There was nothing average about this guy. And of course, where would we be without the mandatory South Park reference to make us laugh:

AUSSIE: As we steer our boat down [the boys are on the sofa looking at TV], looking for these dangerous predators... Boy, there’s a king croc right here. [it slips into the water] He must be four meters; 12, 13 feet long at least. [it looks up at him] This croc has enough power in its jaws to rip my head right off.

KENNY: (Oh, no!) [tightens his hood up]

AUSSIE: I've got to be careful. So, what I’m gonna do is sneak up on it and jam my thumb in its butthole.

STAN: Holy crap. dude!

AUSSIE: If I get bit out here, I’m 200 kilometers from the nearest hospital: I'd better be real careful jamming my thumb in its butthole. [jumps in and grabs the crocodile] Oh, boy, it's pissed off now.

KYLE: Go, dude, go! [excited, the boys jump on the sofa]

AUSSIE: I'm gonna jam my thumb it its butthole now! This should really piss it off! [reaches down with his left thumb to do it. The croc jumps up in pain and drops] Oh, yeah, that pissed it off, all right! [the boys cheer] I've gotta be careful!

STAN: This guy rules!

That he did. And DP Mason at The Orstrahyun groks the reason why:

Greer seems to miss the point, by obviously never having given his shows more than a grimaced glance, that Irwin well understood that to get his message of conservationism over to the next generation, and to ram home just how spectacular and wonderful the creatures of Australia really were, he would have to be more entertaining, more vivid, more over-the-top than everything else on television, or in the video game console.

David Attenborough's kept a whispering distance from his televisual prey, most of the time, and it worked for the kids of the 60s and 70s.

Irwin reached hundreds of millions of people, mostly children, and instilled in them a love and respect for the wild world which will reap huge rewards for their generation and the animal world.

Bingo. Oh yeah... did I need to add that lefty Germaine Greer managed to show her full moonbat plumage via a fantastically stupid Guardian article slagging Irwin right after his death?

And Greer's internal void ironically fits, showing us the key in its own failures: love, and respect, harnessed to passion. That's what Irwin brought, and conveyed, and taught. And practiced, putting his money where his mouth was by using his millions to buy up tens of thousands of acres of pristine Australian bush and rainforest, never to be developed.

In other posts, I've talked about an attitude toward nature that stresses respect and love, without worship. And about the need to put environmentalism back on the political map from its current ghettoed oblivion. How? By engaging people in local action to first appreciate, then protect and restore nature rather than diminishing it as a mere stalking horse for a particular set of politics.

Every aspect of Steve Irwin's life was about living that, and conveying it as a fantastically engaging teacher that kids loved. I once said of Carl Sagan that he wasn't the world's best astronomer, but for damn sure he was the world's best astronomy teacher. It may surprise some of you to learn that Irwin was actually a respected biologist. He was also, without question, one of the world's best teachers. One whose specialties were biology, ecology... and love.

There are never enough of those.

But his work goes on. Philippe Cousteau has vowed to finish their joint Animal Planet special, Ocean's Deadliest, in Steve's memory (Irwin was actually shooting a different show when he died). The show's intended point: that these animals have rightful and important places and roles in the natural world - including the animal who rightfully owns the top slot as Ocean's Deadliest.

They're called homo sapiens for some inexplicable reason. Perhaps you've heard of them?

Postscriptum: Nice roundup at Blogcritics: "Steve Irwin's Father, Wife, and Coworkers Speak Out," including a web page where you can send condolences to the family. Note also the family's request that any donations in Steve's name should be made to the Wildlife Warriors Worldwide Fund.