By Staff
Our View
The sudden death of the famed "Crocodile Hunter" has left a nation in disbelief and shock.
Steve Irwin, 44, an avid conservationist and environmentalist made famous by capturing live crocodiles, died Labor Day morning while filming an underwater documentary.
His many documentaries that have aired primarily on the Discovery Channel show him wrestling with live crocodiles and in many instances almost being pulled into the fierce reptiles death roll.
Viewers gasped as Irwin would escape unharmed each time, but unfortunately Irwin was not able to escape his close encounter with wildlife this time.
As he swam underwater off of the Great Barrier Reef in Australia he was stabbed in the chest by a stingray's barb, an animal less likely to kill than the crocodiles Irwin was so familiar with.
Many people felt his death was imminent, while others are in shock. But isn't that true for us all? Death.
Granted, Irwin lived in a manner that had certain dangers, death being the ultimate, but he did what he loved and he lived with no regrets.
Irwin went to the extreme each day of his life to bring an experience and knowledge of the fascinating creatures of the wild to the ordinary people like us. He had a passion and was willing to risk everything just to share that passion with people who would never in a million years have the same kind of opportunity.
As some parents live vicariously through their children, we all lived the same way through the "Crocodile Hunter's" many adventures. He carried us places we would never go and showed us things that we would never know. He was an educator on the edge that captivated our attention, both young and old alike.
Some may have found him crazy, but learned just the same, while others dreamed of the same sort of adventure in their own life.
The "Crocodile Hunter" will be a legend of our time and a definite loss to the world that few travel with such a passion and bravery.
Crikey Mate!