<< I would frequently become exasperated over a number of Irwin's irresponsible and stupid stunts with wild animals that I thought he did solely for publicity. <<

I never saw him outside of a few minutes here and there (channel-surfing, commercials, etc.) but he struck me as a guy happy to take crazy chances with some of these creatures, in exchange for fame/fortune/sharing his love of these critters/getting his conservation message out/whatever he did it for. And eventually he just HAD to get nailed, you can't do that kind of stuff for a lifetime, the odds just HAVE to catch up with you. And swimming right above the poisonous stinger tail of a creature (possibly scared) whose environment you've invaded? Ummmm ... that does sound like a moment when "This'll look good on film!" probably crowded some more sensible thoughts out of his mind. That's gotta be an underwater equivalent of putting your head in the lion's mouth.