Goodbye, Crocodile Hunter!

How sad are you that the Crocodile Hunter is gone? We've had a lot of email from readers who are really affected by his passing. His passion and enthusiasm for living and for the natural world he loved was so intoxicating...he invited you into his world with a great big HELLO, MATE!

Interesting, isn't it, that with all the pomp and circumstance for politicians and celebrities who work so hard to be in the spotlight, here's someone who genuinely touched people all over the world by basically being himself. Crikey! He will be missed by millions.

Irwin's Dad Says He Lost His "Best Mate"
Posted Sep 6th 2006 8:06AM by TMZ StaffFiled under: Let's Get This Party Started, FeaturesThe fond remembrances of "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin continued to flow in after his tragic accidental death over the weekend, but perhaps the most touching of all came today from his father, Bob, in Queensland.

"Steve and I weren't like father and son, we never were," said Bob Irwin, outside Australia Zoo, the animal park that Steve made famous and that Bob had owned himself and handed over to his son. "We were good mates. I'll remember Steve as my best mate ever."

Bob Irwin also said that Australian authorities have offered to give his son a state funeral but that his family was unlikely to accept. "The state funeral would be refused ... because he's an ordinary guy, he's just an ordinary bloke." Prime Minister John Howard interrupted Parliament on Tuesday to pay tribute to Irwin. Wearing a khaki shirt and shorts in the same way that Steve did, Bob Irwin also told reporters that he and his son were natural risk-takers. "Both of us over the years have had some very close shaves. We made jokes of it. That's not to say that we were careless but we treated it like it was just part of the job."

Video
Remembering Steve Irwin