Steve Irwin

[hmmm_tea]

'Crocodile Hunter' Irwin killed

"Stingrays only sting in defence, they're not aggressive animals so the animal must have felt threatened. It didn't sting out of aggression, it stung out of fear," Dr Bryan Fry, Deputy Director of the Australian Venom Research Unit at the University of Melbourne said.

OK, it's sad that he's dead, but what's he doing going around provoking animals like that in the first place?

What's this obsession with showing animals as dangerous in the name of entertainment?

Comments

[ex-robhu.livejournal.com]

I believe he did it so that people were aware of that side of animals. I mean - he was there to make good television but from what I know of him I believe that was mostly out of a desire to increase interest in the natural world (which is ultimately good for the animals).

[hmmm-tea.livejournal.com]

Yes, but surely a fierce creatures approach is the wrong way about it.

Surely the view that all animals are dangerous is worse than complete ignorance.

[ex-robhu.livejournal.com]

Do people think that? I didn't come away with that impression.

[senji.livejournal.com]

As far as I can tell from the mixed reporting, Irwin wasn't actually (intentially) provoking the Stingray at all — they were filming something entirely different and he swam over it and it reflexively attacked (swimming over Stingrays is usually entirely safe, but I guess if they're already stressed then they might react?)

[hmmm-tea.livejournal.com]

Admittedly I didn't know that.

Haven't seen much Steve Irwin (as I wasn't really impressed with what I saw), but what I did see seemed to be some sort of "fierce creatures" style freak show to show off how animals are all supposedly dangerous. I really don't think it should be about that, but maybe it wasn't, maybe that's just the bit I saw.

[(Anonymous)]

You ask "what's he doing going around provoking animals like that in the first place?'

MONEY

and

FAME

both addictive.
I know, I'm a total failure.