56 Facts About Steve Irwin

Stephen Robert Irwin, known as Steve Irwin and "The Crocodile Hunter", was an Australian zookeeper, conservationist, television personality, wildlife educator, and environmentalist.

Steve Irwin achieved international fame from the television series The Crocodile Hunter, an internationally broadcast wildlife documentary series that he co-hosted with his wife Terri.

In 2006, while filming a documentary in Australia's Great Barrier Reef, Steve Irwin died from an injury caused by a stingray.

Steve Irwin's death became international news and was met with expressions of shock and grief by fans, the media, governments, and non-profit organizations.

Stephen Robert Steve Irwin was born on his mother's 20th birthday to Lyn and Bob Steve Irwin in Upper Ferntree Gully, a suburb of Melbourne.

Steve Irwin's parents were both of English and Irish descent, with some Swedish on his mother's side.

Steve Irwin moved with his parents as a child to Queensland in 1970, where he attended Landsborough State School and Caloundra State High School.

Steve Irwin described his father as a wildlife expert interested in herpetology, while his mother Lyn was a wildlife rehabilitator.

Steve Irwin became involved with the park in a number of ways, including taking part in daily animal feeding, as well as care and maintenance activities.

Steve Irwin began handling crocodiles at the age of nine after his father had educated him on reptiles from an early age.

Steve Irwin worked as a volunteer for Queensland's East Coast Crocodile Management program and captured over 100 crocodiles, some of which were relocated, while others were housed at the family park.

Steve Irwin took over the management of the park in 1991 and renamed it Australia Zoo in 1998.

Sir David Attenborough praised Steve Irwin for introducing many to the natural world, saying 'He taught them how wonderful and exciting it was.

In 1998, Steve Irwin continued his television career, working with director Mark Strickson to present The Ten Deadliest Snakes in the World.

Steve Irwin appeared on several episodes of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

Steve Irwin mentioned that he was considering opening an Australia Zoo in Las Vegas, Nevada, and possibly at other sites around the world.

Steve Irwin's only starring feature film role was in 2002's The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course, which was released to mixed reviews.

Steve Irwin fronted an advertising campaign for The Ghan in 2003, a passenger train operating between Adelaide, Alice Springs, and Darwin.

Steve Irwin was a passionate conservationist and believed in promoting environmentalism by sharing his excitement about the natural world rather than preaching to people.

Steve Irwin was concerned with conservation of endangered animals and land clearing leading to loss of habitat.

Steve Irwin considered conservation to be the most important part of his work: 'I consider myself a wildlife warrior.

Steve Irwin bought 'large tracts of land' in Australia, Vanuatu, Fiji, and the United States, which he described as 'like national parks' and stressed the importance of people realising that they could each make a difference.

Steve Irwin helped found International Crocodile Rescue, the Lyn Irwin Memorial Fund, and the Iron Bark Station Wildlife Rehabilitation Facility.

Steve Irwin urged people to take part in considerate tourism and not support illegal poaching through the purchase of items such as turtle shells or shark-fin soup.

Sir David Attenborough was an inspiration to Steve Irwin, according to his widow.

Attenborough reciprocated by praising Steve Irwin for introducing many to the natural world, saying, 'He taught them how wonderful and exciting it was[;] he was a born communicator'.

Steve Irwin took part in an Australian Rules football promotion in Los Angeles as part of 'Australia Week' in early 2006.

Steve Irwin supported rugby union, being a fan of the national team, the Wallabies.

Steve Irwin once wore a Wallaby jersey during a demonstration at the zoo.

In 2004, Steve Irwin was appointed ambassador for The Ghan, the passenger train running from Adelaide to Alice Springs in the central Australian outback, when the line was extended all the way to Darwin on the northern coast that year.

Steve Irwin was a keen promoter for Australian tourism in general and Queensland tourism in particular.

In November 2003, Steve Irwin was filming a documentary on sea lions off the coast of Baja California Peninsula in Mexico when he heard via his boat's radio that two scuba divers were reported missing in the area.

In 1991, Steve 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.

Steve Irwin sounded like an environmental Tarzan, a larger-than-life superhero guy'.

Steve Irwin once described his daughter Bindi as 'the reason [he] was put on the Earth'.

Steve Irwin frequently said that if he was to be remembered for anything, he hoped that it would be for being a good father.

Steve Irwin died on 4 September 2006, after being pierced in the chest by a short-tail stingray barb while filming in the Great Barrier Reef with Philippe Cousteau Jr.

Steve Irwin was at Batt Reef, near Port Douglas, Queensland, taking part in the production of the documentary series Ocean's Deadliest.

Steve Irwin's death is believed to be the only fatality from a stingray captured on video.

Steve Irwin's death was met with shock and grief by fans, the media, governments and non-profit organisations.

Steve Irwin was buried in a private ceremony at Australia Zoo later that same day.

Steve Irwin provided his voice for the 2006 animated film Happy Feet, as an elephant seal named Trev.

Steve Irwin appears in several episodes of Bindi the Jungle Girl via archive footage.

In 1997, while on a fishing trip on the coast of Queensland with his father, Steve Irwin discovered a new species of turtle.

Steve Irwin was awarded the Centenary Medal by the Australian government in 2001 for his 'service to global conservation and to Australian tourism'.

Steve Irwin was nominated in 2004 for Australian of the Year but it was awarded to Australian cricket captain Steve Waugh, while Irwin was named 2004 Queensland Australian of the Year.

Shortly before his death, Steve Irwin was to be named an adjunct professor at the University of Queensland's School of Integrative Biology.

On 14 November 2007, Steve Irwin was awarded the adjunct professorship posthumously.

In 2007, Steve Irwin was posthumously inducted into the Logie Hall of Fame.

Canadian environmentalist David Suzuki paid tribute to Steve Irwin, noting that '[h]umanity will not protect that which we fear or do not understand.

Steve Irwin helped us understand those things that many people thought were a nuisance at best, a horror at worst.

Steve Irwin was inducted in 2009 into the Queensland Business Leaders Hall of Fame, recognised for international entrepreneurship both in business and wildlife conservation, significantly contributing to Queensland and its international reputation and in 2015, Steve Irwin was a posthumous recipient of the Queensland Greats Awards.

In 2017 it was announced that Steve Irwin would be posthumously honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Steve Irwin's likeness has been used by the government of Queensland to promote tourism in the state with them regarding Australia Zoo as one of the states most iconic tourist destinations.

Steve Irwin showed footage of the event shot from a different angle, demonstrating that they were much farther from the crocodile than they had appeared in the publicised clip.

Steve Irwin's comments describing Australian Prime Minister John Howard as the 'greatest leader in the world' earned him scorn in the media.