIPAN UP BY ITS TAIL LIKE ON TV.DON'T EVEN THINK OF TOUCHING IT.

If there is somebody whom you guys want to know as a respectable herptelogist/wild lif conservationist, try mark o'shea.

 

[Isaiahfortythirtyone]

i think we should all take a step back here and slant away from just animals alone. what is it that you and i have learnt from irwin? i don't watch mcuh of his shows but i do believe i've taken away one valuable lesson from him: to do what you love.

especially in Singapore, we are so obsessed with money and wealth and big cars. some of us work at jobs not because we love the job, but because it pays us more than what other jobs would offer. i don't know how many of us can claim that we love what we do. but irwin did. and he did it to his death. and that is precisely what i salute him for.

like captnj, i too blogged about him click here

 

[centuryegg]

i think we should all take a step back here and slant away from just animals alone. what is it that you and i have learnt from irwin? i don't watch mcuh of his shows but i do believe i've taken away one valuable lesson from him: to do what you love.

especially in Singapore, we are so obsessed with money and wealth and big cars. some of us work at jobs not because we love the job, but because it pays us more than what other jobs would offer. i don't know how many of us can claim that we love what we do. but irwin did. and he did it to his death. and that is precisely what i salute him for.

like captnj, i too blogged about him click here

Haha the thing is that what he did made him a very rich man!