Remembering Steve Irwin

I must confess. I wasn’t a die hard fan of the late Steve Irwin, but I quite liked his shows. He was just so out of the ordinary when dealing with wildlife, particularly crocodiles. And his accent, wow, now that’s really Australian! And though I prefer another renowned wildlife hero – Jeff Corwin (he’s much better looking, I must say, and funnier as well), I thought Irwin was pretty cool too.

So naturally, his tragic and sudden death exactly a year ago was a big shock, though not quite as shocking as Princess Diana’s death. I was still in KL at that time so I had no inkling of how the Aussies took it. He was the pride of Australia and an icon in wildlife preservation. They adored and loved him here (though like most celebrities, he had his share of critics too). So there must have been mass mourning and grieving.

I always had a feeling he would be mauled by a crocodile someday, or may be a shark if he happened to be in the sea. After all, he danced with death each time he went near the wild animals. If you’ve watched any of his shows, you’d know how many close calls he’d had. He must have run out of luck eventually. In the end, it was a stingray that did him. Until his death, I had never even heard of a stingray killing someone! I always regarded stingrays as docile and graceful sea creatures, never ferocious killers. It did seem like a very cruel joke to be killed by a stingray, of all animals.

Well, today Irwin’s are fans paying tribute to him in various ways. There are TV specials, features on him in the newspapers, online comments on him and his legacy, etc.

His legacy lives on through his family, particularly his widow Terri and daughter Bindi. That little girl has got spunk and display astonishing maturity coping with the loss of her father and carrying on his legacy.

I certainly don’t think the Irwin name is in danger of fading away anytime soon.