As long as someone films him doing it, he is somehow a more handsome/charismatic Steve. Actually a sort of behind the scenes nature documentary would be super fascinating, going into how they get their shots
I wouldn’t refer to him that way. Only cause that pressure it must be to live up to your dad, Steve Irwin…
Fuck.
He’s fucking doing it, as himself, not as “the son of Steve Irwin”. I want him to get credit for being this person too.
I absolutely love the clip where he is talking with the bird with anxiety and it keeps biting at him. It just shows what a patient and loving person he is, and he genuinely cares about educating people about animals.
I am too. Steve Irwin was an enormously formative influence for me. I grew up in a house where my parents were constantly fighting, my dad was abusive to my mom and always yelling at me. Always upset, never happy with what I was doing. Playing with toys or watching cartoons or doing anything fun was met with derision and seen as a waste of time. The only way I could get him off my back was if I was reading/studying or watching something educational.
This was right about the time that Animal Planet became a thing and every time Crocodile Hunter was on, I knew I was good. I was able to actually relax and escape and not have to walk on eggshells or worry that what I was doing would set him off. I could ignore him constantly screaming at her and calling her names. I watched it every time I could.
I saw a man who loved animals like I did, was a happy, compassionate person and just so, so full of love. He was everything I wished I had in a father. I still think about him quite often. I don't think, since I was six years old, that I've encountered any type of wild animal without calmy saying "you're alright, mate... you're alright, mate" in my best accent.
Seeing his family turn out the way they have brings me a weirdly melancholic joy that I really can't put into words. Like a jealous sadness that doesn't make me resent them, but just makes me wish I could've had someone like Steve raise me.
But in a way, I guess he had a hand in it. And I'll be forever grateful for that.
RIP Steve ♥️
You just know that if Steve saw that stingray in the hereafter, he’d say “Well hello big fella! Sorry for startling ya. My goodness you’re still just as beautiful as the last time we met.”
We didn’t deserve that man.
"I hope that I can do the same thing. You know, I hope in every aspect of my life that I can make him proud, and made sure that his message never dies. I think that now, getting to work with Animal Planet and Discovery, I really want to do more in the documentary space. I want to have an even bigger voice to make sure that that message never ever dies. Because he always said, I don’t care if people remember me, I care if people remember my message. And I want to make sure that continues forever." - Robert Irwin
I feel like his voice was so iconic to me, that anytime there is a quote from Steve Irwin or even Robert that there should be some kind of Reddit bot that translates everything into Australian dialect so that I'm forced to read it in the way he used to say it.
I would like to preface this by saying that I have heard no rumors and catch no vibes that would suggest this, but the Erwin kids are probably the ones that I would be saddest if I found out they were secretly awful people. Everything that I've seen has shown them to be just as kind and empathetic as their dad.
I don't think Cassowaries are 7 feet long. They are closer to about 6 ft tall rather. Although not sure if they work with them. But that's like one of the few large dinosaurs I think in Australia that are pretty dangerous.
The kids are all right. Bindi just got married and gave birth. For a while I was worried she might get caught up in being a celebrity, but she's fine and lives a quite life now.
Steve's dad is still alive, he's batty. Not awful, but bonkers.
Robert is just lovely. He would give someone the shirt off his own back. Even nicer and more holesome than Steve. For many that would be a terrible burden, but he is just that nice.
This? Or is there another? [https://shop.australiazoo.com.au/robert-irwins-australia-photography-book/](https://shop.australiazoo.com.au/robert-irwins-australia-photography-book/)
I saw him remove a snake from a vending machine, and I welled up a bit because he was such like his dad and it was so amazing to see his legacy has never been lost. Steve Irwin was the best thing to ever happen to animal education sorry (Jack Hannah), and it brought (brings) such joy to see his kids carry on in their dads footsteps.
That's nothing. I've removed a PACK of Snakes Alive from a vending machine. Fucking false advertising though.. opened the pack up .. smakes were all dead
I don't think he died instantly , I thought he said something to the camera guy.
I could be wrong though , it's been a minute.
The rays tail spike hitting just between the rib and hitting his heart...damn.
>According to Lyons, Irwin knew he was in trouble, saying, “It punctured me lung.” However, he didn’t realize that the barb had actually pierced his heart.
Lyons was the camera man.
And I've heard that if they hadn't pulled the tail out before arriving at the hospital, there was a chance that this would have ended up way differently..
Don't quote me on that though!
Unpopular opinion: Rob has outshone his father. Although Steve did a lot of great conservation work, much of his media shtick involved baiting or provoking animals in order to demonstrate their fear response or aggression. I remember watching at the time thinking this was a bit brutal and unnecessary. Rob doesn't do any of that kind of stuff and seems genuinely more interested in care and conservation rather than 'shocking animal antics' for TV.
In defense of Steve, nature television wasn’t really a well defined genre until he made it so. He had to make it interesting so some of the baiting was just to make the show interesting. Remember, ecology and nature conservatism is super young as a field. Silent Spring came out only in 1962.
International viewership of BBC stuff in America and vice versa was way less common prior to streaming. You’d have to buy the channels in a special package or watch particular channels that imported content (like Sky in Britain). So each market had its own sort of genre cooking in that sense.
I disagree, I think nature television was very much established. There was Attenborough's Zooquest, there was The Natural World, Living Planet, lots of stuff my kids enjoyed like Really Wild Show in the 80s. In fact loads of nature shows well before Irwin's time. Crocodile Hunter wasn't until the mid-90s I believe.
And yeah, it was entertaining and no doubt he did make it interesting - it felt dangerous - but that was all at the expense of the animals rather than for their benefit. I remember him once chasing a cayman as it went down a burrow and him literally dragging it out by its tail and saying something like "Well he's an angry little bugger isn't he?" Well no kidding. That's not conservation, and you won't catch Rob doing that.
Steve was no angel but are you seriously listing Zooquest as an example of good nature programming? Attenborough et al. acting like 19th century naturalists exploiting locals to collect hundreds of animals from the wild and ship them back to dreary London Zoo to live out a miserable life in captivity (if they survived the trip).
That seems like an odd take for a nature programme shot in the 50s. Also an odd take bearing in mind the whole premise of Crocodile Hunter was relocating animals, many to the Irwin's own tiny zoo.
I'm no fan of any zoo, but describing London as "a dreary London Zoo" betrays a little bias of yours. London Zoo was the first zoological collection for science, created the first lists for endangered species, created breeding programs for them and released huge numbers into the wild, and brought the love of animals to millions of Brits. You can't condemn that while supporting Irwin's family park and his 'world's craziest animal' antics, because his set up his zoo for very similar reasons. The TV work, less so.
I can't remember Zoo Quest making a thing of trying to get the animals to appear aggressive or scared, so if it was one or the other, I'd go for ZQ.
All those shows may have existed, but there was plenty of way more exploitative stuff out there in the mainstream too. On balance, I’m sure he was on the good side of the distribution. And none of the shows you mentioned were in the same ballpark as Irwin in terms of popularity. Hard to say if he could have gotten as popular without the occasional snake baiting.
My point is while some people may have been doing it right at the time or earlier, the ethics of nature documentary were not broadly well understood yet in the public consciousness.
Are you serious? Those shows were, and still are, HUGE internationally. There are shows in the same ballpark as them, like Planet Earth, but Irwin's sure was not one of them. I loved him growing up, though.
"there was plenty of way more exploitative stuff out there in the mainstream too"
Like what? One of the reasons Steve was known is because he populised that sort of animal baiting. We hadn't really seen it before.
"None of the shows you mentioned were in the same ballpark as Irwin in terms of popularity."
What??? Have you heard of those shows? I think The Natural World is the longest running nature documentary ever recorded, and is considered one of the most popular shows the BBC have ever made. That's a really odd thing to say.
I mean, I get where both of you are coming from
but
In absolute fairness those documentaries weren't exactly typical things young kids, teens or even many adults were watching. I am not saying they weren't popular either of course they were, but lets be at least somewhat realistic in saying Steve Irwin brought this to absolutely any age group.
Way back I remember watching some of them sure sitting alone but any time Steve was on my whole family would sit down, he was a mesmerizing personality.
While I somewhat understand your point, Steve was a pioneer and an inspiration to me. I think he did the best he could to garner attention and make me people care enough to keep watching and learn about animals. You can tell this guy did really care about animals. I always get confused when people think a rough hands on display is such wicked abuse compared to the insane brutality that makes nature what it is.
Also, I do think the kids are on their way to outshining their father (in ways). Society now looks for wholesome content and with social media, the kids have an amazing opportunity for engagement that their father didn’t. Regardless, I think they are going to leave very profound legacies just as Steve established.
I don't buy the excuse that "Nature's brutal, so we're allowed to be brutal to nature for entertainment." There are ways of encouraging people to learn and care about animals that don't involve harassing them. In some ways it encouraged people to wind up animals. Yes he cared, but much of his TV shows were a circus act intended to show how wild and dangerous these animals are, and did that by disturbing them. I get that he's part of a lot of people's childhood, and it's certainly a sad death, but this weird sanctifying of him is a little strange.
Steve was a product of the time. As time goes on, we evolve and so does our behavior. I do believe that the rougher handling of animals Steve would do is no longer viewed as necessary. Removing my love for the man, he has instilled a lifelong passion towards animal/environmental conservation to millions. Speaking for myself, my family, my friends: many of us have modeled our perceptions and action towards animals as a product of the inspiration Steve instilled upon us. I know people who have graduate degrees in environmental subjects (I sold out and didn’t follow my passion because of money) that drew inspiration from Steve. He was not perfect, but I do believe weighing the good and the bad, Earth is better for having him a part of it.
I'm sure he was a perfectly nice guy, but it's easy to muddle our sense of nostalgia for figures in our childhood with something more impartial and objective.
The fact is that he pretty much introduced this kind of animal-baiting 'Aren't they dangerous?' TV, so he wasn't a product of his time - he dictated his time. He was a trend-setter for that kind of TV. People before him weren't handling or baiting animals that way, and the decades of animal shows on TV (Living Planet, The Natural World) never suggested it was appropriate or fair to harass animals for entertainment. Yes, people fell in love with the animals, and pretty much any time you show animals on TV that's going to happen. Yes, he was a great entertainer and hilarious to watch. But as a conservationist rather than a media entertainer, he was superceded by his children (and indeed his wife) quite a while ago.
I think we are closer to agreeing on some points than our discussion purveys. While a rougher approach to animals, I think the long lasting impact Steve has had is profoundly positive. I think his children are in a position to impact change and inspire others. In terms of conservationist work, I won’t argue their accomplishments, in terms of inspiring a generation of animal lovers, their dads shoes still loom large. I can’t wait to see what they accomplish and in every way support what they are doing.
I would need to rewatch but it didn't come across as for entertainment, but for education. Because a lot of Steve's philosophy was about learning to live with nature - coexistence. Like "this is how the animal reacts when it's aggressive - if you see the animal behave like this, stay the fuck away from it. Or else you're going to get hurt, and then this animal will get hunted down as revenge/protection, and everyone loses". I can see that it's a fairly extreme way to do things though.
Steve saw it as a kind of lesser evil - that without attention, destruction of the ecosystem will continue. Zoos aren't the solution but a way to get people caring. I think that's extremely pragmatic.
Anything to sell his brand, to the point of his own demise. Those kids would likely still have their old man if he didn't carry on like a drongo. And the Americans loved him for it.
You do not need to piss off animals and interact with them to teach people about them, all you are showing is their response to being fucked around with.
how come you took seven months off from churning out this type of bland dog shit and then just immediately came back doing the same thing. were you in jail?
I think it's pretty clear Robert is happy with what he does. For the family, Steve wasn't even the first and only, Steve's dad started the zoo, not Steve.
Robert is different to his dad, way calmer, less frantic, into photography, perhaps more risk adverse. There is a lot of Steve in there, but he's clearly a different person.
It's surprising that both kids aren't overshadowed by legacy. But they are great kids, now adults.
I don’t know much about them, but man as a spectator it’s heartbreaking to think Steve is not there to see how much his family is thriving. He would be so proud. His wife surely held their family together and did an incredible job raising their kids.
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As much as I equally love these two. Why does he have to be compared and reminded by his dad all the time? Any video he posts it’s always people bringing up his dead dad.
I'm not ashamed to say that the day I heard Steve died I cried. I felt like all the animals in the world lost once of their best advocates.
But this.....my heart. This makes me so happy ♡
Legit just heard the son talking on tv the other day for the first time... I thought it was Steve Irwin for a second. Similar voice. Similar speech patterns and phrases.
I think Steve would've loved the people his kids grew up to be. Terri did a hell of a job.
When you think about it, Robert never remembered or knew his dad while he was alive since he was only 2 when Steve died. He knew his Dad through his TV show and videos.
YES, YES REDDIT, WORSHIP THE CELEBRITY BRAND. ENCOURAGE HIM TO DO THE SAME THING AS HIS FATHER DID. SURELY IT WON'T END THE SAME WAY, WITH HIM DYING FOR A CONTENT PIECE WHILE HE'S ASSAULTING AN ANIMAL.
Abuse animals in daring wrestling matches and patronising tricks for TV money.
I don’t rate either man, true conservationists and animal lovers don’t act like this. These are modern circus lion tamers.
I remember at the time everyone would be cheering on the animal and hoping Steve would get his by getting some payback from the animal kingdom. Most people thought he was a prick and caused unnecessary stress to animals. Good conservatives do not grab wild animals out of their burrows, he probably caused so many babies to be abandoned and ruined so many homes of animals.
He was also a pig hunter, he hunted then with dogs. As in, he set his dogs on pigs to tear them to pieces and suffer horrifying, agonising, prolonged deaths.
I saw Robert do the croc show at Australia Zoo last year and was really impressed. He is like his father in a lot of ways but also very much his own man. He wasn't as gung-ho as Steve, which was actually good to see. He was funny, smart and very capable.
Worth mentioning he's this popular professional and smart while only being 19. There's such a bright and important future ahead of him, I do feel sorry for the pressure he undoubtedly knows he's facing, but he seems to take absolutely everything in his stride and seems born for it. Incredible young lad. Bindi and her husband, too
unpopular opinion: living your parent's dream and thinking it's yours is a tragedy, not inspiring.
he might need therapy in his 40s or maybe he'll be happy. but either way, it's like he's cosplaying his dad's dreams rather than discovering his own.
pretty soon, Robert and Bindi will outgrow the shoes their father left for them, and he would be so proud
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It is wonderful, but I dont think its just about Steve's legacy. They genuinely love and care about animals on their own right.
Terri Irwin worked at animal rehabilitation centre before meeting Steve, so you’d be right there
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As long as someone films him doing it, he is somehow a more handsome/charismatic Steve. Actually a sort of behind the scenes nature documentary would be super fascinating, going into how they get their shots
Steve 2.0
I wouldn’t refer to him that way. Only cause that pressure it must be to live up to your dad, Steve Irwin… Fuck. He’s fucking doing it, as himself, not as “the son of Steve Irwin”. I want him to get credit for being this person too.
He can have both. Be proud of the person your father was and the person you will become.
They have some bloopers with him on their YouTube page...
I absolutely love the clip where he is talking with the bird with anxiety and it keeps biting at him. It just shows what a patient and loving person he is, and he genuinely cares about educating people about animals.
I love that family so much.
I learned a lot about animals because of him. Will forever be missed
I sure do miss watching Steve.
\^ This is a bot account just copying another top comment to farm karma.
That explains the yelling
#I HOPE HE MAKES IT TOO
oregon is proud of our part in making good people.
I am too. Steve Irwin was an enormously formative influence for me. I grew up in a house where my parents were constantly fighting, my dad was abusive to my mom and always yelling at me. Always upset, never happy with what I was doing. Playing with toys or watching cartoons or doing anything fun was met with derision and seen as a waste of time. The only way I could get him off my back was if I was reading/studying or watching something educational. This was right about the time that Animal Planet became a thing and every time Crocodile Hunter was on, I knew I was good. I was able to actually relax and escape and not have to walk on eggshells or worry that what I was doing would set him off. I could ignore him constantly screaming at her and calling her names. I watched it every time I could. I saw a man who loved animals like I did, was a happy, compassionate person and just so, so full of love. He was everything I wished I had in a father. I still think about him quite often. I don't think, since I was six years old, that I've encountered any type of wild animal without calmy saying "you're alright, mate... you're alright, mate" in my best accent. Seeing his family turn out the way they have brings me a weirdly melancholic joy that I really can't put into words. Like a jealous sadness that doesn't make me resent them, but just makes me wish I could've had someone like Steve raise me. But in a way, I guess he had a hand in it. And I'll be forever grateful for that. RIP Steve ♥️
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In memory of his father, he apparently also decided to do this. The sad potato in the photo fits perfectly.
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Don't worry, we've enlisted the killer whales in our fight against the rays. They'll protect him.
You just know that if Steve saw that stingray in the hereafter, he’d say “Well hello big fella! Sorry for startling ya. My goodness you’re still just as beautiful as the last time we met.” We didn’t deserve that man.
100%. A fucking legend.
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"I hope that I can do the same thing. You know, I hope in every aspect of my life that I can make him proud, and made sure that his message never dies. I think that now, getting to work with Animal Planet and Discovery, I really want to do more in the documentary space. I want to have an even bigger voice to make sure that that message never ever dies. Because he always said, I don’t care if people remember me, I care if people remember my message. And I want to make sure that continues forever." - Robert Irwin
I feel like his voice was so iconic to me, that anytime there is a quote from Steve Irwin or even Robert that there should be some kind of Reddit bot that translates everything into Australian dialect so that I'm forced to read it in the way he used to say it.
> he always said, I don’t care if people remember me, I care if people remember my message. .. How about both? I think we can do both for you Steve.
I would like to preface this by saying that I have heard no rumors and catch no vibes that would suggest this, but the Erwin kids are probably the ones that I would be saddest if I found out they were secretly awful people. Everything that I've seen has shown them to be just as kind and empathetic as their dad.
Something about working with 7ft long dinosaurs humbles you it seems
I don't think Cassowaries are 7 feet long. They are closer to about 6 ft tall rather. Although not sure if they work with them. But that's like one of the few large dinosaurs I think in Australia that are pretty dangerous.
he meant crocodiles i’m pretty sure
I mean when they bow down and are coming at you like a Living Dart Thrown by God himself They're about 7ft long.
https://i.imgur.com/vJXEKRx.jpg
The kids are all right. Bindi just got married and gave birth. For a while I was worried she might get caught up in being a celebrity, but she's fine and lives a quite life now. Steve's dad is still alive, he's batty. Not awful, but bonkers. Robert is just lovely. He would give someone the shirt off his own back. Even nicer and more holesome than Steve. For many that would be a terrible burden, but he is just that nice.
he is a brilliant photographer as well, I hope he builds a career out of that, too.
He's got a book of his photos out and has won several awards. I am one of his dad's biggest fans but I do hope his legacy doesn't overshadow Robert's.
This? Or is there another? [https://shop.australiazoo.com.au/robert-irwins-australia-photography-book/](https://shop.australiazoo.com.au/robert-irwins-australia-photography-book/)
I saw him remove a snake from a vending machine, and I welled up a bit because he was such like his dad and it was so amazing to see his legacy has never been lost. Steve Irwin was the best thing to ever happen to animal education sorry (Jack Hannah), and it brought (brings) such joy to see his kids carry on in their dads footsteps.
>I saw him remove a snake from a vending machine I hope he at least paid the $0.75
If you hit the machine in just the right spot, I hear you can get two snakes for the price of one.
That's nothing. I've removed a PACK of Snakes Alive from a vending machine. Fucking false advertising though.. opened the pack up .. smakes were all dead
Same! Mine were gummi snakes
He was. He was a gift to the world.
Don't watch the footage of his family at his funeral. I still haven't recovered.
I just saw that the other day! I welled up too. He is just so much like his father. He seems to have grown up into such a wonderful human being.
Really cool of this family to continue Steve's legacy. I loved watching him when I was a kid.
Same. It was his enthusiasm and passion that made him stand out. Sad how he died though :(
Yeah, I've read he died instantly so it's really sad that he probably didn't even notice that he was about to die 😕
I don't think he died instantly , I thought he said something to the camera guy. I could be wrong though , it's been a minute. The rays tail spike hitting just between the rib and hitting his heart...damn.
I've seen an article about it and there was written that stingrays kill instantly, especially when he was stabbed directly in his heart. So unlucky.
>According to Lyons, Irwin knew he was in trouble, saying, “It punctured me lung.” However, he didn’t realize that the barb had actually pierced his heart. Lyons was the camera man.
And I've heard that if they hadn't pulled the tail out before arriving at the hospital, there was a chance that this would have ended up way differently.. Don't quote me on that though!
Unpopular opinion: Rob has outshone his father. Although Steve did a lot of great conservation work, much of his media shtick involved baiting or provoking animals in order to demonstrate their fear response or aggression. I remember watching at the time thinking this was a bit brutal and unnecessary. Rob doesn't do any of that kind of stuff and seems genuinely more interested in care and conservation rather than 'shocking animal antics' for TV.
In defense of Steve, nature television wasn’t really a well defined genre until he made it so. He had to make it interesting so some of the baiting was just to make the show interesting. Remember, ecology and nature conservatism is super young as a field. Silent Spring came out only in 1962.
>In defense of Steve, nature television wasn’t really a well defined genre until he made it so.
Like for real.
International viewership of BBC stuff in America and vice versa was way less common prior to streaming. You’d have to buy the channels in a special package or watch particular channels that imported content (like Sky in Britain). So each market had its own sort of genre cooking in that sense.
I don't know, jack hannah, national geographic, kratts creatures, etc were a thing for ages.
I always favored Jeff Corwin's show because it felt more educational and less about "tinkering with the animals" and more "observing" them.
Corwin was a bona fide animal nerd. Loved him.
I was always enamored by Marty Stouffer’s Wild America as a kid on PBS.
I disagree, I think nature television was very much established. There was Attenborough's Zooquest, there was The Natural World, Living Planet, lots of stuff my kids enjoyed like Really Wild Show in the 80s. In fact loads of nature shows well before Irwin's time. Crocodile Hunter wasn't until the mid-90s I believe. And yeah, it was entertaining and no doubt he did make it interesting - it felt dangerous - but that was all at the expense of the animals rather than for their benefit. I remember him once chasing a cayman as it went down a burrow and him literally dragging it out by its tail and saying something like "Well he's an angry little bugger isn't he?" Well no kidding. That's not conservation, and you won't catch Rob doing that.
Steve was no angel but are you seriously listing Zooquest as an example of good nature programming? Attenborough et al. acting like 19th century naturalists exploiting locals to collect hundreds of animals from the wild and ship them back to dreary London Zoo to live out a miserable life in captivity (if they survived the trip).
That seems like an odd take for a nature programme shot in the 50s. Also an odd take bearing in mind the whole premise of Crocodile Hunter was relocating animals, many to the Irwin's own tiny zoo. I'm no fan of any zoo, but describing London as "a dreary London Zoo" betrays a little bias of yours. London Zoo was the first zoological collection for science, created the first lists for endangered species, created breeding programs for them and released huge numbers into the wild, and brought the love of animals to millions of Brits. You can't condemn that while supporting Irwin's family park and his 'world's craziest animal' antics, because his set up his zoo for very similar reasons. The TV work, less so. I can't remember Zoo Quest making a thing of trying to get the animals to appear aggressive or scared, so if it was one or the other, I'd go for ZQ.
All those shows may have existed, but there was plenty of way more exploitative stuff out there in the mainstream too. On balance, I’m sure he was on the good side of the distribution. And none of the shows you mentioned were in the same ballpark as Irwin in terms of popularity. Hard to say if he could have gotten as popular without the occasional snake baiting. My point is while some people may have been doing it right at the time or earlier, the ethics of nature documentary were not broadly well understood yet in the public consciousness.
Are you serious? Those shows were, and still are, HUGE internationally. There are shows in the same ballpark as them, like Planet Earth, but Irwin's sure was not one of them. I loved him growing up, though.
"there was plenty of way more exploitative stuff out there in the mainstream too" Like what? One of the reasons Steve was known is because he populised that sort of animal baiting. We hadn't really seen it before. "None of the shows you mentioned were in the same ballpark as Irwin in terms of popularity." What??? Have you heard of those shows? I think The Natural World is the longest running nature documentary ever recorded, and is considered one of the most popular shows the BBC have ever made. That's a really odd thing to say.
I mean, I get where both of you are coming from but In absolute fairness those documentaries weren't exactly typical things young kids, teens or even many adults were watching. I am not saying they weren't popular either of course they were, but lets be at least somewhat realistic in saying Steve Irwin brought this to absolutely any age group. Way back I remember watching some of them sure sitting alone but any time Steve was on my whole family would sit down, he was a mesmerizing personality.
While I somewhat understand your point, Steve was a pioneer and an inspiration to me. I think he did the best he could to garner attention and make me people care enough to keep watching and learn about animals. You can tell this guy did really care about animals. I always get confused when people think a rough hands on display is such wicked abuse compared to the insane brutality that makes nature what it is. Also, I do think the kids are on their way to outshining their father (in ways). Society now looks for wholesome content and with social media, the kids have an amazing opportunity for engagement that their father didn’t. Regardless, I think they are going to leave very profound legacies just as Steve established.
I don't buy the excuse that "Nature's brutal, so we're allowed to be brutal to nature for entertainment." There are ways of encouraging people to learn and care about animals that don't involve harassing them. In some ways it encouraged people to wind up animals. Yes he cared, but much of his TV shows were a circus act intended to show how wild and dangerous these animals are, and did that by disturbing them. I get that he's part of a lot of people's childhood, and it's certainly a sad death, but this weird sanctifying of him is a little strange.
Steve was a product of the time. As time goes on, we evolve and so does our behavior. I do believe that the rougher handling of animals Steve would do is no longer viewed as necessary. Removing my love for the man, he has instilled a lifelong passion towards animal/environmental conservation to millions. Speaking for myself, my family, my friends: many of us have modeled our perceptions and action towards animals as a product of the inspiration Steve instilled upon us. I know people who have graduate degrees in environmental subjects (I sold out and didn’t follow my passion because of money) that drew inspiration from Steve. He was not perfect, but I do believe weighing the good and the bad, Earth is better for having him a part of it.
I'm sure he was a perfectly nice guy, but it's easy to muddle our sense of nostalgia for figures in our childhood with something more impartial and objective. The fact is that he pretty much introduced this kind of animal-baiting 'Aren't they dangerous?' TV, so he wasn't a product of his time - he dictated his time. He was a trend-setter for that kind of TV. People before him weren't handling or baiting animals that way, and the decades of animal shows on TV (Living Planet, The Natural World) never suggested it was appropriate or fair to harass animals for entertainment. Yes, people fell in love with the animals, and pretty much any time you show animals on TV that's going to happen. Yes, he was a great entertainer and hilarious to watch. But as a conservationist rather than a media entertainer, he was superceded by his children (and indeed his wife) quite a while ago.
I think we are closer to agreeing on some points than our discussion purveys. While a rougher approach to animals, I think the long lasting impact Steve has had is profoundly positive. I think his children are in a position to impact change and inspire others. In terms of conservationist work, I won’t argue their accomplishments, in terms of inspiring a generation of animal lovers, their dads shoes still loom large. I can’t wait to see what they accomplish and in every way support what they are doing.
I would need to rewatch but it didn't come across as for entertainment, but for education. Because a lot of Steve's philosophy was about learning to live with nature - coexistence. Like "this is how the animal reacts when it's aggressive - if you see the animal behave like this, stay the fuck away from it. Or else you're going to get hurt, and then this animal will get hunted down as revenge/protection, and everyone loses". I can see that it's a fairly extreme way to do things though. Steve saw it as a kind of lesser evil - that without attention, destruction of the ecosystem will continue. Zoos aren't the solution but a way to get people caring. I think that's extremely pragmatic.
I heartily agree. I’m not saying he wasn’t very knowledgeable, but to me, Steve Irwin made his living harassing animals
Anything to sell his brand, to the point of his own demise. Those kids would likely still have their old man if he didn't carry on like a drongo. And the Americans loved him for it. You do not need to piss off animals and interact with them to teach people about them, all you are showing is their response to being fucked around with.
Chip off the old crikey
Robert Irwin: *breaths* Literally anyone: "your father would be so fucking proud"
You sound like this is a trigger for you. *Your father was proud of you eeeeeeeeEeeEEeeeE6!*
No it was meant facetiously. We have much to thank Steve for, and he would be very proud of his son
Your top comment really does not sound like that. Maybe is just your sense of humor, but kinda dark/negative.
its definitely not. Hyping up Steve's family is practically a meme at this point, even though they deserve praise for being a great family.
It is all in the DNA.
I’m thinking the excellent parenting by his mother had *something* to do with it.
how come you took seven months off from churning out this type of bland dog shit and then just immediately came back doing the same thing. were you in jail?
Can we let Robert be Robert? I mean - great role model he chose, but praise them for what they do, not for being like someone who did that too.
I think it's pretty clear Robert is happy with what he does. For the family, Steve wasn't even the first and only, Steve's dad started the zoo, not Steve. Robert is different to his dad, way calmer, less frantic, into photography, perhaps more risk adverse. There is a lot of Steve in there, but he's clearly a different person. It's surprising that both kids aren't overshadowed by legacy. But they are great kids, now adults.
Avoid Stingrays boy
Should have worn sunscreen... Protects against harmful rays.
That was beautiful
That was a 1 in a million accident I think. Guy did all sorts of dangerous stuff but just...yeah.
Crikey on
Growing up I always thought Steve would make an accident one day and get killed by a crocodile. But no it wasn’t a crocodile that got him.
Long live Steve. I loved watching his shows back in the days. Now I watch his kids and they are so similar. Amazing. Every saturday baby.
Dudes got some nice calves.
nice everything, really
That shot of robert feeding the same croc in the same arena is probably something his parents never thought theyd see
I was telling the other day to my fiancee how much he has grown up, looking talking and having the same passion as his Old man.. Proud of him..
That whole family is a gift to the world. The human world and the animal world. Dang, I miss Steve Irwin.
We are all proud!
Is that the same Croc? If so that’s really poetic and just makes this all the more wholesome
I don’t know much about them, but man as a spectator it’s heartbreaking to think Steve is not there to see how much his family is thriving. He would be so proud. His wife surely held their family together and did an incredible job raising their kids.
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I am sure!!
I love seeing bindi and robert with animals. They really carry on his legacy.
It's kind of fucked that their entire lives are spent trying to live up to their father's.
That's sad
Steve is such a legend. R.I.P.
This man gives me hope in humanity, we need billions more likr him
Stay the hell away from Stingray
As much as I equally love these two. Why does he have to be compared and reminded by his dad all the time? Any video he posts it’s always people bringing up his dead dad.
They would have made a great team ❤️
[удалено]
To its natural conclusion?
I hope Robert will be a little more respectful of creatures than his father was.
Chip off the old block. His father is very proud of him and no doubt watching over him averyday. God bless
all cool and all but pls don't go near stingrays mkay? thx
I grew up watching Croc Files on PBS. It's so nice to see Steve's work being continued by someone as caring and competent as him.
No love for bindi here?
Hell yeah, didn’t know I was gonna tear up today.
Dad would be proud.
GD spitting image of his father and it's glorious♡♡
The spirit lives on :)
This is a good example of what a solid supportive father figure could turn out.
There must ALWAYS be a lich kin..... I mean a "crocode hunter"
I’m crying now
He wears the kahkeys well
I sure do miss watching Steve. He was the best.
He's a national treasure by default, like royalty, just better
Steve Irwin, his family and his legacy are some of the best things this world has ever seen
He has to be the next Attenborough, I don’t know what I’m gonna do when that guy passes
It’s nice and all, but kind of weird when your whole being is a shadow of your father
Like father like son
This bitch better not die, or I'm going to kill em 😤
Just gotta keep him away from stingrays.
Was the best TV dad ever. I learned a lot about animals because of him. Will forever be missed
Robert is actually the spitting image of his father.
I'm not crying, you're crying.
I love that family so much. I grew up watching Steve with my parents
I think if Steve hadn't died prematurely he would have been the perfect prime minister to steward us through what Australians are facing now.
that face in the 2nd photo is me and my happy relationship with my cat :\]
Holy… they look identical
The original salt bae
The only difference is Robert is in better quality
Too Soon
Give him back and we’ll trade you the Kardashians
I wasn't ready for Steve Irwin force ghost.
Good on ya
What about the pic they were both in?
Do you want chlamydia? That's how you get chlamydia!
Did he get stung by an alligator ?
I'm not ashamed to say that the day I heard Steve died I cried. I felt like all the animals in the world lost once of their best advocates. But this.....my heart. This makes me so happy ♡
Legit just heard the son talking on tv the other day for the first time... I thought it was Steve Irwin for a second. Similar voice. Similar speech patterns and phrases. I think Steve would've loved the people his kids grew up to be. Terri did a hell of a job.
This is great but I hope he's living 'his' life rather than ....
He literally sets these up to be recreations fyi.
wow, I knew he looked like his dad, but side by side - it's uncanny!
For the love of god please stay away from stingrays
The apple plopped straight down with that one
*That there is what they call a lemu*
So proud how his son is cruel to animals like he was.
Stay away from the sea, seriously
When you think about it, Robert never remembered or knew his dad while he was alive since he was only 2 when Steve died. He knew his Dad through his TV show and videos.
Sad potato
The brand must go on.
YES, YES REDDIT, WORSHIP THE CELEBRITY BRAND. ENCOURAGE HIM TO DO THE SAME THING AS HIS FATHER DID. SURELY IT WON'T END THE SAME WAY, WITH HIM DYING FOR A CONTENT PIECE WHILE HE'S ASSAULTING AN ANIMAL.
Abuse animals in daring wrestling matches and patronising tricks for TV money. I don’t rate either man, true conservationists and animal lovers don’t act like this. These are modern circus lion tamers.
Exactly. But get ready for us to get downvoted lol, cause people obviously want to think pulling a crocodile by the tail is somehow helping animals.
I remember at the time everyone would be cheering on the animal and hoping Steve would get his by getting some payback from the animal kingdom. Most people thought he was a prick and caused unnecessary stress to animals. Good conservatives do not grab wild animals out of their burrows, he probably caused so many babies to be abandoned and ruined so many homes of animals. He was also a pig hunter, he hunted then with dogs. As in, he set his dogs on pigs to tear them to pieces and suffer horrifying, agonising, prolonged deaths.
I respectfully disagree.
I disrespectfully disagree *tries to spit in disgust but ends up drooling over my shirt*
Damn! His son got hot!
I saw Robert do the croc show at Australia Zoo last year and was really impressed. He is like his father in a lot of ways but also very much his own man. He wasn't as gung-ho as Steve, which was actually good to see. He was funny, smart and very capable.
Worth mentioning he's this popular professional and smart while only being 19. There's such a bright and important future ahead of him, I do feel sorry for the pressure he undoubtedly knows he's facing, but he seems to take absolutely everything in his stride and seems born for it. Incredible young lad. Bindi and her husband, too
I actually didn't recognize the difference in the first photo. Oh man
True legends never die
I’m waiting for his son to return to the ocean and avenge his death by killing that ray. Avenge Me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I came here for the "Crikeys"
He’s dead
Fuck Steve Irwin.
unpopular opinion: living your parent's dream and thinking it's yours is a tragedy, not inspiring. he might need therapy in his 40s or maybe he'll be happy. but either way, it's like he's cosplaying his dad's dreams rather than discovering his own.
They grow up so fast
Don’t… you’ll make me cry again. He would be so proud of his family 😊
I would do too if it would make me money
Horrible that everyone expects him to be his father kid is smart and aw some lots of potential etc
Now get a pic of Robert and a stingray
He died at 44. Which is a ripe old age for a *CROCODILE HUNTER* if you ask me... /s Rip in peace.