The Crocodile Hunter Dies

The news made it around my office like a presidential assassination. Steve Irwin, the Aussie icon known to the world as The Crocodile Hunter was killed. This is pretty big news on this antipodean continent. While many Australians did not like the image he portrayed, he did a tremendous amount for the tourist industry and is loved by children everywhere. The most common bit of confusion around today's events seemed to be the fact that a stingray, not a crocodile or a poisonous snake, killed him. I think it was only a matter of time before some wild animal did him in. This is tragic, and it sounds obvious, but a life surrounded by killer creatures is a dangerous one. And I do wonder what impact this will have on the children who loved his show and their attitude towards the water.

In other news, in an effort to deal with the cultural loss, the Australian government has announced that Paul Hogan and The Wiggles are to be under 24-hour body guard protection for the next 6 months.