Steve Irwin Lived Dangerously and Got Stung

What should we call the death today of Steve Irwin, the gregarious Crocodile Hunter of Animal Planet's "The Crocodile Hunter"? Is it tragic? Of course. Shocking? Not really. Surprising? Only a little bit. It's wrenching that the man died the way he did in a freak incident involving a stingray, leaving behind a wife and two young kids. The ray's poisonous barb on its tail caught Irwin flush in the chest and pierced his heart, which is one of the very few ways that a ray's sting is fatal. Death from a stingray is said to be exceedingly rare, responsible for a scant one or two fatalities annually worldwide.

It was horribly ironic that something as random as this would befall Irwin after staring death in the face from so many lethal predators so many times.

I was never a big fan of Irwin's, finding him a bit too buffoonish and goofy for comfort. He was a big crazy Aussie teddy bear of a guy who talked to the animals like a hyperkinetic Dr. Doolittle, nutty and silly and sassy and, ultimately, a bit too in love with danger for his own good. When you've got a family, some might see that up-close-and-in-their-face thrillseeking as sorta selfish and irresponsible, though since that's how the guy made his living and became an international star it's tougher to quibble with his style. If he'd dialed his methods back a notch, one can argue, he wouldn't have been Steve Irwin.

My friend Burt Kearns over at the great blog Tabloid Baby called Irwin's the first death of the reality TV era, having "died for our sins" as consumers of the kind of wildlife product he dished out. Irwin was a kiddie icon because of his jolly, cartoony, khaki-clad persona. To adults he was more of a spoofy curiosity whose approach crossed into self-parody. But grown-ups, if they watched Irwin's schtick at all, became fans because he did get so close to peril with such regularity. Because Irwin would joke about it, he never seemed truly close to disaster. But the truth obviously was that -- in the absence of healthy caution -- a line of patter proves a lousy defense.

This isn't to say that Irwin asked for it, and again, the way this went down was ironic in that there was nary a croc in sight. But we also recall the criticism he received a few years ago when he was photographed feeding a crocodile while cradling his newborn son in his other arm. The flak he attracted for that little stunt was justified in that accidents happen, he could have tripped or dropped the infant -- and then what? Whoops? If you're a little crazy and tempting fate, that's one thing, but using your uncomprehending kid as a stage prop with a reptile's snapping jaws close by represented astonishingly bad judgment.

All of this is bound to be forgiven and forgotten now given the way Irwin was killed. He'll be remembered as one of TV's great effervescent characters, as well he should. He was one of a kind to be sure, and he's already being lauded for having "died doing what he loved." I always do kind of a double-take when I read that line: died doing what he loved. I feel safe in saying that Irwin didn't love having a hole punched in his heart by one of the sea's roughest customers, and the fact is that when you invade on another animal's turf with cameras and microphones you're taking a gamble no matter how fully you protect yourself and exercise caution.

Steve Irwin didn't deserve to die. I feel badly it happened to a 44-year-old guy with a family and such a vibrant zest for his life and his work. But he also well knew the risks. Or maybe he somehow came to see himself as invulnerable, with the croc/infant incident serving as a tipoff. If there's a lesson to be learned -- one imparted to Irwin with tragic finality -- it's that nature is not a photo op. And sometimes, it bites back.

Comments

[The Big Sis]

Last night around 11:00pm, as my soon-to-be-16-year-old kid was surfing the 'net, he called me into his room and said, "Look at this headline, Mom, it says Steve Irwin just died." I looked at it and said, "Oh yeah, right. This has got to be a very tasteless joke". He said, "Yeah, that's what I thought. Steve Irwin can't die. He's the Crocodile Hunter. He's just too tough." He and I both honestly thought it was just one of those stupid internet gags that someone put a lot of work into. When I finally got on CNN online and double-checked, I found that it was all too real. This one really got to me for some reason. Steve Irwin, as clownish as he can be, was part of my kid's childhood, like Sesame Street or Disney movies. It really saddened me. I bet even the crocodiles will be in mourning.

[Lance Mazmanian]

Ray, Steve's being killed by a stingray is probably analogous to Evel Knievel getting nailed by a falling stoplight:

It's just that unlikely, that coincidental, and that preposterously, tragically random.

But like massive SUCCESS, great MISFORTUNE comes knocking blindly: It's not at all choosy about who it visits.

On a related note, people are too quick to congratulate themselves when their lives are fabulous. I wonder if, in the reverse, they ever think to BLAME themselves when their plane crashes, or their car is hit by a falling girder.

Of course they don't.

L.

[OldOldLady Of The Hills]

Beautifully put tribute, Ray...though I understand perfectly why you felt as you did about him. Bafoonish? Yes! And everything else you said he was, too...It was his Humor that I found so disarming. I thought he was nuts to fool around with these Crocs, the way he did...but, always at the 11th Hour he knew the danger---and would pull back in a HUGE hurry, and just in time...
Was he Tempting Fate? I guess so. Was the Sting Ray as horribly dangerous as all those Crocs? I guess so.
Very sad that this kind of unique crazy guy would be struck with a direct hit right to his heart! Hello? And this happenstance so very rare to happen...OY!
Whats sad? That he was 44. That he had such a zest for life. That he leaves a wife and two young children.
But, for a somewhat short time, historically speaking, he made everyone feel that maybe--possibly--perhaps---Crocodiles were not quite as scary and dangerous as we all thought. Well, they are. And as it turnes out, so is the Sting Ray---straight to the heart, as it turns out.
Personally? I find there is an incredible irony in that.
Thanks Ray, for your always heartfelt and brilliant writing when it comes to these life/death situations. This man may have been a real nutcase...BUT, BUT, BUT, he touched so very many people all over the world, and the Blogging world---I mean the "personal" blogs in the blogging world, truly reflect how this dear young man touched so very very many peoples lives with his crazy bafoonery and his complete faith that HE could move quicker than any Croc! I guess he didn't ever count on a Sting Ray stabing him with a direct hit right in the middle of his actually extremely tender tender Heart!
RIP, Dear Steve.
And Thanks, dear Ray.

[sarah]

that is really sad that he died, he was a really good person.