Sad Day

The world is mourning the loss of a great naturalist; a man who took us with him into the wild, to give us a better glimpse at the wildlife that he loved and tried to protect.

Here are a few quotes I thought were really good:

"'Rarely has the world embraced an animal enthusiast and conservationist as they did Steve Irwin,' Discovery Networks International President Dawn McCall said in a statement."

"The consensus of public opinion on the sudden death of the man we called the Crocodile Hunter is 'I’m shocked… but I know I shouldn’t be.' Steve Irwin waded into crocodile-infested waters, hauled poisonous snakes out from under rocks, and scaled trees in further search of things that send most people — and other animals — skittering in the other direction."

"'You need to come with me and be with that animal,' I once saw Irwin tell an interviewer on one of his Animal Planet specials, '…because if we can touch people about wildlife, then they’ll want to save it.

He then turned towards the camera, as I’ve seen almost no other celebrity do before in a soft-light interview. “Come with me!” he said, eyes wide. 'Come with me.'"

"Reports are now surfacing that Irwin, who was filming a documentary when he died, never saw the stingray that killed him until after it struck. His friend John Stainton told Australian media that the cameraman floated in front of the ray as Irwin swam alongside. The animal likely felt cornered. The barb swung.

If the camera hadn't been there, it may not have attacked.

But then again, if the camera hadn’t have been there, we likely would have never known Steve Irwin at all."