I'm not Steve Irwin

I've said the above quote at least a dozen times, especially after catching all those snakes this summer. The last time I said it was at dinner with friends on Saturday night. I was explaining how, if a dog is really aggressive and dangerous, I'll give it a sedative. If it still wants to bite my face off, I tell the people, I'm sorry that I can't treat their dog. I'm not Steve Irwin.

I have been filled with sadness ever since Anthony told me this morning, "Steve Irwin died." Of course I was surprised it was from a stingray, but not surprised it was in his line of work. He always took risks.

I bled a lot. I got hit across the face. We couldn't film for seven days. I got hit, whacked, underwater, across the face. I finished the shot, got into the boat and blood started coming out.
Steve Irwin

Anyone who works with animals can't help but identify with Steve. He came to prominence just as I was starting my veterinary career. I loved his enthusiasm and pure love for the beauty of the animals he worked with, but he was so over the top, so oblivious to how campy he looked to the rest of us who didn't grow up on a wildlife farm. You could play a drinking game on how many times he said, "Crikey!"

Yeah, I'm a thrill seeker, but crikey, education's the most important thing.
Steve Irwin

I often watched his show feeling sorry for his slightly mousey American wife. She obviously loved him and was content to stand (often literally) in his shadow. But I pitied her when he had her scaling rock cliffs after him, when she was so petrified she couldn't move forward or backward, or when she was pregnant and couldn't scuba dive with him, and sat gazing nervously at the waters surface while he swam with sharks. And then there was the time he dangled her infant son over his beloved crocs while he was feeding them...

So fear helps me from making mistakes, but I make lot of mistakes.
Steve Irwin

Now I feel sorry for Terri and their children. They have to go on without him now. I'm sure they will all continue to live their lives around animals, even the dangerous ones, living in the shadow of his life, and his death.

I have no fear of losing my life - if I have to save a koala or a crocodile or a kangaroo or a snake, mate, I will save it.
Steve Irwin

I hope his life will teach people to respect nature, and emphasize the importance of preserving these creatures in their natural habitat. He did die doing what he loved.

I believe that education is all about being excited about something. Seeing passion and enthusiasm helps push an educational message.
Steve Irwin

So, my tactic with conservation of apex predators is to get people excited and take them to where they live.
Steve Irwin