Crikey! Steve Irwin is dead!

"Life is a tragedy for those who feel, and a comedy for those who think." -- Jean de La Bruyère

It was neither for Steve Irwin, also known as “The Crocodile Hunter”. He died yesterday in a freak diving accident, stabbed through the heart by the barb on a sting ray’s tail.

Steve’s death is a tragedy for many people: most of all for his children and wife, but also for his personal friends, for the people of Australia and for all of us who loved not only his work but his big Aussie personality that leapt across the oceans. Who Steve’s death was not a tragedy for is Steve Irwin. He lived the way he loved. He understood the meaning of the word wild and loved nature the all the more for its wildness. He put Animal Planet on the map, raising the fortunes of The Discovery Channel group.

Of course he wanted to see his kids grow up and to handle 10,000 more crocodiles; but watching animals through a plate of glass was not his passion – you might as well have put him in a cage. I mourn our loss but salute Steve Irwin’s life and legacy.