I am rather appalled at the outpouring of concern over this Steve Irwin character, yes he was likeable but truth is he was a moron who was doing a disservice to the world and I am amazed he lived as long as he did.
You see I am a true nature lover, an outdoorsman and someone who understands animals.
In nature, and that includes underwater as well as on land you are one of three things at any given moment. You are predator, or you are prey or you are irrelevant. Many larger animals like stingrays, manatees, porpoises and the like have few if any natural predators, to them a human is just another animal so long as it isnt acting in a threatening manner. They simply prefer to just keep a safe distance.
A few animals will intentionally stalk and kill a human, crocodiles, some sharks under the right circumstances and polar bears.
Animals dont have feelings, they don’t have compassion and they don’t want to be cuddled or loved or ridden. Outside of domesticated animals all animals see any attempt at contact as an immediate threat.
They do understand sex, hunger and fear and they will kill in response to the last two, mother nature has given them a myriad of way to protect themselves and every single one will do so when it feels fear.
Mr Irwin was guilty of being a threat and he got what was long overdue. But moreso than that he was guilty of being stupid and of projecting human qualities onto animals and in doing so to lure idiots all over the world into believing that most of the world around them is filled with animals that are perfectly fine with human contact. A sort of world filled with stuffed animals that you can touch and ride and cuddle with.
That ain’t how it works.
Your dog or cat only tolerates your contact because in years of domestication it now fully depends on you, it is no longer a part of nature but is your slave. It cannot live without you.
As a lifelong outdoorsman and avid sportsman I grew up understanding these things and as a predator I never take what I do not use and everything else, I leave alone. If you go into the woods or the water remember your place. Look, don’t touch.
If you need to feel superior to an animal by riding it or touching it go home to your horse or your dog, otherwise just observe and learn and leave only your footprints.
If you hug a crocodile, or a stingray or shark or whatever and you end up dead…don’t expect me to feel sorry for you, had I been that stingray I’d have killed the dumb mother fucker too.
