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Steven Irwin

by James from Selden

 (www.tourbookings.com.)
(www.tourbookings.com.)

My definition of a hero is anybody who stands up for what's right. That's why I picked Steve Irwin (A.K.A. the Crocodile hunter) as my hero. Steve Irwin lived in Victoria, Australia. He was born February 22, 1962 and died September 4, 2006. Steve Irwin helped me and many others learn about animals and how dangerous they could be. Steve Irwin is important to me because without him I wouldn't have learned about so many different types of animals and how they lived.

 (www.crochunter.de)
(www.crochunter.de)

Bob and Lyn Irwin were Steve's parents. Because Steve's parents were naturalists, Steve spent his entire life studying, living and working with animals. Steve grew up at the Queensland Reptile and Fauna Park. This is where he helped with daily feedings and other tasks in the park's many animal exhibits. When Steve was about 8 years old, he became an expert on local wildlife. Steve's father encouraged him to learn how to handle crocodiles by having Steve catch the crocodiles himself. They quickly became a great father-son team in Australia. Steve and his Dad helped to raise over 150 crocodiles that were brought to the Australia Zoo. The father son team were very interested in all local animals as well. " Steven was always going off and finding some sort of animal to examine," says Bob Irwin, Steve's dad.

 (www.nytimes.com)
(www.nytimes.com)

In 1991, Steve took over the family park. He changed the name of the park to the Australia Zoo. Steve then started the famous television show "The Crocodile Hunter". It was aired in Australia in 1996, and then was added to North American television programs because it became so popular in Australia. One of the reasons the show was so popular was because Steve put a personal touch to it. For instance, his first show was actually his honeymoon with his wife Terri. In 1998, he presented, "The Ten Deadliest Snakes in the World". By 1999, he was invited to The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, due to the success of his show in the U.S. His television show was seen in over 130 countries, reaching millions of people. Steve and his show were known world wide because he was so enthusiastic and used several catch phrases, like "crikey"!

 (www.signonsandiego.com)
(www.signonsandiego.com)

Steve and Terri Irwin had their first child, Bindi Sue Irwin in 1998. She was named after one of the crocodiles in the Irwins park. Their son Robert Clarence Irwin was born in 2003. Steve always included his family in his television shows. One demonstration, Steve was feeding a crocodile. He was holding his 2 month old son while he fed the crocodile. The public was very upset about this and Steve ended up being compared to Michael Jackson, when he had held his baby over the side of a ledge. Steve defended himself by saying that he was in complete control of both the crocodile and his son. He also said that if the crocodile had attacked, he would have placed himself in the way and saved his son.

 (www.australiazoo.com)
(www.australiazoo.com)

Steve Irwin was and still is my hero, even though a couple of weeks ago he died. He still inspires me to continue towards my dream of becoming a vet and striving to the top. I think we can all agree that Steve was a little crazy at times and made mistakes, but who doesn't make mistakes? Anyone that says they don't is a liar. A hero stands up for what they believe to be right. That's what Steve Irwin tried to do while giving love and support to everyone and teaching people like me about wildlife. Steve died proving this, that's why he did not die in vain.

Page created on 10/26/2006 12:00:00 AM

Last edited 10/26/2006 12:00:00 AM

The beliefs, viewpoints and opinions expressed in this hero submission on the website are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the beliefs, viewpoints and opinions of The MY HERO Project and its staff.

Related Links

Steven Irwin - Australia Zoo Web site