Steve Irwin, the Australian wildlife conservationist who became a beloved TV star through The Crocodile Hunter, is being marked with a Google Doodle on what would have been his 57th birthday.
The permanently enthusiastic naturalist dedicated his life to promoting appreciation of the animal kingdom through his wildlife documentaries, before dying in tragic circumstances in 2006. Here’s everything you need to know about him.
‘An environmental Tarzan’
Steve Irwin was born in Melbourne, Victoria, on 22 February 1962, developing an early love for the natural world after his parents established the Queensland Reptile and Fauna Park during his childhood.
He was given a scrub python as a sixth birthday present, and contributed to the day-by-day running of his parents’ park by assisting with animal feeding.
Here’s where Steve Irwin’s children Robert and Bindi are now
Irwin’s fascination with crocs was established at an early age – he wrestled his first big reptile at the age of nine under the supervision of his father, Bob.
He renamed the park Australia Zoo after taking over its management in 1991, and met his wife Terri Raines, an American naturalist, after she visited that year.
She later said: “I thought there was no one like this anywhere in the world. He sounded like an environmental Tarzan, a larger-than-life superhero guy.”
The Crocodile Hunter
The attributes that his wife saw in him would soon endear Irwin to a global TV audience after footage of them trapping crocodiles together on their honeymoon formed the basis of the first ever episode of The Crocodile Hunter.
After debuting in Australia in 1996, it went on to become a huge hit in the USA and the UK, eventually reaching 500 million people across 130 countries.
The Crocodile Hunter aired for five series and 78 episodes over eight years, spawning a plethora of successful spin-off documentaries such as The Crocodile Hunter Diaries and Croc Files, and the 2002 feature film The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course.
The shows, which generally featured the Irwins – later including their two children, Bindi and Robert – capturing and relocating threatened, but often very dangerous creatures, owed their success to Steve’s wildly exuberant presenting style.
Decked out in his trademark khaki shorts, he delighted in getting perilously close to some of the planet’s most fearsome beasts, affectionately chattering away in a broad Australian accent. His excitable catchphrase “Crikey!” became known across the planet.
Although the lighthearted documentaries frequently produced moments of hilarity, Irwin drew praise for bringing issues of conservation and environmentalism to a global audience, particularly among young people.
Sir David Attenborough later said: “He taught them how wonderful how exciting [the natural world] was – he was a born communicator.”
He was awarded the Centenary Medal by the Australian Government for “services to global conservation and to Australian tourism”, and was nominated for the Australian of the Year award in 2004.
Irwin also discovered a new species of turtle while fishing off the coast of Australia with his father in 1997, which was named “Elysea Irwini” (Irwin’s Turtle) in his honour.
‘I realised something had gone wrong’
In September 2006, Irwin was on location for the Animal Planet and Discovery Channel documentary Ocean’s Deadliest at Batt Reef, off the coast of Queensland.
He went snorkelling during a break in filming and encountered an eight foot wide short-tail stingray, which struck at Irwin as he approached from behind.
Justin Lyons the cameraman who witnessed the incident, told AFP that the attack was frenzied: “All of a sudden it propped on its front and started stabbing wildly, hundreds of strikes in a few seconds.”
“I panned with the camera as the stingray swam away and I didn’t know it had caused any damage.
“It was only when I panned the camera back that I saw Steve standing in a huge pool of blood that I realised something had gone wrong.”
Although Irwin apparently believed he had suffered a punctured lung, the ray’s barb had pierced through his heart. Crew members attempted CPR but medical staff pronounced him dead after the naturalist had been rushed to a nearby island.
Irwin’s death prompted an outpouring of grief across the world, with Australia’s then Prime Minister John Howard describing him as “a wonderful and colourful son” to the nation.
He was buried in a private ceremony at Australia Zoo, with a later public memorial – introduced by Russell Crowe – broadcast live across Australia and beyond, with an estimated viewership of hundreds of millions.
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