WINNIPEG SUN (Manitoba) 06 September 06 'Toban's tribute (Adam Clayton)
Photo: Manitoba reptile owner Vern Ruml, seen displaying one of his large python snakes yesterday, says the late Steve Irwin helped protect animals worldwide by stressing the importance of wildlife preservation. (Marcel Cretain)
Fans all over the world are in mourning following the sudden death of Steve Irwin, star of television's The Crocodile Hunter.
The colourful Australian, who rose to international fame by getting close to dangerous animals such as crocodiles and snakes, was killed when his heart was pierced by a stingray while shooting scenes for a television series near the Great Barrier Reef on Monday.
"It was a sad day for animal lovers, without a doubt," said local snake expert Vern Ruml, a self-professed big fan of Irwin.
Ruml always admired the close connection Irwin had with wildlife.
"The love he had for animals was obvious," he said. "He wouldn't be able to do those things with animals if he didn't have an intense love for them."
Besides entertaining viewers, Ruml said Irwin helped protect animals through his message of wildlife preservation, which reached millions of viewers around the world.
"He did a lot for animals, that's for sure. And for a lot for people, by educating them about the reality of animals," he said.
"He dispelled a lot of misconceptions about snakes, which I appreciate, being a snake person, and crocodiles."
Frank Caldwell, manager of Assiniboine Park Enterprises, said he can't recall an employee being seriously injured by an animal at the zoo since a zookeeper was killed by a camel in the late 1980s.
Caldwell said staff are trained to treat the animals at the zoo with the caution and respect befitting wild animals.
"Working in a zoo is recognized to be the kind of a job where you have to be alert at all times, and so that's how all of our staff run their day-to-day work lives," he said.
Ruml, who keeps five Burmese pythons at his home in the Rural Municipality of Tache, said the animals trust him, and he's never truly felt in danger around them.
However, he has received a number of minor bites from snakes and one big one from his caiman -- a member of the alligator family -- when the reptile was extremely stressed.
"Mine is tame, but there's no such thing as tame to the point where a caiman won't take anything that's in the way as food," he said.
'Toban's tribute