"Crikey means gee whiz, wow! " - Steve Irwin

Listening to 4zzz on the way home today, I was appalled to hear one hard radio announcer bagging Steve Irwin, insinuating that Steve had caused this stingray undue distress and his treating of animals as his toys is just cause for his death.

Pretty harsh words considering his body hasn't even been buried yet.

Googling stingray facts I noticed a couple of recurring facts stating that stingrays can be friendly and openly curious towards humans. Stingrays only become aggressive towards humans when they are stood on or if their tail is pulled.

Steve would have been aware of these traits and would have had no reason to suspect his life was in danger. Animals weren't his toys they were his life.

Steve was the most passionate conservationist with an adrenalin charged persona that appealed directly to our children and future leaders of the world.
We should all be celebrating his life. He lived and died doing what he loved most, saving animals and saving the planet, not bagging him on the radio.

Plenty of young kids around the world who idolized Steve have just experienced death for the first time. Steves messages to these young kids will be sorely missed. Steve lived life with the purist of intentions and doesn't deserve the grilling dished out today.

Sorry 4zzz but I won't be subscribing, and you no what you can do with your market day.

Here are some quotes of the great man, and if you would like to express your condolence you can sign his guest book at legacy.com.




"I have no fear of losing my life - if I have to save a koala or a crocodile or a kangaroo or a snake, mate, I will save it."

"But I put my life on the line to save animals."

"My belief is that what comes across on the television is a capture of my enthusiasm and my passion for wildlife."

"Sharks, I've been self-trained as well, and crocodiles, naturally. I've been catching them since I was nine. No problem."

"So fear helps me from making mistakes, but I make lots of mistakes."

"Herein lies our problem. If we level that much land to grow rice and whatever, then no other animal could live there except for some insect pest species. Which is very unfortunate."

"I believe our biggest issue is the same biggest issue that the whole world is facing, and that's habitat destruction."

"I believe that education is all about being excited about something. Seeing passion and enthusiasm helps push an educational message."