Steve Irwin

**Stephen Robert Irwin**  (22 February 1962 – 4 September 2006) was an Australian zookeeper, television personality, wildlife expert, environmentalist, and conservationist. He was famous for the television program _The Crocodile Hunter_, a well-known real-life animal program that he made with his wife Terri Irwin. Irwin's character and adventures on his program made him an international star.

## Early years

Irwin's mother and father were Lyn and Bob Irwin was born in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The family moved to Queensland in 1970, when Irwin was 8. Bob Irwin was very interested in reptiles (a type of animal that includes snakes and crocodiles). When the family moved, Bob and Lyn Irwin started the small _Queensland Reptile and Fauna Park_. Irwin lived there until he became an adult.

Irwin worked in his family's park when he was nine: feeding the animals, and taking care of the grounds. He began working with crocodiles when he was nine, and became a crocodile-trapper (someone who traps crocodiles without killing them) when he was older. Irwin trapped crocodiles that were near places where people lived, and kept them for the park. He also worked for free for the Queensland Government's _East Coast Crocodile Management program_.

## Rise to fame

Irwin became head of the park in 1991 and changed the name to _Australia Zoo_. In 1992, at the Zoo, he met and married Terri Raines. As part of the marriage event, Irwin and his wife went on a journey to trap crocodiles. The journey was recorded for television and became the first part of the television show _The Crocodile Hunter_. This show made Irwin famous. _The Crocodile Hunter_ has been seen by people in 120 countries across the world, and has a large number of fans (people who like it very much) in the UK and Australia. He made his fame wrestling crocodiles and other reptiles

Irwin made the zoo larger by adding the _Animal Planet Crocoseum_, a place where rainforest birds can be seen, and the _Tiger Temple_. He also started the _World Wildlife Warriors_ (which was named the _Steve Irwin Conservation Foundation_), an organisation that tries to preserve rare animals that are in danger of dying out.

In 2003, one of the locomotives on _The Ghan_, the Adelaide to Darwin railway was named the _Steve Irwin_.

## Death

At about 11:00 a.m. Australian eastern standard time (01:00 UTC) on 4 September 2006, Irwin was struck in the chest by the tail of a stingray (a large sea animal) while snorkeling (a way of swimming using a tube to help you breathe under water) in Batt Reef, near Port Douglas in Queensland, Australia. He died from the wound. At the time, Irwin was being recorded for a television show, _The Ocean's Deadliest_. Bad weather had stopped recording and Irwin took the time to record some different pictures for another program. Irwin's friend, John Stainton, was on Irwin's boat. Stainton says Irwin swam too near to one of the animals - "He came on top of the stingray and the stingray's barb _(a point on the stingrays' tail)_ went up and into his chest and put a hole into his heart". His wife (Terri Irwin) did not find out about his death until a few hours later because she was trekking in Tasmania.

## References

- The Ten Deadliest Snakes in the World with Steve Irwin, 1998
- Steve Irwin Still in Running for Award
- Farewell to a larrikin adventurer, killed in his prime

## Other websites

- Official Site

## Infobox (person)

- **name**: Steve Irwin
- **image**: Steve Irwin.jpg
- **birth name**: Stephen Robert Irwin
- **birth place**: Upper Ferntree Gully, Victoria, Australia
- **death place**: Batt Reef, Queensland, Australia
- **death cause**: Stingray injury to the heart
- **nationality**: Australian
- **other names**: "The Crocodile Hunter"
- **years active**: 1991–2006
- **occupation**: Natural history, Naturalist
Zoologist
Conservation movement, Conservationist
Nature documentary, Television personality
Herpetologist
- **notable works**: _The Crocodile Hunter_
- **parents**: Bob Irwin
Lyn Irwin
- **signature**: Steve Irwin's signature.svg
- **children**: Bindi Irwin, Bindi Sue Irwin (b. 1998)
Robert C. Irwin, Robert Clarence Irwin (b. 2003)
- **website**: [http://www.australiazoo.com.au/ Australia Zoo]