Suddenly passed away

Mourning for one of Carinthia’s greatest animal rights activists

Dietmar Streitmaier passed away at the age of 68, leaving a big gap not only in animal welfare.

(Bild: Wallner Hannes/Hannes Wallner)

Carinthia has lost a great animal and nature conservationist in Dietmar Streitmaier. "Krone" editor Hannes Wallner looks back on their adventures together.

We laughed, marveled and learned so much about our natural world. We paddled after injured swans in rowing boats, rescued pigeons from the inside of bridges and witnessed first-hand how injured birds were lovingly and caringly nursed back to health and then released back into the wild. Whether it was an eagle owl hit by a truck or a hoopoe torn apart by cats - Dietmar Streitmaier was always on hand when a wild animal was in need.

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Combining hunting with animal and nature conservation
At the age of 68, Steuerberger passed away far too early this week - while pursuing his greatest passion, hunting. Like no other, "Streiti", who ran the Carinthian Nature and Game Station in Steuerberg, which was known far beyond the borders, knew how to combine hunting with animal and nature conservation. Educational work, the protection of young birds, the "Save the Frogs" campaign and the creation of breeding grounds for kingfishers were matters close to the heart of the co-founder of ARGE Naturschutz. For decades, he was commissioned by the state to care for mammals and wild birds and produced the "Carinthia's precious nature" booklets. He was even awarded the Grand Decoration of Honor of the State of Carinthia in 2022 for his commitment.

Passionate photographer
Another of his great passions was photography. Dietmar Streitmaier was never known without a camera. He would wait for hours in hiding places to photograph moor frogs, horned otters and kingfishers, or he would climb into the high mountains to take pictures of eagles and ibexes. Pictures that were printed in countless newspapers and still adorn many brochures of the Hohe Tauern National Park today. He was also involved for many years with the Carinthian hunting association and gave free rein to his musical talents with the Steuerberg hunting horn group.

Dietmar Streitmaier also captured the natural spectacle of the cock courtship display with his camera.

(Bild: Wallner Hannes)

Saying a final farewell
Now it's time to say goodbye for good. In Dietmar, we at the "Krone" are not only losing a much-loved expert who was always happy to help us with his specialist knowledge, but also a good friend. Dear Dietmar, we will miss you. Weidmannsheil