Recently in the wake of the Australian bushfires, there has been a cartoon that has gone viral that depicts the late Steve Irwin welcoming all the animals who’ve died to heaven.
Sharnia-Mae Sturm who is from Atlanta, in the United States, posted the sketch on her Instagram New Year’s Eve in order to help raise awareness of the devastating impact the fires are on the country’s wildlife.
The drawing shows the late Irwin greeting a host of the country’s animals such as kangaroos and koalas among others with his arms wide open as he kneels down. The Crocodile Hunter then says, “Don’t worry little guys! I’ll take care of you!”
It wasn’t long for the picture to go viral on social media in just a few days.
Sturm has since said her account was flooded by so many likes and comments, that it got deleted.
Feel free to share this but please give credit to my page!So… it’s sad to say that I’ve spent about 3 weeks or so on…
Posted by Sketchy Koala on Monday, January 6, 2020
Sturm posted to her Sketchy Koala Facebook page, saying she hopes that Steve Irwin is looking taking care of all the lost animals in heaven.
She wrote, “So… it’s sad to say that I’ve spent about 3 weeks or so on this and the subject is still relevant. This little tribute drawing goes to all the innocent animals caught in the blazes across my home country, it breaks my heart to see it’s still going on but there’s only so much that can be done to keep it from spreading. I hope all the animals who couldn’t make it are now in heaven with Steve Irwin, being taken care of, and not having a care in the world or memory of how they got there. Rest In Peace fuzzy babies, we will miss you.”
The picture also gained a lot of attention from people who found the gesture touching.
One person commented, “I’m actually crying seeing this. My daughter has asked where all the animals have gone after they passed away from the fires and now I can show her this and she will be able to understand.”
A second person wrote, “I love these drawings, they say it all, well done, it touched my heart.”
While a third added, “Just beautiful. Thank you for taking the time to do this and share it.”
And a fourth said, “This is absolutely beautiful. Actually made me cry. I love Steve Irwin and still can’t believe he’s gone. Our loss of animals is so truly heartbreaking.”
Sturm later thanked the people for getting in touch with their kind messages by saying, “I appreciate all this love and support more than you can believe. I’m so happy to see many people be so touched by this.”
