RIP Steve Irwin
I awoke this morning to some terribly shocking news: Australian naturalist Steve Irwin died after being stung through the heart by a stingray while filming for a Discovery Channel show "Ocean's Deadliest." The circumstances of the death are, well, freakish. The stingray's barb struck him directly in the heart, after penetrating his ribcage, and killed him almost instantly. It is not at all common for a human to die after being stung by a stingray.

Steve Irwin did so much for promoting an understanding of our planet. As the popularity of his show "Crocodile Hunter" rose throughout the globe, so did an awareness of the natural gifts the planet offers us. I was always struck by his compassion: he had a true link to the natural world around him, and was not afraid to wear the related emotions on his sleeve while filming. The following clip captures this well. In Steve's reaction to the death of a crocodile he has known and worked with for many years, you can see what a truly great and caring human he was:

  ¶ 10:32 AM