Steve Irwin, the "Crocodile Hunter," dies doing what he loves at age 44

Many of us woke up this morning to a world not quite as good as it was when we went to sleep the night before. Steve Irwin, the famous “Crocodile Hunter,” died Monday a.m. after being stung by a stingray in a marine accident off Australia’s north coast. Irwin, the director of the Australian Zoo in Queensland, was 44 and leaves a wife and two children.

While Irwin understood that his shtick could annoy some - especially in his homeland - what was truly endearing about the man was that, as years progressed, you realized it wasn’t a shtick. Irwin was as passionate for wildlife as he came across.

For golfers, the best comparison to Irwin seems to be the late Moe Norman of Natural Golf fame. Norman was cocksure, somewhat eclectic, and had a passion for golf that seemed to pour out of him. Irwin shared the same attributes with his love of wildlife.

While man so often allows his responsibilities to animals and nature go unfulfilled, Irwin was someone who worked overtime in trying to get the focus back on that responsibility. And while we know there will be those that continue to champion the plight and importance of wildlife, no one will do it in quite the same way as the “Crocodile Hunter.”

–WKW