I didn't catch Jeff Corwin on the today show.
But I did see him on "Larry King Live", on Tues, Sept 5th. I was personally impressed and even remarked to my husband how very solemn and dignified he appeared, while also seeming to be 100% sincere. And how very respectful of Steve his answers to Larry's questions were. I had never seen Jeff without this sort of a little smirk (which I think is just 'him'), until that night's appearance on LKL. IMO, Jeff Corwin appeared as a man, who had just lost a fellow man, that shared a love and compassion for wildlife, and wished to educate others about same.
I located the transcript from LKL for Sept 5th and I have edited the transcript so we have only questions to Jeff Corwin, and his answers below.
KING: Jeff Corwin, did you have much contact with Steve?
JEFF CORWIN, HOST, ANIMAL PLANET'S "JEFF CORWIN EXPERIENCE": Well, we worked at the same network and our paths crossed on the road as we were traveling around, you know, filming various things. We often shared the same producers at the network.
And when I heard of this I was actually filming in Nome, Alaska and I just couldn't believe it. When I think of Steve Irwin I think of an immortal. And, I remember just sort of keying through my phone trying to get some sort of information.
And so, when I first found out I was devastated and then just, you know, really quite shocked at sort of the senseless irony of this loss. Here is this man who basically is a pioneer in what he did and has worked in so many arenas and to have this happen it's just a terrible waste.
~snip~
KING: Have the last 20 minutes touched you as it has Jack?
CORWIN: You know, I've been trying to just sort of focus on this and not really keep the emotions back about it but what really resonated to me was to see his daughter. I have a daughter and I've taken my daughter on the road.
And, you know, Steve is known as someone who is a great worker with wildlife, an educator, a sharer of information, but what a lot of people don't know about him is his tight relationship with his family.
As I understand it, he was a marvelous husband and an incredible father and he lived his passion. His passion was his life and he brought his family in that passion. So, the idea that his experience now eclipses at is just to me just terribly tragic, terribly tragic.
~snip~
KING: Jeff Corwin, doesn't this give you pause?
CORWIN: Well, the truth is, Larry, this sort of work, working with animals, it comes with risk. What you want to do is take all the precautions. You dot your I's, you cross your T's. But ultimately, wild animals are wild, and that's also part of the story. And Steve illustrated that.
And what we have to remember is what Steve did was he served as a bridge that connected the human world with the animal world. And above that he was able to take that information and apply it to conservation. But animals warrant to tell their stories, and he got to live his passion, and all of us here who are doing this, we're blessed that we get to have the similar opportunities. So if I feel that it's a really bad risk, I don't take it. You sort of look at those things. But in the end wild animals are what they are.
~snip~
KING: Jeff Corwin, what do you think? (This question was in regards to a "public state funeral" for Steve.)
CORWIN: I think it's definitely warranted, it's definitely worth a state funeral. But you know, right now it's dealing with the moment, it's dealing with this tremendous tragedy. I can't imagine how they could even grapple with that. And this is just -- hopefully, there will be a new beginning for them. But right now trying to digest this tragedy is just almost unsurmountable.
~snip~
KING: Jeff, have you done a lot of work underwater?
CORWIN: I have done a lot of work underwater,
Larry. I've done work on stingrays. And ironically, last year filming in Costa Rica, while walking on a beach talking about the coastline, I stepped on a stingray and got nailed in the ankle. And I can tell you, it was one of the worst, most painful experiences in my life. And -- so -- but I never thought that it could actually cause mortality. So to see this unfold is most shocking.
But I think it's important to note, I think what Steve would want people to know, is that these are not aggressive creatures. And to me, the magical thing that he did, in his own electric way, was he took creatures that were normally vilified by people, and he turned that around, and he taught people to respect these creatures. And really created this sort of movement to engage these animals, understand them, and recognize their place.
~snip~
KING: And Jeff Corwin, we love your work. We hope to have you back again soon. And thanks again for being with us.
CORWIN: Thank you, sir.
KING: My pleasure.
CORWIN: Thank you.
~snip~
You can read the entire transcript at the link below. If you missed the show, I highly recommend it. Guests who I remember were John Stainton, Philippe Cousteau, Jack Hanna and Michael Hornby, the executive director of the Wildlife Warriors.
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0609/05/lkl.01.html
I agree Jeff Corwin is no Steve Irwin (there is no other like him), but let's not jump too quickly to villify him. In my heart, I feel Steve would never advocate that treatment of someone who shared a compassion for wildlife, so similar to his own.
ETA: For those who don't know who Jeff Corwin is,
click here for his bio.
.