Irwin was born on his mother's birthday to Lyn and Bob Irwin in Essendon, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria. He was of Irish descent on his father's side. He moved with his parents as a child to Queensland in 1970, where he attended Landsborough State School and Caloundra State High School. Irwin described his father as a wildlife expert interested in herpetology, while his mother Lyn was a wildlife rehabilitator.

News of Irwin's death prompted reactions around the world. Then-Prime Minister John Howard expressed "shock and distress" at the death, saying that "Australia has lost a wonderful and colourful son." Queensland's then-Premier Peter Beattie remarked that Irwin would "be remembered as not just a great Queenslander, but a great Australian". The Australian federal parliament opened on 5 September 2006 with condolence speeches by both Howard and the Leader of the Opposition, Kim Beazley. Flags at the Sydney Harbour Bridge were lowered to half mast in honour of Irwin. In the days following Irwin's death, reactions dominated Australian online news sources, talk-back radio programmes, and television networks. In the United States, where Irwin had appeared in over 200 Discovery Network television programmes, special tributes appeared on the Animal Planet channel, as well as on CNN and major TV talk shows. Thousands of Irwin's fans visited Australia Zoo after his death, paying their respects and bringing flowers, candles, stuffed animals and messages of support. Criticism of Irwin's career following his death came from Dan Mathews, vice-president of the animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. Comparing Irwin to a "cheap reality TV star", Mathews accused him of "antagonising frightened wild animals ... a very dangerous message to send to children", contrasted his methods with the behaviour of "a responsible conservationist like Jacques Cousteau", and said it was "no shock at all that Steve Irwin should die provoking a dangerous animal." The son of Jacques Cousteau, Jean-Michel Cousteau--also a producer of wildlife documentaries--took issue with Irwin's "very, very spectacular, dramatic way of presenting things" and suggested instead that "You don't touch nature, you just look at it." Jacques Cousteau's grandson and Jean-Michel's nephew, Philippe Cousteau Jr., on the other hand, called Irwin "a remarkable individual"; describing the Ocean's Deadliest project (on which he worked along with Irwin), Philippe said, "I think why Steve was so excited about it that we were looking at these animals that people think of as, you know, dangerous and deadly monsters, and they're not. They all have an important place in the environment and in the world. And that was what his whole message was about." In the weeks following Irwin's death, at least ten stingrays were found dead and mutilated on the beaches of Queensland, with their tails cut off, prompting speculation as to whether they might have been killed by fans of Irwin as an act of revenge, although, according to the chairman of the Queensland fishing information service, anglers regularly cut the tails off of accidentally caught stingrays to avoid being stung. Michael Hornby, a friend of Irwin and executive director of his Wildlife Warrior fund, condemned any revenge killings, saying that "We just want to make it very clear that we will not accept and not stand for anyone who's taken a form of retribution. That's the last thing Steve would want."

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