I will never forget the first time I saw the powerful, fast-talking, wild Australian man with the undescribable love for all things of the Earth. The day I caught my very first snake, a Northern brown snake, I came home and turned on the TV to see the man I would later know as the "Crocodile Hunter" for the first time. The image remains in my mind so vividly... him standing beside an angry timber rattlesnake; an awe-inspiring species which I would not see for myself until many years later. It was like an omen.
I was very fortunate to grow and live in a herpetological generation in which this man led so many people, snake lovers and snake haters alike, toward a future of loving and appreciating all great beasts. When I heard the news of Irwin's death, I could best describe it as "shocked but not surprised." I knew something like this could happen some day, but never so soon and unexpected. Not when the man had a loving wife, two wonderful children and so many things going his way. My thoughts go out to Mr. Irwin's family, friends, Australia Zoo staff, and whoever else's life he managed to touch.
The death of Steve irwin was a tragedy, and yet I know that he is not dead. I have learned over the years that two legs on which to walk, a body, an accent and a full head of hair arenot what make a man who he is. Steve Irwin was a man so powerful, so determined, so dedicated, that all he had to give was his body. The rest of him is still here with us. Irwin lives on forever. He did not die. He lighted a spark in the hearts of a new generation, and has now startd a burning fire. There will always be a new generation to pass the torch along, and now it is our duty to keep doing what Steve did- making this great world open its eyes to the extreme beauty and power of all things of the earth.
Some have told me "Steve is in a different place now." I believe this myself, but perhaps not quite as many others would. The next time you head into the wild bush, the next time you stare into the eyes of a King Cobra, the nxt time you take some time to observe a Kenyan sunset from the cool slopes of Kilimanjaro... that is where Steve is. He is where he was meant to be. The crocodile hunter lives deep in our hearts and wherever natural beauty thrives. And so he is not dead... as long as we do not allow him to die. Nothing has changed here... as long as we do not allow things to change. Like the delicate balance ofnature in hich all living things exist Steve Irwin will never fade away, and will always hold his place.
Irwin lives.
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DAVE


0.0.1 Oriental fire-bellied toad
0.1 Western hog-nosed snake
0.0.1 Okeetee corn snake
0.1 Dubia day gecko
0.0.1 yellow * Everglades rat snake
1.0 Yunnan beauty snake
1.0 scarlet kingsnake
0.1 albino African clawed frog
0.0.1 Northern black racer
0.0.1 African brown house snake (Zambia locale)
0.0.1 Sonoran gopher snake
1.1 European fire salamanders
(parthenogenic) Brahminy blindsnakes *

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