Sunday 4 September 2016

Steve Irwin - ten years later

Nearly a decade ago, I wrote this small tribute to Steve Irwin:

"Steve Irwin invested millions in lands. He did this to protect the environments that wildlife lived in. He should be remembered for that, and the other great achievements he did."

I cannot believe that it has been ten years since Irwin's death. I remember the day as though it were yesterday - I read the news in the morning and by the time the afternoon came around (on the US West coast, where I was located at the time), the Internet was almost impossible to navigate with all the people who were logged on at once reading up about Irwin.

When Irwin became famous, he often received criticism for emphasising entertainment over conservation but he used the former to aid with the latter while remaining true to his principles; Australia Zoo is part of that legacy as is the awareness he raised/people he inspired to become involved. He was most certainly a positive force in the world and he went too soon.

All these years later, thank you, Steve Irwin, for your conservation work and thank you to Terri Irwin for continuing it.

4 comments:

  1. I still can't believe he was killed by a stingray, instead of all the other crazy beasts he happily wanted to tackle

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    1. He knew how to deal with animals such as crocodiles and snakes - ocean animals...not so much. :(

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  2. Wow! September 4, 2006 was Labor Day and the day after the Gretchen Wilson concert and a day before I went back to 11th grade for the start of the school year. I remember the day vividly as well. So sad.

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