'The Crocodile Hunter' Steve Irwin

I shall now present to you a very special man. He was a great activist who unfortunately has passed away in a young age. His love for wild animals and the environment in general made him famous in the entire planet. To this day forward, he’s still a role model for everyone who is concerned about the wildlife. Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Steve Irwin.

Life and career

Stephen Robert Irwin, also known as Steve Irwin and nicknamed as “The Crocodile Hunter” was born in February 22nd, 1962 in Essendon, Melbourne, Australia. Irwin became famous for his television series, also named The Crocodile Hunter. His exuberant and enthusiastic presenting style, broad Australian accent, signature khaki shorts, and catchphrase "Crikey!" became known worldwide. Steve and his wife Terri founded a conservationist organization called at first the Steve Irwin Conservation Foundation – later renamed as Wildlife Warriors - to involve and educate others in the protection of injured, threatened or endangered wildlife. Terri Irwin is still involved in the organization as patron and significant advisor.

He also helped to found a number of other projects, such as the International Crocodile Rescue, as well as the Lyn Irwin Memorial Fund, in memory of his mother (who was in a fatal car crash in 2000), with proceeds going to the Iron Bark Station Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre.
Irwin, however, was criticised for having an unsophisticated view of conservation in Australia that seemed more linked to tourism than to the problems Australia faces as a continent.

In response to questions of Australia's problems with overgrazing, salinity, and erosion, Irwin responded, "Cows have been on our land for so long that Australia has evolved to handle those big animals." The Sydney Morning Herald concluded with the opinion that his message was confusing and amounted to "eating roos and crocs is bad for tourism, and therefore more cruel than eating other animals".



Steve Irwin talks about 'The Crocodile Hunter' Series.

Death

On 4 September 2006, Irwin was fatally pierced in the chest by a stingray spine while snorkeling at the Great Barrier Reef, at Batt Reef, which is located off the coast of Port Douglas in Queensland. Irwin was in the area filming his own documentary, Ocean's Deadliest, but weather had stalled filming. Production was completed on Ocean's Deadliest, which aired for the first time on the Discovery Channel on 21 January 2007. The documentary was completed with footage shot in the weeks following the accident. Perhaps to maintain the film's original purpose as a nature documentary and prevent it from becoming a documentary of Irwin's final days, his death is not mentioned in the film, aside from a still image of Irwin at the end alongside the text "In Memory of Steve Irwin".

Trivia

• Steve's children's names are Bindi Sue and Robert Clarence.
• He was particularly interested in Singapore Zoo, which he considered a sister institution of the Australia Zoo.
• Irwin loved mixed martial arts competitions and trained with Greg Jackson in the fighting/grappling system of Gaidojutsu.
• In 2004, during an interview with Larry King, he admitted that he had a fear of parrots, having received many painful bites from the animals in the past.
• In 2005, in an interview for New Idea, he stated that he was afraid of being killed in a car crash.
• He made a cameo appearance on Dr. Dolittle 2 (2001), participated in The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course (2002) and was the voice of Happy Feet's Trev the Seal (2006).
  
  

Tribute video to Steve Irwin.

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Irwin

"Steve Irwin on "The Crocodile Hunter" Series" video posted by YouTube user FirstTimeUnlucky.

"Steve Irwin Tribute" video posted by YouTube user thesacrement.