Who could possibly have foreseen this
terrible tragedy? 
Who could have ever predicted that a man renowned for leaping through the air,
swamp and sea
onto large and dangerous animals’ backs would ever come to harm?  
I’ll tell you who: me.

The recent death of  “The Crocodile Hunter” Steve Irwin has sent waves of shock and grief  rippling through the Internet and other news outlets.  Irwin’s death, resulting from a shot through the heart by the barb of a stingray during an undersea film shoot, has given birth to wails of disbelief and surprise.

 Who could possibly have foreseen this terrible tragedy?  Who could have ever predicted that a man renowned for leaping through the air, swamp and sea onto large and dangerous animals’ backs would ever come to harm?   I’ll tell you who: me.

 Irwin came to fame through his show on the Discovery Channel, “The Crocodile Hunter”.  It frequently showcased him alternately running down and running from various large reptiles; Komodo dragons, King cobras and of course his favorite, “crocs.”  In the name of “science,” Irwin probed into the darkest and most unexplored recesses in the natural kingdom.  Frequently, he used his fingers.

 In an article in London’s Guardian newspaper, Australian-born writer Germaine Greer said of the event, “The animal kingdom has finally taken its revenge.”  She continued, saying that Irwin’s death came after his inspiring an entire generation of kids to harass animals in “shorts seven sizes too small.”  Amen, sister.

 Irwin was entertaining; there is no doubt about that. But he routinely put himself in dangerous situations that a more competent “conservationist” would not.  His approach to exploring the natural world was as witless as the hissing, thrashing reptiles he often clutched to his chest.  He suffered injuries throughout his career and had several close calls with death.  This time, the Croc Hunter’s luck went the way of the Dodo bird and the Tasmanian Tiger.

 His death should serve as a warning to any other self-styled “conservationists” who think to replace actual qualifications with misguided bravado.