Posted on 09/05/2006 8:52:58 AM PDT by chambley1
THE world mourns. The world-famous wildlife warrior Steve Irwin has died a hero, doing the thing he loved, filming a sequence for a new TV series.
Irwin was the real Crocodile Dundee, a great Australian, an ambassador for wildlife, a global phenomenon, a superhuman generator of merchandise, books, interactive video games and action figures.
The only creatures he could not dominate were parrots. A parrot once did its best to rip his nose off his face. Parrots are a lot smarter than crocodiles.
What seems to have happened on Batt Reef is that Irwin and a cameraman went off in a little dinghy to see what they could find. What they found were stingrays. You can just imagine Irwin yelling: "Just look at these beauties. Crikey! With those barbs a stingray can kill a horse." (Yes, Steve, but a stingray doesn't want to kill a horse. It eats crustaceans, for God's sake.)
All Australian children know about stingrays. We are now being told that only three people have ever been killed by Australian stingrays. One of them must have been the chap who bought it 60 years ago in Brighton Baths where my school used to go on swimming days.
As a Melbourne boy, Irwin should have had a healthy respect for stingrays, which are actually commoner, and bigger, in southern waters than they are near Port Douglas.
The only time Irwin ever seemed less than lovable to his fans (as distinct from zoologists) was when he went into the Australia Zoo crocodile enclosure with his month-old son in one hand and a dead chicken in the other. For a second you didn't know which one he meant to feed to the crocodile. If the crocodile had been less depressed it might have made the decision for him.
The adoring world was momentarily appalled. They called it child abuse. But that's entertainment at Australia Zoo.
Irwin's response to the sudden outburst of criticism was bizarre. He believed that he had the crocodile under control. But he could have fallen over, suggested an interviewer. He admitted that was possible, but only if a meteor had hit the Earth and caused an earthquake of 6.6 on the Richter scale. That sort of self-delusion is what it takes to be a "real Aussie larrikin".
What Irwin never seemed to understand was that animals need space. The one lesson any conservationist must labour to drive home is that habitat loss is the principal cause of species loss. There was no habitat, no matter how fragile or finely balanced, that Irwin hesitated to barge into, trumpeting his wonder and amazement to the skies. There was not an animal he was not prepared to manhandle. Every creature he brandished at the camera was in distress. Every snake badgered by Irwin was at a huge disadvantage, with only a single possible reaction to its terrifying situation, which was to strike.
In 2004 Irwin was accused of illegally encroaching on the space of penguins, seals and humpback whales in Antarctica, where he was filming a documentary called Ice Breaker. An investigation by the Australian Department of the Environment resulted in no action being taken, which is not surprising seeing that John Howard, the Prime Minister, made sure that Irwin was one of the guests invited to a "gala barbecue" for George Bush a few months before.
Howard is now Irwin's chief mourner, which is only fair, seeing that Irwin announced that Howard is the greatest leader the world has ever seen.
The animal world has finally taken its revenge on Irwin, but probably not before a whole generation of kids in shorts seven sizes too small has learned to shout in the ears of animals with hearing 10 times more acute than theirs, determined to become millionaire animal-loving zoo-owners in their turn.
What? Penguins, seals and whales noe have a restraining orders?
Amazing how quickly the critics dip their beaks in the blood.
Germain Greer, that's Austalian for a$$hole mate!
Man, was this piece really necessary? Where can I go to slap the author upside the head?
This hate-filled piece of trash needs to join the Westboro "Baptist" Church.
The author is a jackass. Let's have some respect fot the dead. Especially, Steve. Yes, he was crazy and took lots of risks, but can it be said that the man wasn't a "good" guy?
Germaine Greer.... dried up old hag! I wish she would go play with the crocs. Hell, she looks just like them!
What a mean-spirited and insensitive piece following the death of an admirable man. This is just unbelieveable IMHO. I thought he was wrong in the incident about his son and I didn't like his response, but I overall admire the man and mourn his passing. What a horrible headline. The more I think about it, the angrier I become.
Antarctica is an interesting jurisdiction.
What an unfair statement. This witch needs to lighten up a little.
Please don't insult the crocs.
Why is it the cockroaches come out of the woodwork to defame the dead? There were times when Steve was a little reckless, but he does not deserve this. He died doing what he loved, bringing awareness and appreciation of wildlife to people all over the world. I loved his shows.
"John Howard, the Prime Minister, made sure that Irwin was one of the guests invited to a "gala barbecue" for George Bush a few months before."
I knew it. Bushes fault.
The only humane thing to do is shoot the writer as she is severly lame. /sarc
The world eventually will takes its revenge out on the MSM also. You see no good in anything but those that suit your agenda. Maybe circulation in Australia will go down like it has in America.
Ah yes, here it is. Seems for Ms. Greer, the man's politics were wrong, so it's OK to dance on his grave and criticize him after he is gone. The political left clearly has no shame (as if that were ever in doubt).
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