Steve Irwin's exuberance wasn't a television gimmick. He and his wife where serious about the conservation of the crocadile and other animals.
When I heard about his death I figured he did so in the line of duty. He did, put not at the hands of one of the "man eaters" he has devoted his life to saving, but rather a not so menacing stingray. Irwin died during underwater filming at the age of 44 after a stingray barb pierced his heart.
Irwin was known through his documentaries on the cable TV channel to some 500 million people in more than 120 countries. As the exuberant, golden-haired, khaki-wearing and apparently fearless Crocodile Hunter, he got very close to — and even wrestled — numerous apex predators. His unscripted narration was punctuated with “Crikey!” and “ Look at this beauty!” Many wrongfully called him a thrill seeker, but he called himself a wildlife warrior. He was in fact a highly knowledgeable natural historian, whose mission was to educate people by enthusing them.
Background
Stephen Robert Irwin was born in Melbourne in 1962. When he was 8 the family moved to Queensland, where they started the small Queensland Reptile and Fauna Park in Beerwah on the Sunshine Coast. Irwin was involved from an early age: he helped to look after the reptiles, having been given a scrub python for his sixth birthday (for which he started to catch fish and rodents) and by the age of 9 was jumping into rivers at night and catching crocodiles with his bare hands. In time he became one of the stars of the Queensland government’s rogue crocodile relocation programme. Many of the crocodiles were relocated to the family’s park, which was expanded in 1987.
Four years later Irwin took over management of the park, renaming it Australia Zoo, and the following year married Terri, who had been a visitor to the park. They went on a crocodile-trapping honeymoon in northern Australia, which — because of a chance meeting with with his old friend John Stainton, a television producer — became the first episode of The Crocodile Hunter series.
Ten one-hour episodes were made over the following three years, and more than 50 in total. Irwin was typically to be seen crawling towards wild crocodiles, snakes, goannas and spiders, among many other animals. “I would never blame an animal if it bit me, that is for sure,” he said to one interviewer, “because I’m at fault, not them”. He later estimated that he had been bitten more than 1,000 times. He was sanguine as ever when his leg was “ chomped” by a saltwater crocodile and needed 12 stitches. “I heal so quickly,” he said. “I tell you what, if you cut my arm off I would grow a new one.”
The popularity of Irwin’s programmes boosted business in reptile parks around Australia. Conscious of the educational impact he could have, he frequently reminded his public that many of the animals — including 17 of the 23 crocodile species — were rare or endangered. He fulfilled his mission as an environmentalist by creating International Crocodile Rescue and the Steve Irwin Conservation Foundation — which later became an independent charity and was renamed Wildlife Warriors Worldwide.
But Irwin had a few lapses of judgment: in 2004, during a public show at his zoo he “did a Michael Jackson” and fed a chicken to a crocodile while holding his baby son Bob in his other arm 3ft away. It caused outrage — and prompted the Queensland government to ban children and untrained adults from entering crocodile enclosures — but Irwin vigorously defended himself, saying that the child was in no danger, and that it equated to other children learning to swim.
Then, in June 2004, Irwin was said to have breached an Australian law prohibiting people from getting too close to Antarctic wildlife in filming whales, penguins and seals. In response to the outcry a special edition of Crocodile Hunter, entitled Crocodiles & Controversy, was made to explain both incidents.
Appearances on Larry King Live (2004) and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (2006) helped him to win back some support, and Irwin had just signed a deal with Warner Brothers and IMAX in America to make an IMAX film next year. He was filming an underwater documentary Ocean’s Deadliest on the Great Barrier Reef, when he died.
Irwin’s death in a stingray attack is thought to be only the second known case in Australia. Stainton has said that Irwin’s eight-year-old daughter Bindi, whose new TV show will appear in January, will succeed him as wildlife warrior. He is survived by his wife, son and daughter.
Memorable Quotes
On Animals and Conservation
"But I put my life on the line to save animals."
"The only animals I'm not comfortable with are parrots, but I'm learning as I go. I'm getting better and better at 'em. I really am."
"Yeah, I think it's an absolute disaster that Australia, the government, allowed kangaroo culling."
His outlook on life
"I have no fear of losing my life - if I have to save a koala or a crocodile or a kangaroo or a snake, mate, I will save it."
"I am optimistic globally. So many scientists are working frantically on the reparation of our planet."
"I believe our biggest issue is the same biggest issue that the whole world is facing, and that's habitat destruction."
"I believe that education is all about being excited about something. Seeing passion and enthusiasm helps push an educational message."
"My dad taught me from my youngest childhood memories through these connections with Aboriginal and tribal people that you must always protect people's sacred status, regardless of the pest."
"So fear helps me from making mistakes, but I make lot of mistakes."
"Yeah, I'm a thrill seeker, but crikey, education's the most important thing."
You know, you can touch a stick of dynamite, but if you touch a venomous snake it'll turn around and bite you and kill you so fast it's not even funny."
On his show
"Crikey means gee whiz, wow!"
"Crikey, mate. You're far safer dealing with crocodiles and western diamondback rattlesnakes than the executives and the producers and all those sharks in the big MGM building."
Heros
"See, I've always seen Jacques Cousteau as a hero, mate. He's a legend - like my dad, just a legend. And so what he did for conservation in the '60s through the '70s was just phenomenal."
Steve Irwin will be a hero for future generation.RIP
Later,
Kenaz
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