Steve Irwin

The great australian Steve Irwin of "The Croc Hunter" fame died this weekend after being stung through the heart by a stingray while doing some diving for a documentary he was filming. Though made fun of by many, Steve Irwin was a very smart and intelligent man. His shows, documentaries, and zoo have been successful since the early nineties and he will be a man severely missed by many.

Like others who choose to work with wild animals for a living, Steve Irwin met his fate through a wild animal. Though often portrayed as a cute and cuddly job on TV, working with animals is anything but. There is a lot of hard work involved, the pay isn't always very good, and you are always working in danger of wild animals - because no matter how tame they are, those animals are always wild. People get bit, scratched and some times killed by the animals they are trying to help or document.

So why do we do it? If it's so dangerous, why do so many people want to get into that field? I can't speak for anyone else, but if I can better the life of just one animal or contribute to the field of animal conservation just a little, then all of the studying, hard work, and danger* I've been in just being around these animals will have been more than worth it.

Steve Irwin was a brilliant man who I respected greatly in his life. May he rest in peace.

(* This is a dangerous field, however the men and women who choose to work it are not in constant danger. It's just more of the chance of an animal feeling threatened and attacking you, which sometimes happens. This is a dangerous job - but I don't want anyone freaking out and thinking that I'm just going to go and get myself killed in a zoo someday. The amount of deaths of keepers and wildlife managers from animals isn't large, but it is a danger and reality that everyone lives with who wants to work in these fields. A reality that we all accept.)