5th Anniversary of Steve Irwin's Death

[KBR97]

My BP is named Irwin, after the Crocodile Hunter....RIP

[Matt K]

Thanks for all the kind words guys. I'm glad to see others here are keeping his memory alive. Forever a legend, no doubt, the man was invincible after all.

Cheers,
-Matt

[Robonarc]

He's the reason I love snakes today. I've been watching tonnes of Crocodile Hunter clips the last few days on Youtube. One of my favorite clips is from Komodo national park in Indonesia.
"Crikey!! That was a close one, she nearly tore my leg off! Let's follow her."

[kevinb]

I was still in high school when he passed and the news found its way to be second period of the day. I was so upset that I left school. He was my idol and I had dreams of meeting him.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using Tapatalk

[TomC]

I always watched him and liked him but I don't think I understood the impact he was making on the world until he was gone. I can say with confidence there will never be another like him.

[Foschi Exotic Serpents]

I was 19 or 20 when he first started out and I remember watching him back then. Long before animal planet was even heard of. Hell I didn't even have a cell phone yet lol! I was behind the times in the mid 90's.

But yeah, I loved him right from the start. I was shocked to see him go.

[Argentra]

I was still in high school when he passed and the news found its way to be second period of the day. I was so upset that I left school. He was my idol and I had dreams of meeting him.

Same here... I was crushed and cried for days. I also had dreams of going to Australia Zoo and meeting with him and Terri...getting to hold some snakes and gators and maybe a koala... sigh.

[Matt K]

I can't imagine my childhood without him really--I was a pre-teen when his shows first started airing on Animal Planet. I was lucky enough at that point to have satellite television and saw everything he did from the very start. When I was around 11 or 12 I even wrote him some letters, haha. I never got a reply, but that hardly mattered. I had just started my freshman year of college when he passed, and I found out from a friend while a group of us were hanging out. I asked him how he died, and when he told me, I told him it was clearly a hoax and left it at that. I saw on the news the next morning that it was true while eating at the dining commons and something just shriveled inside of me. I was a mess for weeks about it. In a very real way though, he's still a part of my life, as I met my girlfriend of nearly 4 years now through his death. She found me through mutual friends after hearing about me being upset over his passing, and we comforted each other through the whole ordeal. We became best friends, talked for countless hours everyday for more than a year, and eventually found our way into each others arms. I have a lot to thank Steve for, and he's someone I'll truly never forget.

Cheers,
-Matt

[ShamelessAardvark]

I was in 6th grade when he died.
It was the start of the year, and I was waking up and getting ready for my shower when my mom stopped me. She called me into the living room and sat me down. She looked me in the eye and said, "Steve Irwin died today."
I honestly didn't believe her. Of course I didn't, who would believe that their childhood hero suddenly died? Ever since I can remember, I would buy his shows and movies on VHS (we didn't have cable, and pretty much all of the movies I have of his are on VHS.) and watch them over and over, learning new things all the time. It was him who got me going on my reptile addiction, always looking for something to catch.

After she told me, I laughed and said, "Yeah right mom. He's not dead, stop trying to scare me."
Then she gave me this look. I don't think I've seen that look since, and I hope I don't have to. She brought me over to the computer and pulled up the article. I read the first few sentences, then just blankly stared at the screen. I just couldn't accept it, and it took me a while before I did. I broke down crying, almost hysterically. I couldn't even think straight, let alone stand still. I didn't get a chance to shower that morning.

I was pretty late to school, a little upset at my mom for making me go. Now that I look back on it, I'm glad she made me go. I didn't eat for a while after that, and went into a rather severe depression. That Christmas, my mom ordered me a signed photo of Steve and the rest of the Irwin family, as well as adopted (the online adoption, where you pay so much a year for the animal's care) a rescued iguana at the Australia Zoo. I cried when I opened the picture, and it took me a while to get over it.

I still don't like thinking about it; the man who fought so much for the creatures without a voice, doing everything in his power to educate everyone and anyone, gone. It had always been my dream to meet Steve and work at that Zoo. I doubt I'll ever admire anyone as much as I admire him.

[TheWinWizard]

RIP mate.