Crocodile Hunter dies.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(efusco @ Sep 4 2006, 03:43 PM) [snapback]314109[/snapback]</div>

so depressing... *sniff*

yet so accurate. i don't even wanna think about it.

sigh...

 

His death is a reminder that, even for professionals, dealing with animals is a dangerous business. His "sthick" was to put himself in what we thought was a dangerous position, which is "entertaining" in that we think we could see something exceptional, like someone being eaten by a crocodile. We don't know if his interaction with the stingray was why he was killed, but like the marine biologist killed by the whales while filming them rubbing barnacles off their bellies, and the guy who "lived with polar bears" who was eaten on tape, it is not hard to imagine that "entertainment" killed him.

I'm not a real fan of these kind of shows, which have mostly replaced the straight-forward animal documentary. They are more entertaining, and therefore reach a larger audience, but they also bring a kind of "Jackass" mentality to the business of learning about animals. That mentality could easily lead to more humans interferring with the animal's environment, getting too close to them, feeding them, poking at them, etc.

Its a shame that he died at so young an age, and my heart goes out to his young family. But he did put himself in dangerous situations, just like race car drivers do, for the entertainment value. When I had my family, I started thinking about the things I could and should not do ... things that increase the risk that I wouldn't be around to see my kids graduate from high school, like sky diving, riding a motorcycle, smoking, etc.

Cancer is stupid, but there may be something about society and its need for entertainment that is stupid too.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(mlkco @ Sep 4 2006, 01:40 PM) [snapback]314078[/snapback]</div>

I've seen too much of cancer. It destroys without remorse, it kills without a care. It leaves people hoping and praying, and then slips back in without a sound to finish it's treacherous work. It snatches people before they have a chance to live.
It isn't stupid, it's a horror movie that never ends, until it does end. It isn't stupid, it has existed since the beginning of mankind. It has eluded the most intelligent minds on the planet. It used to be called "natural causes, or consumption".
I think that tragic is a better word, or horrific perhaps. It's not pointless either, just a continued impetus to find a cure. To not be able to beat a "stupid" disease, doesn't sit well to a loser.

 

Two words, "Grizzly Man"

 

Taken from the AP news listing

AP News
Updated: 8:46 a.m. ET Sept 5, 2006

CAIRNS, Australia - Steve Irwin was videotaped pulling a poisonous stingray barb from his chest in his last moments of life, officials said Tuesday, as tributes poured in for TV’s “Crocodile Hunter.â€

John Stainton, Irwin’s manager who was among the crew on the reef, said the fatal blow was caught on videotape, and described viewing the footage as having the “terrible†experience of watching a friend die.

It shows that Steve came over the top of the ray and the tail came up, and spiked him here (in the chest), and he pulled it out and the next minute he’s gone,†Stainton told reporters in Cairns, where Irwin’s body was taken for an autopsy.

Queensland state police were holding the tape as evidence for a coroner’s inquiry — a standard procedure in high-profile deaths or those caused by other than natural causes.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14675529/?GT1=8506

My question is would he have lived if the barb was left inplace until he made it to a hospital? Its human nature to pull out whats sticking us.. But would he have possibly lived?

Its a Sad day for all of us that enjoyed his shows & learned about wildlife from the shows..
Our prayers & thoughts go out to his family. :mellow:

 

makes me wonder if pulling the barb out caused more damage than when it went in? maybe leaving it there would have given him a few extra minutes to get to a trauma center. but ya can't blame him for doing it, my first reaction probably would have been to yank the thing out too.

 

On the "stupid cancer" remark, agreed. The doc wasn't being insensitive.

It's a shame that we can't throw a lot more money into solving something that kills tens of thousands of Americans each year. I don't want to start the political debate oabout how much money we pour into Iraq, but let's just say a fraction of that each month would go a long way toward researching a cure for the plague of our times.

For Steve, I think this was just a freak accident. It happens, even to someone who knew what he was doing.

Let's not go too overboard with the "inherant dangers" and "risk" discussion on diving. To be certified to dive, one has to undergo more training than most people get to drive a car or heavy machinery.

As a diver, smoking or scarfing down fast food seem much riskier than any of my athletic pursuits.

Getting into our cars, even a beloved Prius, is probably the most dangerous thing most of us do.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(efusco @ Sep 5 2006, 03:41 PM) [snapback]314700[/snapback]</div>

ouch, sounds like one nasty toxin, i bet you're right. inject some necrotizing toxin into the heart and you're not going far.

the 5HT probably made it painful as all hell too.

ironic that this morning in was commenting to my doc at how thankful i was for injection drugs.

 

The lesson I take from tragic deaths like these is that life is so fragile and fleeting. Truly live and love like this is your last moment on earth. And for me, have faith in something bigger than yourself so you do not live only for yourself...but for others and the betterment of the world.

I pray that God has Steve firmly in his arms.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Schmika @ Sep 5 2006, 11:45 PM) [snapback]314980[/snapback]</div>

Thanks for the link efusco. Well said Schmika..