Steve Irwin was a lovely person, but he took some risks that were a little unnecessary.  This sadly lead to his death.  However it is everyone's right to live as they want to some extent, and while his methods of approaching and handling wildlife are far from advisable, he didn't do any harm to animals and he did further our understanding of them.    Every science needs a little crazy in the mix; it's just sad when they lose their life doing something preventable.  It's just not the best idea to fuck with dangerous wild animals.