I use to watch his shows all the time. To me he was the most interesting to watch. I feel really bad for his family and friends and it's sad that he was killed by an animal that normally wouldn't be deadly, just very, very painful. So unfortunate and he will definately be missed. 
We should all live our lives with the obvious joy and enthusiasm that Steve did! I can't bring myself to tell my 8 year-old son - he loved Steve and the way he brought the world of animals to life! He was NEVER boring and I am grateful to him for instilling a love for animals in my son. My prayers go out to his family and the world will definately miss Steve's contagious joy for life! I know we will in our home.
I rarely watched Steve's shows but I did get a real kick out of him. He will be missed by many, many people.
I wish there was a way to forward all of the nice comments to his family. I work for an air ambulance helicopter company and any time there is a tragedy in our business (flight crew members die in a crash), everyone in the business has an opportunity to post condolence messages to the families. Sometimes there are literally hundreds of messages from all around the world and I know that these messages are a great comfort to the families (because they have written and said so). Perhaps Jackie can find a way to link our messages to any website that Steve's family may have (if people would be willing to do this of course). Just a thought.
Suzanne
Steve was the third person ever recorded to be killed by a stingray barb, so what he was doing today was extreamly low risk and the barb could have just as easily punctured his leg and not his heart. I think that his heart was just such a big target because of his love of animals, his family and his country.
I saw a documentary he did on orangatangs where he said "I think I am a little bit in love with this bibby(baby)" while holding a baby one and when I had my first baby I looked at him and sad to my husband "I think I am a little bit in love with this bibby!" You could just feel his passion for nature and a little rubbed of on me. Just today I went chasing after a blue tongue lizard that was in the middle of the road, I picked it up and carried it down the road to the bush where it would be safe.
While he appeared to be taking alot of risks he always had backup and a heep of knowledge to keep himself safe as well as the animals safe.
I really feel for his family and friends he was just an irreplaceable man and he will be missed dearly.
Oh my Gosh..My hubby just told me..I feel so bad for his wife and young children..He was such a young man!! Sad day for Australia and everyone!!
Totally sad....I will miss hearing his "Crikey"!!
It is such a tragedy. I am so sad for his family. I cannot imagine what they must be going through. 
I still can't believe he's gone.
I still can't believe it. I LOVED watching his show. I reallt liked the shows where his whole family was involved. You could tell how much he loved life, his family and the animals. It's such a shame that it had to happen this way. I never in a million years thought something like this would happen to him. Even seeing him with the all the wild animals, you just would think of him as indestructible. My heart and prayers go out to his family. The world lost someone very special and it will leave a big hole in a lot of hearts.
a very sad day -- such high profile, activist conservationists are truly rare (i grew up w/ Merlin Olsen on Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom) -- that ability to connect w/ both the human audience and the wildlife and to get the passion to transfer to the audience is special and so needed today w/ the closest so many people and youth especially get to wildlife is the local dance club/bar.
his official site: http://www.crocodilehunter.com
THO' -- it's overloaded right now and extremely hard to connect to. I'm betting in the coming days it will go back up and we'll be able to post condolences there.
We loved Steve. My son dressed as the Crocodile Hunter for Halloween a couple of years ago. I still have the costume.
We will miss him.
It was awesome to read the comments made by everyone. I told my kids today. My dauhter was pretty bummed. We have been watching him for such a long time.
Leann........ I wanted to say to you. Can I go on vacatio with you???
I too have swam with sharks and actually rays, but I have never been on a safari and Never have I been chased by a moose. I was ROTFLMAO when I read that. Must be a fun family story.
[quote="LeeAnn"]I wish some people were not so ignorant// I have just been on a Safari in Africa we were 3 metres from roaring lions/// this sort of thing is not to shock but simply because some people are more adventurous and exciting than others. I have scuba dived with sharks my children have been chased by moose. Life is exciting and when my 10 year old was told the risks of a safari he preferred the risk and excitement of our holidays. Steve Irwin was an amazing man that loved nature and life............ evrything we do in life involves risks but one needs to take those risks in order to prevent becoming mundane and boring and monotonous......
[/b]RIP STEVE
My sister called me this morning at 7:30 to tell me the news...the reason...she knows how much my 9 year old son LOVES this man! He has learned so much from Steve Irwin and his adventures. My son could tell me fact after fact after fact with such enthusiasm and amazement. He's never comes home from school like that!
It was so sad to look across the breakfast table this morning and tell our son the bad news. He sat in shock, shook his head and said "What will Terri and the kids do?" My heart broke...
God bless his family at this difficult time. Thanks, Steve, for bringing your passion into our home and teaching us all!
We will miss him greatly. It is amazing how 1 person could get to millions of children and adults alike and get them excited about wild animals. He accomplished so much in his life, he was a good teacher about the pros and cons of associating with wild animals and their habitats. I feel sad for his wife and children.
oh my gosh I had no idea...i just happened to see this post. Thats so sad...
I checked my news homepage last night before going to bed and was completely floored!!!
I had to read the headline several times to actually believe what I was reading!!!! I only watched his show a few times. That doesn't mean I didn't respect what he did and who he was. A man like that doesn't just fade away! Everyone knows who the Crocodile Hunter is!!!!! Without him I would have never know what I know about crocs and other wildlife!!!! He had a zest for life and he shared that with his family and the world.
I'm not going to be so ignorant to say "he should be ashamed of himself" when he died doing what he loved!!! The person who authored THAT statement should be ashamed of themselves!! 
for having such disrespect of human life and those who educate us, up close and personal, on parts of wildlife and nature we otherwise would have never known!!!!
I am appalled that such a tragedy has been turned into someone's opportunity to catch fame far far less than what a true Scientist created for himself!!!
We'll miss you Crocodile Hunter and I'll never forget what you taught me about things that I would otherwise have left alone!!!
Amy
The gift of Steve's life on this planet will ultimately bear out in time.
We are blessed that his family shared him in life, with all of us, that we could be made better by his being here.
For that, we all feel the sadness at his going.
To Steve: RITE of passage... and all that it can be.
Croc Hunters Rule!
Love... a fan.
a very sad day -- such high profile, activist conservationists are truly rare (i grew up w/ Merlin Olsen on Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom) -- that ability to connect w/ both the human audience and the wildlife and to get the passion to transfer to the audience is special and so needed today w/ the closest so many people and youth especially get to wildlife is the local dance club/bar.
his official site: http://www.crocodilehunter.com
THO' -- it's overloaded right now and extremely hard to connect to. I'm betting in the coming days it will go back up and we'll be able to post condolences there.
KUDOS and thank you for posting the link.
my husband and i are such fans of his show..unfortunately we switched cable providers and the new cable doesnt have the animal channel.
i could not believe what i read in a few of the posts...very insensitive comments made. that makes me sad.
Steve was doing what he loved and teaching the world to respect animals of the world.
my heart goes out to his wife, children family and friends. he will be greatly missed but never forgotten.
RIP Crocodile Hunter Extraordinaire. You will be missed by many.
I remember the Underwater World of Jacques Cousteau-he was considered a "risktaker" at first because of the sharks etc (that is aging me I know)-but so many things were learned by the viewers and by science-there always has to be a leader and a teacher and sometimes they are both at the same time-Steve Irwin did some things many of us will never have either the courage to do or the ability to do-but that does not mean we don't have to respect the man in him-he was teaching the world about animals-those that came across the Ark TWO BY TWO--may his family have comfort in knowing he will be sadly missed by so many lives he touched and didn't even know it....
Funny thing... DH and I took the kids to the Aquarium of the Pacific yesterday and we were all petting the stingrays. The docent said that they didn't sting unless they felt threatened. Not pointing fingers, but what could he have been doing to make the danged thing feel threatened?
We loved Steve here. We were looking forward to seeing him in action catching Reggie in Machado Lake (some ex-cop let him go in a county park). At any rate, the world has lost not only a great conservationist, but a great entertainer as well.
Rest In God's Grace, Steve!
..should he really be ashamed for what he did to support his family? maybe he did not think he was putting his life in danger for nothingwe are all here on earth for a purpose and his purpose was dealing with the wildlife.......dealing with WILD LIFE - lets all think about those words..they dont need to be dealt with..
He was fighting animal conservation and teaching the children of Australia not to be afraid of our native animals but to treat them with the respect that they deserve. .respect, yes but you should always fear them to some degree
As for the people who state that he was selfish, I'm sorry that you cannot see what great work he did. His wife loved and supported him in everything he did...great work..thats Doug and the 10000s of other school teachers that teach your kids in school and dont get paid diddly!.lets ask his wife today if she has second thoughts - those kids need a father..
I wish some people were not so ignorant..this sort of thing is not to shock but simply because some people are more adventurous and exciting than others.... everything we do in life involves risks but one needs to take those risks in order to prevent becoming mundane and boring and monotonous........did you really call me ignorant.because I do not agree with your ideas..call me
mundane and boring and monotonous - but I am alive!
I'm not going to be so ignorant to say "he should be ashamed of himself" when he died doing what he loved!!! That sounds like he loved the job more than the family to put himself in harms way so often.
The person who authored THAT statement should be ashamed of themselves!! I am not in any way!
for having such disrespect of human life and those who educate us, up close and personal, on parts of wildlife and nature we otherwise would have never known!!!! It seems he didnt respect his life of his family.
I am appalled that such a tragedy has been turned into someone's opportunity to catch fame far far less than what a true Scientist created for himself!!! True Scientist??????
i could not believe what i read in a few of the posts...very insensitive comments made. that makes me sad. This is American I have the freedom of to say what I feel. I just dont see him as the great hero you do. Heros in my opinion are a different breed than him.
This article explains a bit more of what happened.
http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/crikey-is-irwin-really-gone/2006/09/04/1157222070806.html
I just wanted to point out that Steve has been part of that wildlife park for most of his life. His parents bought and started running that park when Steve was a little boy. Wild animals have been part of his life from a young age. What may seem to some as being irresponsible behaviour, was just second nature to him. He grew up wanting to be like his dad. It's not something he just took up. When Terri met him and had kids with him, this is who he was. So I think that saying
I think he should be ashamed of himself to put his life in danger so many times, for nothing. He wasn't fight in the war - fighting a fire to protect others - protecting anything or anyone. He has a family to support. He didn't have to do the things he did, , he did it for the shock value.
is just speaking out of turn and ignorance.
I wasn't a fan of his, but I am very saddened about his death and the huge loss to his family.
Nati
I think so many posts in this thread say it all about him.. the way the kids have learned and reacted to him. My own included... and that doesn't even touch the surface of what he has done. There needs to be more people in this world as passionate about the world around us as he was. So many people have benefited from his work, not to mention wildlife with the zoo and him educating people.
We can be as boring as we want to be for our children's sake if we choose... it still does not guarantee that we will be alive tomorrow or later today for that matter.
He has done more good than most will do in a lifetime.. if for nothing else than getting children excited about learning and respecting wildlife.
We all are entitled to our opinions of course... but if nothing else... on a thread giving respects to a man who lost his life.... coming here for any other purpose for AT LEAST today is in poor taste.
We spend a tremendous amount of time discussing things that don't matter, and precious little time on the things that do. I hope he REALLY IS resting in God's grace......as someone has previously stated...because that's what it's all about.
My heart goes out to his wife and kids.
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