Is It Still Safe to Scuba Dive?
I was so stunned to hear about Steve Irwin's death and even more stunned when I heard how he died.
Since the news of Steve Irwin's death, there's been much talk about how dangerous scuba diving is.
The truth is, for those who don't love scuba diving, the deep seas have always seemed like a dangerous place, regardless of whether stingrays are present or not. I mean, there are always still sharks, jellyfish, sea urchins etc around.
But for those of us who love scuba diving, we have always known that there can be circumstances where we meet dangerous moments during diving - as in all other forms of sport or leisure. Who is to say that some mishap cannot happen to us even as we step out of our house and even within our homes?!
I think for most scuba divers, we do wonder at the "close shaves" we had in our encounters with stingrays, after hearing about Steve Irwin's death. I have encountered countless face-to-face situations with stingrays big and small, have dived behind them, in front of them and floating on top of them. They have always swum away from me and not once have they ever appeared hostile.
I can only guess that the stingray which got Steve Irwin must have perceived danger to strike out like that. After all, a short clip we see on tv usually take lots of time and repeated takes behind the scenes that we do not see. How long the filming was going on before the stingray struck is anyone's guess.
Having said that, I must say that I was really surprised that this has happened to Steve Irwin. I have often told my husband that this man must have a special way with animals for them to allow him to touch and even hold them. It's as if the animals could sense his love and respect for them.
For those of us who love animals, we know how difficult it is to get close to a wild animal. Even getting close to feed a stray cat is not always easy. They need to trust you before you can even get near them.
It is truly our sad loss of this great unique animal lover who brought the beauty of all these wild creatures into our homes. Steve Irwin made us sit up and want to learn about them. That was his unique style and gift and I will miss him.
Will I still be scuba diving though? Definitely. The waters are not any more dangerous or more safe after this incident. Nothing has changed actually. Life generally, will have mishaps happening so it would be crazy to live life in fear of situations which have equal chance of happening (or not happening) to us in our lifetime, whether in water, in the air or on land.
Since the news of Steve Irwin's death, there's been much talk about how dangerous scuba diving is.
The truth is, for those who don't love scuba diving, the deep seas have always seemed like a dangerous place, regardless of whether stingrays are present or not. I mean, there are always still sharks, jellyfish, sea urchins etc around.
But for those of us who love scuba diving, we have always known that there can be circumstances where we meet dangerous moments during diving - as in all other forms of sport or leisure. Who is to say that some mishap cannot happen to us even as we step out of our house and even within our homes?!
I think for most scuba divers, we do wonder at the "close shaves" we had in our encounters with stingrays, after hearing about Steve Irwin's death. I have encountered countless face-to-face situations with stingrays big and small, have dived behind them, in front of them and floating on top of them. They have always swum away from me and not once have they ever appeared hostile.
I can only guess that the stingray which got Steve Irwin must have perceived danger to strike out like that. After all, a short clip we see on tv usually take lots of time and repeated takes behind the scenes that we do not see. How long the filming was going on before the stingray struck is anyone's guess.
Having said that, I must say that I was really surprised that this has happened to Steve Irwin. I have often told my husband that this man must have a special way with animals for them to allow him to touch and even hold them. It's as if the animals could sense his love and respect for them.
For those of us who love animals, we know how difficult it is to get close to a wild animal. Even getting close to feed a stray cat is not always easy. They need to trust you before you can even get near them.
It is truly our sad loss of this great unique animal lover who brought the beauty of all these wild creatures into our homes. Steve Irwin made us sit up and want to learn about them. That was his unique style and gift and I will miss him.
Will I still be scuba diving though? Definitely. The waters are not any more dangerous or more safe after this incident. Nothing has changed actually. Life generally, will have mishaps happening so it would be crazy to live life in fear of situations which have equal chance of happening (or not happening) to us in our lifetime, whether in water, in the air or on land.
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