Isis

TO STEVE IRWIN - "CROCODILE HUNTER"

A man who came face to face with some of the deadliest animals in the world, from alligators to crocodiles to snakes and even sharks, and never batted an eyelid.

When cable television first came to our home, I was only interested in keeping track of the various sitcoms that I'd heard about from my friends. My dad however used to constantly urge me to shift my attention to the nature channels so I could improve my general knowledge, and I would very reluctantly switch to Discovery or Animal Planet.

But since the day I discovered Steve Irwin's show, nobody had to ever ask again. Steve was probably the only person who could look right at home with a python wrapped around his neck like it was just a fancy cravat or scarf. From his evident love for the animals he worked with, to the nonchalant manner in which he would stand in the murky water discussing the habits of a particular crocodile, while the same crocodile closed in on him, until the last moment when he'd swing around with his trademark "CRIKEY!", and deal with it head on, he kept the show alive, and every moment charged with intense excitement. He made each episode so enthralling and absolutely memorable, you could watch the show back to back non stop for a week, and still not get tired of it. The day I found out that I shared a birthday with the spunkiest man of all, nothing could have brought me down from Cloud 9.

And now the man who became famous for wrestling crocodiles and poisonous snakes has been killed in a tragic diving accident while filming his own documentary on the Great Barrier Reef, titled The Ocean's Deadliest. As the headline in a popular tabloid says, he died as he lived - dangerously. Nobody can ever replace him, not on television, not in the hearts of ardent fans like me.

To a brave man who lived life on the edge and enjoyed every moment of it. May his memory live on forever.