I think the thing that we will all remember Steve for is that he did what he loved to do. Maybe he didn't make a lot of money out of it in the beginning, but he kept plugging away at saving (and relocating) animals so that people and animals could co-exist. His claim to fame came out of a lot of years of hard (grueling & thankless) work.
Maybe he was brave, maybe he was just plain stupid, but he felt he had a purpose in life and he lived that life to the absolute fullest. I hope that each and every one of you is lucky enough to say the same when the time comes to leave this earth. Better speared by a ray and die in the arms of the people you loved and worked with, than hooked up to machines and comatose in a hospital.
Losing Steve is like losing John Ritter or John Denver--all died too young and in the prime of their lives. They all had so much more to give, and will be sorely missed by their families and the public that loved them so much. It is truly a shame.
Anna