To The Crocodile Hunter:

Dear Steve,

I'm a 23 year old woman who never got over her early love of animals. And when I first started watching your show, so many years ago, I felt your love for them just as sure as I did. You were excited, you were silly, and you were downright fun to watch. And I was sure that you were invincible. I watched you do things that I thought no mere mortal could get away with. Looking into the face of snakes, running with camels, and hanging out the sides of mountains with a camera and sometimes Terry in tow. You were trampled, broken, bitten and stung over and over, but you were calm, you were cool, you were collected and you were the Crocodile Hunter. Terry, Wes, and the whole of Australia Zoo benefitted from that love of animals that kept you going all these years. That love that choked up your voice when you talked about endangered animals and when you took those amazing steps to protect them. I know that a lot of things are going to be said in the next couple of days/weeks etc. But I want them to remember your love of animals. I want it to permeate our society and our world so that people remember what you did and who you were. And maybe, just maybe, things will be better because of it. Not just for the animals of Earth, but the people too. I'm not going to say that you were happy the way that you died, but I will say that you died as you lived: Educating people about animals so that we could all one day appreciate them as you did.

Love,
Terri