So you can sit in judgment but no-one else can? Don't forget, this guy DID dangle his month-old baby over a crocodile.

Cheers

Whirls

Could some one give me a link to the Rotorhead forum ? ? I think i have got on to a wild life site ? ! ! :bored:

E

Movin up made some uncivilized comments but it don't help to call him wildlife. :=


B.

yeah that was stupid ,wasnt quite what i was thinking, but im big enough to say when maybe i did go on to far, but it still remains the man is dead not even 24hrs. i for one hopes he R.I.P

Um, negative. He was holding his baby while he fed a crocodile. He was no idiot, he was no Michael Jackson and his child was safe as houses. In the extremely unlikely case that that episode did go pear shaped, the croc would not have got past Steve and taken his child.
He had more to give than he had already given and I for one hope his legacy lives on for a bloody long time.
Comparing Steve Irwin with Dave Ettinburough is like comparing rum with milk. They are both bloody good for you but they are a completely diffferent kettle of fish
Efirmovich,
I got it and I see what you mean.

Not a bad concept.

Very Sad... That he was a showman there is no doubt, but it seems obvious that alongside that he had a deep concern and passion for animals and nature. He also had an instinctive and vast knowledge of their behavior, for if he had not then he would never have survived as long as he did. It's very unfortunate and a little ironic that to have spent all the years he did getting down and dirty with some of the most dangerous creatures on the planet he was then killed by one that has virtually no track record of attacks on humans. Who said the world had to make sense. I respected the guy and will miss his enthusiasm and good humor on the box.

"may I start by saying I admired Steve's balls "

One Man Band, I think you could have worded that a bit differently, but I think he would have laughed at the humor in it.....
I can certainly say if I ever hear anyone again say Crikey, I will automatically remember Steve Irwin.

Good call Bellfest.
Movin' up - you are a nob and for the rest of the planet what you are seeing here is a classic case of tall poppy syndrome. Cut the head off the highest one 'cause it is standing out.
Why are we debating the death of a great Australian? He died doing what he loved and while it was too soon to go, at least he succeeded beyond his wildest dreams.
There are plenty of wannabe Steve Erwins out there now, I remember Milton jumping on the croc for Troy Dann - a genuine Territorian and genuine poser. Now why was a real 'northerner' like Troy even try to imitate Steve Erwin if he was such a fool as you would suggest? Steve was first and all the rest a distinct second.

MOVIN UP - Steve irwin will be remembered by his world wide audience by the persona he portrayed to the public. He will be remembered by his family by the persona he portrayed in private.


I hope you portay a better persona to your family than you have portrayed to the helicopter industry via this forum.

hey wirly cant accept this comment ......you didn't know that he was setting up helicopter joyflights out of his joint and was inviting quotes to supply a/c
1800 views and 30 replies ..........cheers:oh:

http://www.apple.com/trailers/lions_gate/grizzly_man/

For more conservation info check out this recently released movie.

It makes Steve look very sensible and cautious.

Incase you have not heard about this Grizzly Man, he ends up as bear bait but the bear filming is amazing and I am glad to enjoy it from the comfort and safety of the armchair.

the grizzlyman did indeed make steve erwin appear to be the model of caution when he was handling and interacting with deadly animals. having heard some first hand stories about the GM and watched mr. erwin on tv i can say that he treated the subjects respectfully and obviously new what he was doing without placing himself in unnecessary danger.
he and his family can take pride in his accomplishments in furthering the conservation cause. RIP.

As he was always saying how dangerous ceretain animals were (occasionally whilst getting bit), and as he was filming a documentary when he got killed, his family have expressed their wish that the footage of the incident be shown as part of the documentary itself, or at the very least that it should be released to the news networks for broadcast as an object lesson that even the experts can get caught out.

Crikey!

OK, none of us here (heli-pilots) can say that we are above taking risks. Right, we try to minimise the risks by flying safely, adhereing to rules etc..etc.. but at the end of the day, our profession includes embedded risk. And with that risk, we must accept the consequences.

Yes, it is very sad when things go wrong. Yes, the loss of anyone is sad, and sadder still is the plight of those loved ones he left behind. Here is where my sympathy ends.

Our man in question was a person who took (and accepted) risks in his field. It got him a name and a reputation...he did a lot of good for conservation and wildlife. He lived a fruitful life. It is sad to see it ended. No one can argue those points.

However, anyone persuing high-risk interests has to be accountable for their own success or demise. Do they deserve praise for taking those risks, or sympathy when things go badly...no neither really. It's their choice.
A couple of other points:

Selfish or not?- Those involved in high-risk sports / pastimes have to consider others, as well as themselves. Steve leaves behind a family, who will be suffering at this moment. My thoughts are with them.

Attenborough vs Erwin?: Is this serious? This is like comparing the Apollo astronauts with the shuttle guys! No, not even worth comparing. Let it be said though, that like Cousteau and Gagarin, Attenborough will always be considered the pioneer in this field. An accolade no one can take away from him.

Taking baby to meet Mr. Croc? Who are we to say that this was wrong. It was his baby, and I dare say that he was way more qualified to make a judgement on that than you or I.

Stingray's fault or Irwin's? - Well, stingrays are well known to be pretty passive if not aggrevated. As a diver instructor, I tell students not to touch the wildlife...to give them their space and you'll generally be OK. I would say this has got to be 'pilot induced error' through and through.

So, let's be mindful and respectful to those who are mourning their loss. That's where the real sadness is...where our thoughts should go. Some of the previous comments on this thread have been totally unnecessary.

However, let's not make this man out to be anything more than a very good performer, but one who took risks, knew the risks, and if asked now, would admit and accept the risks. He wasn't the 'most intelligent man alive'. He was an performer with a passion.

cl12pv2s

Helicopter, rotorcraft, chopper, whirlybird


There, now the thread belongs on rotorheads.

And an EMS helicopter was scrambled.
(But called back when it was learnt Irwin was already dead.)

Something which isn't show-boated in Steve Irwins documentaries is that he spent a lot of money purchasing private land in critical habitats & locking it up to conserve endangered species, cassowary habitats in FNQ for example. This didn't bring him any accolades or tv ratings so I assume he did it because he was passionate about it & genuinely believed in it.
I am passionate about flying helicopters so why aren't I famous? Because millions of people don't share my passion, & it was this mans ability to connect with millions which allowed him to champion the cause of endangered wildlife.

cl12pv2s - "He was an actor with a passion" - General consensus would agree that he was passionate but I don't believe he was acting. His display of enthusiasm was more than most of us would display but from accounts I have had it was definitely genuine. In saying that he knew how to use his enthusiasm to work a crowd.


NickLappos - Thanks for clearing that up. I saw a Heliwork WA Jetranger on one his shows so that backs up your statement!

I see that hasbeen old hag Germaine Greer, master (mistress?) of self-publicity, has used Irwin's death to get her name back into the newspapers.

In a rant in the Guardian (UK) she declares that "The animal world has finally taken its revenge on Irwin."
I'm sure his grieving wife and family will derive great comfort from reading that about a husband and father who's not even buried yet.

She claims he's set a bad example to "a whole generation of kids in shorts seven sizes too small", and claims "every creature he brandished at the camera was in distress."

Irwin was lauded as a fine conservationist because he deplored the slaughter of crocodiles and had purchased large tracts of land to keep their habitat alive. He was the face of a quarantine campaign, designed to keep foreign pests out of Australia. But that doesn't stop Greer dismissing him as "an entertainer, a 21st-century version of a lion tamer, with crocodiles instead of lions".

Predictably, she drags up the controversial incident when Irwin held his baby in one arm while feeding a croc with the other, and reminds readers that Irwin was accused of "illegally encroaching on the space of penguins, seals and humpback whales in Antarctica, where he was filming a documentary called Ice Breaker" - even though an investigation by the Australian environmental department cleared him.

"A parrot once did its best to rip his nose off his face. Parrots are a lot smarter than crocodiles."
That vile comment about a man who's just been killed says more about her than him.

"There was no habitat, no matter how fragile or finely balanced, that Irwin hesitated to barge into, trumpeting his wonder and amazement to the skies. "
And there's no depths to which some people won't stoop to trumpet their name to the world.

It only confirms what I've always thought about the woman. It must have been very irritating that another Australian was on television much more often than her.

She made a successful media/tv career out of being a professional Ozzy in England and saying things to shock, and now attacks Australia and Australians in her efforts to stay in the media.
A recent example:
"If your ambition is to live where nobody has ever been heard to discuss a book or a movie, let alone an international event, then Australia may be the place for you."


She says she has 12 venomous snakes on her property in Queensland.
Wouldn't it be a terrible shame if one of them bit her. ;)

Dear Poms
Could you please keep her over there, we don't want her back.:ugh: