Steve Irwin

Steve Feeding a Crocodile (www.flickr.com)

Steve Irwin “The Crocodile Hunter” was born February 22, 1962. Steven Robert Irwin was born to Lyn and Bob Irwin in Victoria, Australia. In 1992, Steve married Terri Raines, an American, who was on a vacation visiting the Australia Zoo. Steve and Terri Irwin have two children, Bindi and Robert. Bindi, named after Steve’s favorite crocodile, was born July 24, 1998. Robert, named after Steve’s father, was born December 1, 2003.

Steve With Three Elephants (Animal.discovery.com)

Steve’s parents shared a passion for rescuing and rehabilitating local wildlife. In 1970 they opened the Beerwah Reptile Park (later renamed The Australia Zoo.) Being raised at the zoo, Steve soon came to share his parents love and dedication for animals. At nine years old Steve caught his first crocodile. Steve and his father were able to brag that every crocodile in the zoo was either caught or bred by them. In 1991, Steve took over management of the Australia Zoo. The zoo flourished and expanded under Steve’s guidance. This same year Steve met his wife, Terri. They married eight months later and went crocodile trapping for their honeymoon. They invited a camera crew along to film the expedition, which later became the first episode of the “Crocodile Hunter”. There are now 166 episodes featuring Steve Irwin as “The Crocodile Hunter”. Over 500 million viewers world wide tuned in to watch Steve and his daring stunts. Being in the national spotlight wasn’t always easy. In 2004 Steve found himself surrounded by negative publicity when he held his infant son to close to a feeding crocodile. Unfortunately, several months later, while filming a documentary, Steve again was criticized and accused of swimming too close to a pod of whales.

Steve's Family (Crocodilehunter.com)

Steve Irwin had an effect on millions of people’s lives. He has his family to thank for his love and dedication to animals. This dedication to animals is the reason who many people think Steve is a hero. He was a determined and daring man. Whether he was wrestling a crocodile, or building a habit for a recently rescued animal, Steve gave each task his all. Steve received millions of dollars for his movies and television shows. He did not keep this money for himself. Instead he took that money and put it into making the zoo a success.

Steve Close to Crocodile (curbplaces.com)

Steve Irwin isn’t Superman, but he certainly shares many of his qualities. He seemed to be fearless. There wasn’t a single animal that Steve didn’t welcome the chance to study or rescue. He wanted to learn from the animals and make the world have a better understanding of each of them. He loved deeply. Both his family and the animals always came first. He couldn’t leap tall building in a single bound, but he could jump off a boat only to land on a crocodile. Wrestle that crocodile back into his boat and shout “WOOOO…..She’s a beauty, mate”!....... “Crikey”!

Steve just being Steve (biggeststars.com)

While filming in the Great Barrier Reef on September 4th, 2006, Steve Irwin was killed by a stingray. Steve was snorkeling above the stingray when its serrated barb shot out and pierced Steve’s heart. It is the first death of a stingray ever filmed.

Steve Irwin’s death was a tragedy but we are fortunate to have his mission live through his television shows and The Australia Zoo. I started watching “The Crocodile Hunter” at the age of three. Steve taught me that animals deserve a place on this earth just like humans. We all need to do our part to save our wildlife. I have already began my part by adopting endangered wildlife and keeping my environment clean. If we all do a small part in keeping our environment clean we can honor Steve’s memory and help achieve his dream.