Of all the ways I would have expected the Crocodile Hunter to go, this was not one of them.
Steve was a showman, yes, and a nut—in the good ways of the word. He was enthusiastic, knowledgeable, and did not take as many risks as many believed. Instead, he did things with a strong sense of calculation, knowing his limits and that of the animals with which he interacted. Don’t take my word for it, go to real experts and hear what they are saying. Last night, I saw a great news program that featured Jack Hanna and Jim Fowler. For those of you old enough to remember Mutual of Omaha Wild Kingdom, Jim was the one who always got to wrestle the beast of the week while Marlin Perkins went and viewed the butterflies (or at least in the version a cousin and I did in satire). Both are experienced, and have a lot of wisdom in the field. Jim, in particular, talked about Irwin and how he really didn’t take risks per se. It is worth noting that Steve was never bitten by a poisonous snake… Those saying that he took risks, or poked/provoked the ray, well, a lot of it seems like sour grapes to me, grasping for a moment of fame on far greater coattails.
Steve’s enthusiasm caught with audiences, and he did much to get younger generations interested not in the showmanship, but in the meat that is animal science. From behavior to biology, he made it fun, accurate, and interesting. As friend G noted, he was the best PR snakes have had in all of history.
I hope that this will not be lost in the days ahead, and that his work will continue. What he did, both in public and in private, is important. I also hope that a wish of his will be honored, and the film of what happened is released as he apparently desired. May we all learn from it, one more lesson from a man who did much to make animals fun and interesting again.
Meantime, I wish the best for his wife and children. May the light shine on them in days ahead, and warm them and guide them on the path they now must follow.
