Steve Irwin Passes

[Rvrwind]

I know this has nothing to do with RW but Steve & I were aquainted with each other & have spent time together over the years. His wife Terri is an AW & quite the unique individual in her own right. I recieved the telephone call early this afternoon from my Mother telling me of Steve's accident & subsiquent demise.
For those of you who don't know Steve Irwin I point you to the Crocodile Hunter. Although that is what made him famous his conservation efforts worldwide brought him much fame as well as notoriity.
I met Steve & Terri the first time in Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada where we were doing a wolf study project for the Alberta Wildlife Foundation & Steve wanted to get involved & flew in with his entire crew to film the work we were doing & even got in & helped. I had the pleasure of working with him a couple of more times after that episode & the most memorable was the Grizzlies we were tagging in the Yukon Territory in Northern Canada.
The last time I saw Steve & Terri was just after the birth of their son. They all came to Alberta for the fall Buffalo roundup at Elk Island.
He was always an energetic & helpful guy & I will miss him as will al those who had the pleasure to know him. I never once heard him speak an unkind word nor did I ever see a more devoted husband & proud father. I was proud to call him my friend, he will be missed.
Just FYI, he was shooting a new underwater episode for his TV series when he encountered a stingray & was struck in the chest by the stingray's barb.

[BillyB]

That's sad to hear, I liked watching Steve's shows. He made it fun to watch.

[Maxx2]

This was the first thing I seen on the internet. Very sad and what a freak occurance. He was swimming over a large Sting Ray and it swung it's barbed tail up and into just below Steve's rib cage. It  pierced his heart. 

He will be missed.

Maxx

[beattledog]

I loved him.  He died doing what he enjoyed.

Sad Beattledog

[Manny]

He was well known in the UK too. His programmes were very popular here also.

The incident has been all over the news here today also.

A sad loss to entertainment and of course a sadder loss to his family to whom our OP is acquainted.

Small and insignificant probably, but pass on respect and regards from the UK also if you get the opportunity Rvrwind.

[Durk]

            Really ironic getting killed by a stingray and yet he worked with everything from cobras
to crocks!! His shows were some of the best animal tv. You could see he enjoyed what he did for
the wildlife.

[prince_alfie]

Steve was awesome.. I remember those wonderful croc shows back when I was a younger kid.

[Rvrwind]

I've been trying to phone & get in touch with Terri (his wife) but as you can imagine with the press all over this it is very difficult to get through. I will continue to try & get ahold of her & I will pass on yur good wishes.
I even tried Steves Mobil # but nobody picked up so I think it has been discarded to a corner somewhere & forgoten in all the turmoil.
All I can do is keep trying.

[prince_alfie]

Where did you get access to the private info? 

[Son of Clyde]

I was a fan, Steve was extremely dedicated and had a wealth of knowledge. He was too young to die and I will remember his many accomplishments. He did take many risks and suffered many injuries to save the animals.

[Rvrwind]

Where did you get access to the private info?

Obviously you didn't read the original post or overlooked the pertanent info.

I finally got through on the phone at about 7:30 this evening, my time.
The call was relatively short as Terri is quite distraught & actually broke down during our conversation. I am so in a downer tonight  .
Anyway I sent condolences from our family as well as your good wishes for which she thanked everyone for their concern. Although she could not continue our call she did say she would get back to me when things settle down & she is in a better state, right now she is still in shock over the whole incident.
Unfortunate, a husband, a father, a friend, an icon, gone in the blink of an eye. He will most assuredly be missed.

[BradSTL]

Wonderful anecdote Riverwind!

Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada

This has to be one of the most beautiful parts of the Rocky Mountains, if not one of the most beautiful places in North America.  (I know- I know--- the painted desert in Northern Arizona, Bryce Canyon in Utah, and the Cascades in Washington State are lovely)

I hope your Russian family gets a chance to see this area at some point in their lives.  Does anything in the Ural Mountains compare with Banff?

[Rvrwind]

Does anything in the Ural Mountains compare with Banff?

Not sure yet.
But got invited to go skiing this winter with the wife's 2 uncles from the Moscow area. Apparently they go every year & from the prices they told me, its pretty cheap. I was a little skeptical at first as being an avid skier I am not into hills where I spend more time on the lift than skiing. They assured me that isn't the case where they go & if you ski down the wrong side apparently you wind up in another country!!! Don't think arriving on ski's with no Visa would go over too well.
Anyway I am saving my Kopecks hoping I will have enough to take them up on their offer. So I'll have to answer that question later, 

[Wild Orchid*]

So where are you actually going? I’m from perm area, can’t think of any skiing place in Urals where one can end up in different country 

[Wild Orchid*]

Canada and Ural, spot the difference 

[docetae]

Not sure yet.
But got invited to go skiing this winter with the wife's 2 uncles from the Moscow area. Apparently they go every year & from the prices they told me, its pretty cheap. I was a little skeptical at first as being an avid skier I am not into hills where I spend more time on the lift than skiing. They assured me that isn't the case where they go & if you ski down the wrong side apparently you wind up in another country!!! Don't think arriving on ski's with no Visa would go over too well.
Anyway I am saving my Kopecks hoping I will have enough to take them up on their offer. So I'll have to answer that question later, 

You get the Mont-Blanc in Europe for this ... one side Italian, one side french and one swiss !

[Rvrwind]

Maybe thats the one they were talking about. My Russian ain't perfect & we talked about skiing in a lot of different places. Best as I can recall they did mention three different countries, one mountain.
Think we can afford to part with a small chunk of the rockies for them? Seems to me they are running short on some if three countries need to share one!!
Wid Orchid, I don't know Eastern Russia at all but what I got from the converstation, it is about 300 miles from Tver in the south of Siberia in some unchartered wilderness.

[BradSTL]

Canada and Ural, spot the difference 

One of the most stunning/well-known views at Banff are the mountains framing Lake Louise... it is so striking when you see it the 1st time.  A shot of cliffs (known in every mountain chain in the world) is not distinctive.   

[Wild Orchid*]

One of the most stunning/well-known views at Banff are the mountains framing Lake Louise... it is so striking when you see it the 1st time.  A shot of cliffs (known in every mountain chain in the world) is not distinctive.   

I get from your answer that you’ve been to Urals (very big and diverse region) so many times you can’t even remember, you know the place on the picture like a back of your hand and you are absolutely positive it is not part of the lake surrounded by mountains.