HE LIVED WHAT HE LOVED - STEVE IRWIN 1962-2006

The world lost a wonderful caring person in Steve Irwin, commonly know as the Crocodile Hunter.
He taught us to care because he cared so much. Today I watched the Animal Planet's tribute to Steve which they called CROC RULES. They presented stories of his life, a life whose passion was a love of Crocodiles & other Wildlife species including many different types such as the Penguins his crew filmed.

Animal Planet presented a love story, of a young woman, who also was interested in finding out ways to preserve & protect wildlife, & how a visit to a then small Zoo across the world from her hometown of Eugene, Oregon, had a God ordained meeting with Steve when she took a trip to Austrailia. As Steve was speaking during a presentation at the zoo, their eyes met & it was love at first sight, Steve said. They married in Eugene & about to go on their honeymoon, a call from Austrailia , caused them to return because of some pressing problem at the zoo.Terri was introduced to her new life, & it showed her scairy introduction to a snake which Steve's ever present film crew caught on tape.

Steve had grown up in this zoo which his parents started, & this is where Steve's passion as he refered to it began. In due time a baby girl arrived on the scene to bless Steve & Terri, & this dad who immediately fell in love with his tiny daughter named her, Bindy, after his favorite female crocodile, & Sue as her middle name, & this shouldn't surprise anyone, the name of his beloved dog. Bindy Sue who is now 8 years old has that same passion & love for animals as her parents. She will be having a show on Animal Planet soon.

There is also a baby brother, Bob, this time, named after his dad, who shares his name also with one of the large male crocs. Steve's dad has invented a type of net to catch these very large Salt Water crocodiles.

They also use cages & once caught, the crocodiles are equiped with a tracking device & transported with the aid of a helicopter to other locations.

Steve's belief that it is his mission in life is to save wildlife & their habitat. He appeared on many TV talk shows & did a number of series on Animal Planet about different species. One I particularly liked was a show about Penquins, & Steve being filmed sliding across the ice on his stomach just like the Penquins which were being filmed. Other trips shown were desert areas in Africa.

Steve felt that if you teach people about Wildlife, they will want to save it. Little Bindy Sue, & possibly baby Bob, I'm sure will follow in their mom & dad's footsteps.

The most important thing I heard about Steve this week, however did not come from the tribute on Animal Planet, but from a program called Celebration, on Daystar, a Christian Network.
The owner of the Network, Marcus Lamb, said that two & a half weeks before Steve Irwin was killed by the Sting Ray during the filming of one of his shows, Steve had gone forward in a church & had asked the Lord into his heart. I would imagine that this was from a reliable source, since I doubt that it would have been said otherwise. How wonderful to know that this young man, who had such a love for the animals created by the Lord, would himself become a new creation"

Though I'm sad that he is gone, I am happy to know where he is right now. Tuesday night the Memorial service being held at the auditorium of the zoo will be broadcast on the Animal Planet network. It will be as all services should be, a celebration of Steve Irwin's life.