Posted on 09/10/2006 1:27:29 PM PDT by Kitten Festival
Hundreds of surfers have paid a special tribute to Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin at a memorial service on Queensland's Sunshine Coast.
The 44-year-old, died last Monday after he was pierced in the heart by a stingray's barb while filming a documentary off the far north Queensland coast.
The self-proclaimed wildlife warrior was an enthusiastic surfer and a tribute was held on Sunday at Alexandra Headlands beach.
About 250 surfers formed a huge circle off the beach to remember Irwin. Floral tributes were placed in the water.
Staff from the Irwin family's Australia Zoo took part in the commemoration held during the Juniper Surf classic being staged at Alexandra Headlands in support of cancer charity Camp Quality.
A public memorial service is planned for Mr Irwin, possibly at Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium within the next two weeks.
A private funeral for the environmentalist and media personality is believed to have been held over the weekend.
The family declined offers from the federal and state government of a state funeral, with Mr Irwin's father Robert saying his son was an "ordinary bloke".
(Excerpt) Read more at news.ninemsn.com.au ...
He pinged me the one with the sorrowful stingray and that TOTALLY got me going again!!
He knew his stuff.Rather, he was one with the animals. Some people just have it. My vet has it. The other doctors in that hospital know medicine, but they don't know the animals. This guy, an American Indian, KNOWS animals. My dog just feels it when he's with him. He bites the other doctors when they push too hard, or whatever, but he'd never dare even threaten this guy. This doctor is one of them, and they just know it.
I can't describe it any better.
That look is pure love and adoration. There is no doubt that Steve was her hero husband and there's no way he can be replaced. My heart just aches for her and the kids.
On one of the shows played today, a cameraman mentioned how amazed he was that wherever Steve went, animals just "showed up".
What was also great about Steve, probably the greatest thing and something that hasn`t occured to the likes of FemNazis like Germaine Greer, was that Steve was an extremely positive person, something you don`t get in any celebrity or high profile person today. This makes his loss even more painful.
AN INTERESTING DAY AT THE RAINBOW BRIDGERainbow Bridge is a place of both peace and anticipation as departed pets await their beloved owners. There are plenty of things to keep them contented while they wait: trees you can't get stuck in, endless meadows, splashing streams, thickets perfect to hide in for pounce-attack games.
But one day the residents noticed some rather...unusual newcomers arrive.
The koalas and the kangaroos slipped in rather quietly, but then came the bearded dragons, the skinks and the goannas. The influx of snakes startled an entire family of cats up a tree. Pythons, cobras, tiger snakes, brown snakes and even fierce snakes. There were so many at one point, it seemed the ground itself was alive with writhing. A burly wombat shouldered his way through the crowd and plopped down in a shady spot, barely missing a Jack Russell terrier who yapped indignantly as he abandoned his position.
And then the crocodiles showed up.
Finally, a Great Dane managed to get up enough nerve to approach one of the reptillian giants.
"Um....excuse me," he said hesitantly. "But why are you all here?"
The croc dropped her jaw and laughed. "Same as you, mate," she said. "Waitin' for someone who loved us."
The dogs, cats, gerbils and other "typical pets" looked at each other in confusion, then at the plethora of weird, ugly and downright deadly creatures assembled. Who on Earth could possibly love some of those faces?
"I see him!" shouted a green mamba from his vantage point in one of the trees. A cacophony of squeeks, hisses, bellows and roars erupted as the mob surged forward toward a lone human walking across the field toward the bridge. The other animals managed to catch a glimpse of him before he was overwhelmed by the crowd.
"CRIKEY!" he shouted joyously right before he was bowled over by the wombat.
"Well I'll be," said a Persian as she tidied up her fur. "It's that Aussie my human liked to watch on TV. Had to be the craziest human on the whole planet."
"Oh, please," remarked a echidna as he hurried by. "Is it really that that crazy to passionately love something God made?"
You know his beloved old dog Sui, the one he named his daughter after, and the one that accompanied him on so many croc hunts, is there with him.
Pass that Kleenex over here again. I won't say "Waaaahhh!" like I did before, when it was misunderstood, but I'm doing it!
Just when I thought that memory of Steve Irwin was dimming as time moves on (not on FR, of course), I decided to check the Animal Planet page. What a wonderful tribute - and the wallpaper is a stunner.
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