RIP, and my deepest condolences to his family.
That his passion for wildlife was to eventually mean his undoing is perhaps not so much irony, but in a perverse sort of way, fitting. Think of it in the context of a firefighter or law enforcement officer dying in the line of fire; mortal dangers are an integral part of their careers, and perhaps dying for the greater cause of nature conservation and public education on wildlife (albeit in a slightly exaggerated, even simulated environment) reinforces those beliefs.