Yeah I didn't like the wild animal manhandling act (Vegan, I think we should just leave them alone), but I think Irwin understood how to connect with and engage an audience that would leave them thinking about the animals for the long term, not to mention knowing more about them. He was a top-tier science communicator and cared about the animals first, ultimately his form of spectacle advocacy drove tons of engagement toward naturalist / zoological / conservancy professions.

The same reason that the MythBusters are considered science educators. You may not like it, but those were the influencers of the 2000s. There are a lot of people who grew up to be veterinarians or other vocations dealing with animals because of Steve Irwin, just like there are a lot of people who grew up to be engineers or similar because of the MythBusters, and that’s what makes him and his message special.

I’m sure in a couple years we will be hearing about the people who loved VSauce or one of those other YouTube channels and there will be some curmudgeon commenting about how they never understood how Michael was likable.

His kids are just like him. It's the genuine love of learning and nature and wanting to share that. And there's some real science on the show tagging and documenting animals as well as medicating and moving them.

PITA edge lords are cringe, the man handling snakes carefully for 5min so millions of people learn and are less terrified of them is more of a service to animals than any of you will do.

It's my understanding that he didn't put himself at risk for the adrenaline, he did it because he valued the safety of the animals he cared for above his own. I seem to remember him explaining his reasoning on his show. There are lots of devices and drugs that can be used for protected contact so that animal handlers are never put at serious risk, but all of them can and do sometimes go horribly wrong for the animals in addition to being very traumatic in ways that it can be difficult for humans to conceive. He didn't do it without thought either, it being clear that the techniques he used required an intimate knowledge of those animals and their behaviors. He didn't die wrestling a croc or handling a venomous snake. He died from being to close to an animal he likely had much less familiarity with.

PR for the way he died. That bit of fondling animals was getting old.