The Rule of Threes III

[Loren]

Steve Irwin was killed by a stingray.


Some people might think that this was a Darwin award waiting to happen, considering he made his living screwing around with dangerous animals, but I always found him to be entertaining and educational.

RIP Steve-O

[Jeff]

No Darwin award there, he always knew what he was doing. It's just that his way of educating was inherently very risky.

Crikey, I'm gonna miss that guy.

[LuckyLab]

Say what you will about his antics, but the man knew his shit. He was an expert and superb in the way he dealt with the animals. He knew enough about each one to provoke early signs of agitation and, in most cases present excepted, how to change the situation in the favor of both parties. Sure, he's famous for the big, bad beasties, but his most revealing work was probably with some of the marsupials. He taught people how to recognize when they were creating a dangerous situation for themselves and the animals (and let's face it 99% of the world is to ignorant to recognize when they are being a menace) and how to recognize when they have diffused the situation. I can't recall ever seeing a situation in which I thought he fucked with the animals just to fuck with the animals. Every thing he did had purpose for his goals or for educating the public (and I have watched quite a few episodes of Croc Hunter).

His genuine care and concern for all animals with his sickeningly enthusiastic persona really made learning about animals fun for a generation. Very few scientists pull that off for any subject and for that he will be missed the most.