It’s a year to the day Steveo was hit in the heart by a stingray barb while filming a documentary off the Queensland coast. Despite assistance from crew on board the support ship and the frantic efforts of his best mate, the barb had hit him in the worst part of his entire body and they were unable to save him.We’d lost possibly *the* most charismatic and energetic supporter of the environment since the early years of David Bellamy and one that was far more famous worldwide. While ‘The Crocodile Hunter’ was almost certainly known to more people in absolute numbers in the USA than in Oz he was hardly better loved. Over here he was often regarded as just another wild man pulling off embarrassing stunts and shouting “Crikey!” at any given opportunity. Yet we all thought he was invulnerable… or if he wasn’t it would be one of his beloved crocs that would have had a chunk of him.
Perhaps that was why it hit us so hard. It seemed such a silly way for someone like him to die. “Steve Irwin killed by a fish?? Nah… no way mate!”. Yet he was gone.
His family have pulled through using his love for them as a beacon. Little Bindi Irwin, already a star in her own right at age 8 surprised everyone with her determination to follow in Steve’s footsteps and do what her daddy wanted. Many think she was pushed too far, too hard, too soon. Yet a year on she seems as confident in the rightness of her world as ever.
What the future holds for her as the breadwinner of the family, or supporter of the environmental movement called Wildlife Warriors is anyone’s guess. I hope it all pans out for her and the rest of the Irwins though. They’re a nice bunch, even *if* they all are mad as coots! 
The Eclectic Interweb 