Stephen Robert Irwin (22 February 19624 September 2006) was an Australian conservationist, environmentalist, zookeeper, television personality, and wildlife educator. Nicknamed the "Crocodile Hunter", he is regarded as an Australian cultural icon, and as one of the greatest conservationists.
Irwin grew up around crocodiles and other reptiles and was taught about them by his father, Bob. He achieved international fame in the late 1990s through The Crocodile Hunter, an internationally broadcast wildlife documentary series that he co-hosted with his wife, Terri. The couple also hosted Croc Files, The Crocodile Hunter Diaries, and New Breed Vets. They co-owned and operated Australia Zoo, founded by Irwin's parents in Beerwah, Queensland. They had two children, Bindi and Robert.
On 4 September 2006, Irwin died from an injury caused by a stingray while filming an underwater documentary in the Great Barrier Reef. His death became international news and was met with expressions of shock and grief from fans, the media, governments, and non-profit organisations. Numerous parks, zoos, streets, the vessel MY Steve Irwin, the snail species Crikey steveirwini, and the asteroid have been named in his honour. The Irwin family continues to operate Australia Zoo.
Early life Stephen Robert Irwin was born on 22 February 1962 to Lyn ( 2000) and Bob Irwin ( 1939) in Upper Ferntree Gully, a suburb of Melbourne. His parents were both of Irish descent. His great-grandfather on his father's side, Joseph Irwin, a carpenter born in Dublin, immigrated to Australia in 1876 and married Theresa Byrne, who was also from Dublin. Lyn was a maternity nurse, and Bob is a former plumber and amateur herpetologist who collected reptiles. Irwin developed an early interest in reptiles, particularly venomous snakes and lizards, and often collected them despite his father's advice. On one occasion, he reportedly brought a red-bellied black snake home on a public bus, transporting it in the driver's esky.
He moved with his parents to the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, in 1970, where he attended Landsborough State School and Caloundra State High School. Irwin described his father as a wildlife expert interested in herpetology, while his mother was a wildlife rehabilitator. After the family's move to Queensland, Bob and Lyn Irwin opened Beerwah Reptile Park, which was later known as the Queensland Reptile and Fauna Park in the 1980s, where Irwin grew up around crocodiles and other reptiles.
Irwin became involved with the park in a number of ways, including daily animal feeding and care and maintenance work. On his sixth birthday, he was given a scrub python. He began handling crocodiles at the age of nine after his father had educated him on reptiles from an early age. Also at age nine, he wrestled his first crocodile under his father's supervision. He later volunteered for Queensland's East Coast Crocodile Management program and captured more than 100 crocodiles, some of which were relocated while others were housed at the family park. Irwin took over management of the park in 1991 and renamed it Australia Zoo in 1998.
Personal life On 6 October 1991, Irwin met Terri Raines, an American naturalist from Eugene, Oregon, who was visiting wildlife rehabilitation facilities in Australia and had decided to visit the zoo. According to the couple, it was love at first sight. Raines said at the time, "I thought there was no one like this anywhere in the world. He sounded like an environmental Tarzan, a larger-than-life superhero guy". They were engaged four months later and were married at the First United Methodist Church of Eugene on 4 June 1992. They had two children: a daughter, Bindi Sue Irwin (born 24 July 1998), and a son, Robert Clarence Irwin (born 1 December 2003). Bindi Sue is jointly named after two of Irwin's favourite animals: Bindi, a saltwater crocodile, and Sui, a Staffordshire Bull Terrier. Robert is named after Irwin's father Bob and Terri's father Clarence.
Irwin once described his daughter Bindi as "the reason [he] was put on the Earth". His wife said, "The only thing that could ever keep him away from the animals he loves are the people he loves even more". Although the Irwins were happily married, they did not wear wedding rings; they believed that in their line of work, jewellery could pose a hazard to them or the animals.Americanprofile.com. Retrieved 7 September 2007. Irwin frequently said that if he was to be remembered for anything, he hoped it would be for being a good father.
On 11 February 2000, Irwin's mother Lyn was killed in a car accident. In an online tribute, he called her "the most beautiful, loving, nurturing, and caring person to have ever blessed this world". Career The Crocodile Hunter and related work
Irwin and his wife Terri spent their honeymoon trapping crocodiles together. Film footage of the trip, taken by John Stainton, became the first episode of The Crocodile Hunter. The series debuted on Australian television in 1996 and reached North American audiences the following year. The Crocodile Hunter became successful in the United States, the UK,Platt, R: "A Natural Presenter at One With Nature" The Guardian. 5 September 2006 and more than 130 other countries, reaching an estimated 500 million viewers. Irwin's exuberant and enthusiastic presenting style, broad Australian accent, signature khaki shorts, and catchphrase "Crikey!" became known internationally.
Animal Planet ended The Crocodile Hunter with a three‑hour series finale titled "Steve's Last Adventure". It featured footage of Irwin's travels in locations including the Himalayas, the Yangtze River, Borneo, and the Kruger National Park.
After The Crocodile Hunter, Irwin appeared in other Animal Planet documentaries, including Croc Files,"Croc Files", Discovery Kids web site. Retrieved 15 January 2011. The Crocodile Hunter Diaries,"The Crocodile Hunter Diaries – About the Show" , Animal Planet web site. Retrieved 15 January 2011. and New Breed Vets."New Breed Vets – Synopsis" , Animal Planet web site, 10 December 2006. Animal Planet also created the annual Croc Week marathon, broadcast for a full week in mid‑June each year from 2000 to 2007. During a January 2006 interview on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Irwin announced that Discovery Kids would be developing a show for his daughter, Bindi Sue,The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, 13 January 2006. a plan realised after his death as Bindi the Jungle Girl."Despite the facts, Steve Irwin is still alive for Bindi's fans" , The Age, 14 July 2008.
Other television and film work
In 1998, Irwin continued his television career, working with director Mark Strickson to present The Ten Deadliest Snakes in the World., Wild Film History. Retrieved 5 February 2011. He appeared on several episodes of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno."Steve Irwin, Wildlife Master, Is Killed by a Stingray at 44" by Glenn Collins , The New York Times, 5 September 2006: "... he was an ebullient staple of American talk shows ranging from The Tonight Show With Jay Leno to Live With Regis and Kelly.""Steve Irwin, Bob Irwin, Murray the Crocodile, & The Snake Faux Pas" , Diana L. Guerrero, Ark Animals. Retrieved 5 February 2011: "I met Steve Irwin and Terri Irwin on the set of the Tonight Show with Jay Leno." A 2000 FedEx commercial featuring Irwin lightheartedly addressed the risk of occupational death from snakebite and the notion that FedEx could have prevented it.
Australia Zoo was upgraded with the Animal Planet Crocoseum, a rainforest aviary, and the Tiger Temple. Irwin said he was considering opening an Australia Zoo in Las Vegas, Nevada, and possibly at other sites around the world.
In 2001, Irwin appeared in a cameo role in the Eddie Murphy film Dr. Dolittle 2. His only starring feature film role was in 2002's The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course, released to mixed reviews. In the film, Irwin portrayed himself and performed numerous stunts. The plot centres on Irwin mistaking CIA agents for poachers and attempting to stop them from capturing a crocodile that has swallowed a tracking transmitter. The film won the Best Family Feature Film award for a comedy at the Young Artist Awards. It was produced on a budget of about US$12 million and grossed $33 million. To promote the film, Irwin appeared in an animated short produced by Animax Entertainment for Intermix.
In 2002, Irwin and his family appeared in the Wiggles video/DVD release Wiggly Safari, filmed at Australia Zoo and featuring songs inspired by Australian wildlife.The Wiggles – Wiggly Safari (DVD), Lyons / Hit Ent., 3 September 2002. Irwin fronted an advertising campaign for The Ghan in 2003, a passenger train operating between Adelaide, Alice Springs, and Darwin. A Pacific National NR class locomotive was named Steve Irwin as part of the campaign.
Environmentalism
Irwin was a passionate conservationist and believed in promoting environmentalism by sharing his enthusiasm for the natural world rather than preaching. He was concerned with the conservation of endangered species and with land clearing that caused habitat loss. He considered conservation the most important part of his work: "I consider myself a wildlife warrior. My mission is to save the world's endangered species". Irwin bought "large tracts of land" in Australia, Vanuatu, Fiji, and the United States, which he described as "like national parks", and stressed that individuals could make a difference.
Irwin founded the Steve Irwin Conservation Foundation, which became an independent charity and was later renamed Wildlife Warriors Worldwide."Wildlife Warriors Worldwide" , Australia Zoo. Retrieved 5 February 2011. He also helped establish International Crocodile Rescue,"ICR History" , International Crocodile Rescue. Retrieved 5 February 2011. the Lyn Irwin Memorial Fund (named in memory of his mother),"Lyn Irwin Memorial Fund" , Australia Zoo. Retrieved 5 February 2011. and the Iron Bark Station Wildlife Rehabilitation Facility."Iron Bark Station" , Australia Zoo. Retrieved 5 February 2011.
Irwin urged people to take part in considerate tourism and avoid supporting illegal poaching by refusing items such as turtle shells or shark-fin soup.
Sir David Attenborough was an inspiration to Irwin, according to his widow. When presenting a Lifetime Achievement Award to Attenborough at the British National Television Awards on 31 October 2006, Terri said, "If there's one person who directly inspired my husband it's the person being honoured tonight.... [Steve's] real, true love was conservation – and the influence of tonight's recipient in preserving the natural world has been immense". Attenborough praised Irwin for introducing many people to wildlife, saying, "He taught them how wonderful and exciting it was[;] he was a born communicator".
Sporting activities Irwin enjoyed mixed martial arts competitions and trained with Greg Jackson in the fighting and grappling system of Gaidojutsu.Jackson's Gaidojutsu Self Defense www.jacksons.tv. Retrieved 7 September 2006.
Irwin was an avid cricket fan. During his visit to Sri Lanka, he played cricket with local children and said "I love cricket" and "It's a shame we have to go catch some snakes now". This appeared in the Crocodile Hunter episode "Island of the Snakes".
Having grown up in Essendon, Irwin supported the Essendon Bombers in the Australian Football League."Steve Irwin" The Times Online 5 September 2006. Retrieved 6 September 2006 He took part in an Australian Rules football promotion in Los Angeles during "Australia Week" in early 2006.AFL Match, Steve Irwin Show. Retrieved 5 September 2006 After his death, ESPN.com displayed a photograph of Irwin wearing a Bombers guernsey in its Bottom 10 ranking of the worst Division I FBS college football teams after Week 1 of the season.