We'll miss ya Steve Irwin

"We'll miss ya Steve Irwin," is what 10 years old Matthew Cheek from Kissimmee, Florida, drew to pay his tribute to Irwin, who had a huge world wide fan following - many of which were children. Simple and yet apt, this drawing (taken without Matthew's permission - my apologies to Matthew for the same) conveys the exact message that underlines every big and snmall tribute paid to Steve.

Though, I never much read or knew much about Irwin, I felt a desire to pay my tribute to this outstanding, exuberantly enthusiastic wildlife conservator. With a population of 6 billion, and still growing we humans have certainly claimed more than what is reasonably ours from Gaia. In such times when we need many more Steves, losing the one we had is sure a tragic loss.

I enjoyed his shows a lot. His careless maneuvers while working with Snakes and Crocs, and other "dangerous" species inspired awe and admiration. While browsing through hundreds of channels they have on television these days, I would always get anchored to NGC or Discovery showing a Steven's show. I'll miss him, his shows and shall remain aware of this great loss to the programme of wildlife conservation. One only good thing that strikes me at the moment is that "Steve died doing what he liked best," to borrow from one his friends.