What was the point, really?

Yes, before you misinterpret my drift here, I do think it is unfortunate that Steve Irwin, the crocodile hunter Downunder bloke, was killed at the untimely and relatively tender age of 44. Ironically, his life was taken by a creature that is deemed relatively non-threatening when compared with such things as saltwater crocs and Komodo Dragons -- a benevolent stingray.

Yes, rays do pack a nasty barb, but they are not aggressive or threatening. I've swum with them, and the only caveat is to not step on that nasty barb -- or, obviously, to not have it driven into your chest.

When you think of all the ways that 'bonza bloke' could have died, well, crikey, it boggles the mind. So, going out in this way somehow indicates that the gods not only have a sense-of-humor, they are not to be trifled with when marauding their creatures.

My problem with the Steve Irwins (and again, I am not making light of his sad death) and others of his ilk is that they capitalize on the primal fears and prejudices of human beings. There are big, bad animals out there, seems to be the message. "They are to be feared, but I am a very brave dude and I laugh at danger, so I shall go out and taunt them just as an entertainment for you. I will poke them and prod them and really piss them off, just like a naughty kid will tease a kitten or puppy. And, because you would soil yourself if you actually ran into one of them in the wild, I am going to show you how brave I am."

The message, to me at least, seems to be, that our big predators are fair-game, in a figurative sense at least. While nouveau-sensitivity has deemed it tacky to go and take down a cape buffalo with a big gun, it is OK to show our mettle by challenging these unfortunate creatures in other ways. This odd practice is even more effective as an entertainment because crocodiles, water buffalo, sharks, lions and tigers and bears (oh my) really are dangerous, so there is always the off-chance there could be a mauling right before your very eyes as you sit there glued to the wide screen in your den.

I see it as the 'Jaws Syndrome'. Prior to that overstated Spielberg pic most people didn't have much of an opinion one way or another about Great White Sharks. And then, thanks to the perceived scariness of a mechanical contrivance, Great Whites became arch-villains for a few years and nobody wanted to go swimming in the same ocean wherein the carcharodon carcharias resided and stalked his prey. And, Great Whites were hunted and harassed, and author Peter Benchley ultimately became distressed because his adventure tale had vilified and creature that was ultimately innocent. Not innocent of being a vicious predator, but innocent of being malevolent about going about its business.

The great predators of this planet do what they do because that is what they are programmed to do. Crocodiles or sharks don't kill people because they hate them, they do it because they have no choice -- unlike us, I might add. A few weeks ago at a campsite about 100 miles north of here, a cougar chomped down on a little boy's head. The boys father heard his anguished cries and rushed out and gave the big cat the sort of shitkicking one can only give when one's nearest or dearest are threatened. The cat ran off into the woods, and the little boy was frightened and a bit scratched, but otherwise OK. Again, though, the cougar did not do as it did because it was a terrible creature; it did it because t was a cougar, and that is what cougars do. They eat smaller prey. And that smaller prey can be a fawn, a lamb, a piglet, a dog, or a little boy, as the case may be. That is the way it is.

I attest that our predators, in being the way they are, are undeserving of both bad-press and fear mongering. And in that, the Steve Irwins of the world, may he rest in peace, do nobody any great service. If you want to be frightened, just look at what our fellow humans do, and maybe do what you can to address that reality. There you might be able to do a bit of good, and not harass the crocodiles in the bargain.