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Ed Yeates Reporting"A one of a kind maverick in his field with a unique style that could both entertain and educate at the same time."
That's how Hogle Zoo's director described Steve Irwin as zoos across the country reacted to his death. Steve Irwin was many faces to many people, but no matter what face you visualized, it had a lasting impact and it was felt today at Hogle Zoo.
Coincidentally, Hogle Zoo joined other groups across the country, raising money to preserve and protect the Cheetah. In a sense, anything like this, to preserve wildlife, is what Steve Irwin was all about.
Though controversial, flamboyant, over the edge and pushing the envelope in encounters with wild animals, he always had a lesson for his audience.
Craig Dinsmore, Director, Hogle Zoo: "He maybe pushed the envelope a little more than most of us do. But he was effective and he reached people and that's what's important. That was his legacy. He exposed more people to nature and wildlife than anyone else before him."
Craig Dinsmore, a zoologist himself and director of the domain we call Hogle Zoo, had a lot to say about Irwin. The title, Crocodile Hunter, really no longer fits, he says. Irwin was not a hunter but a preserver. He respected all animals and would even stop his vehicle on a roadway to move even the smallest of creatures out of harm's way.
Though you may or may not have liked his style in front of a camera, Dinsmore says his love for animals always rang loud and clear.
Craig Dinsmore: "He was doing what he loved to do and doing it in a way no one else did. And he reached a lot of people about the importance of nature in wildlife. And for that we're all indebted to him. And the entire zoo community, I think, has a sense of loss."
