So, was it Steve Irwin's apparent boisterous recklessness that killed him?
According to conservationalists that the AP rushed out to interview, nope.
It was television and the sensation-seeking audiences:
Conservationists mourned the death of Australia's flamboyant "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin on Monday, and one suggested that TV's demands for sensation had pushed him to be too daring.
"He clearly took a lot of risks and television encouraged him to do that," said Ray Mears, a Briton whose television programs have included "Extreme Survival."
"It's a shame that television audiences need that to be attracted to wildlife," Mears said. "Dangerous animals, you leave them alone because they will defend themselves. Nature defends itself, it isn't all about hugging animals and going 'ahh.'"
The ebullient Irwin, 44, died after being stung by a stingray barb in a diving accident about 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles) north off Port Douglas on the Great Barrier Reef.
"What he did was so extreme that it isn't surprising that he died. Just the same, it is very sad," said Kees Oscar Ekeli, a marine biologist and director of the Bergen Aquarium in Norway.
Although Irwin "went further than was sensible," Ekeli credited the Australian "did a fantastic job of spreading information about biology ... and nature's dangerous species."
"In the modern world's noisy media picture, he used extreme methods to break through, and that is exactly what he did," Ekeli added.
As I like to imagine, King Kong's last thoughts were "Beauty that killed the beast? Bull! It was all those goddamned biplanes shooting at me."
The television you see there in your homes has gone through countless manhours of planning, scripting, performances, editing, testing, and packaging. What may appear to be a horrifyingly dangerous stunt is often not, but there's still an element of danger to it.
How much risk is acceptible to the performer (and his producers) is another matter entirely, but it's never the audience's fault, folks - The guy brought it on himself. It's not like the world audience has some kind of button on their remotes making Australians do stupid crap like hold their babies while taunting crocodiles or anything.
If that were the case, well, you'd probably see Egyptian Sandmonkey or Big Pharaoh jabbing their remotes to make Aussie Dave waving Zachy around while taunting Hassan Nasrallah to launch Katushya rockets at him.
Does that happen? Of course not. It's a podcast. There's no video. (And Beit Shemesh is somewhat out of range of the Tyre launching sites.)
Look, I grew up in the Columbus Area. In the quiet suburb of Dublin, there was this place called The Columbus Zoo run by a guy named Jack Hanna.
You've heard of him? Well, good for you and your David Letterman-watching habits. Guy came off as a hick or a rube in kakhis, but he was no reckless dummy.
Sure, Jack would show up with animals and let them loose one after the other, making what seemed like a chaotic mess and freaking out Dave. Sort of like when Joan Embrey used to freak out Johnny Carson, but a little more chaotic with multiple animals.
Except one thing - it wasn't chaotic. It was carefully planned and staged. The animals that were selected were well-acclimated to being handled, making public appearances, etc.
I remember a corporate picnic at the zoo and animals showed up with Jack Hanna. Guy was extremely careful, even with the most tame of creatures. Lots of handlers, lots of precautions.
They weren't wild creatuires that Steve Irwin would mess with. Trying to make things appear reckless on the screen ended up causing Steve to cut corners with his own safety, and the guy got bit.
You might say he lived his life to the fullest and loved every minute of it. I say if he loved life so much, why did he take such ludicrous risks and treat it like something disposable?
Another schmuck dying for his 15 minutes. At least with DVD, we can reply it over and over and over now.
