It is such a shock to learn that the wildlife daredevil Steve Irwin was fatally pierced in the heart by a stingray barb, while diving off Queensland's Great Barrier Reef. He had been filming a segment for his daughter Bindi Irwin's upcoming television series. Irwin was in the area filming his own documentary, to be called Ocean's Deadliest, but weather had stalled filming. Irwin decided to take the opportunity to film some shallow water shots for his daughter's programme.
Stephen Robert Irwin (22 February 1962 – 4 September 2006) was an Australian naturalist, wildlife expert and television personality. He was best known for the television program The Crocodile Hunter, an unconventional wildlife documentary series which he hosted with his wife Terri. He also owned and operated the Australia Zoo at Beerwah in Queensland with friend William Rollo and his wife.
Steve married Terri Raines from Eugene, Oregon in the United States in 1992 after Terri had visited the zoo on a holiday a few months earlier. They had 2 children: a daughter, Bindi Sue Irwin (born 24 July 1998), and a son, Robert Clarence "Bob" Irwin (born 1 December 2003). Bindi Sue is jointly named after two of Steve's dogs: Bindi, who was accidentally killed by a hunter, and Sui, who died in June 2004.
He believed in promoting environmentalism by sharing his excitement about the natural world rather than preaching to people. He was concerned with conservation of endangered animals and land clearing leading to loss of habitat. He considered conservation to be the most important part of his work and has bought "large tracts of land" in Australia, Vanuatu, Fiji and the United States, which he describes as "like national parks" and stressed the importance of people realising that they could each make a difference.
He had 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:
These Hitlers use the camouflage of science to make money out of animals... So whenever they murder our animals and call it sustainable use, I'll fight it. Since when has killing a wild animal, eating it or wearing it, ever saved a species?
There are people who butt out their cigarettes in gorilla-paw ashtrays, with wastepaper baskets that were once elephant feet, who have ivory ornaments… who wear cheetah fur. Don't buy these things! Then there'll be no market and the animals won't be killed.
We have domesticated livestock raised for consumption and perfectly good fake leather and fur, so why must we kill wild animals to satisfy the macabre taste of some rich person?
He founded the Steve Irwin Conservation Foundation, which was later renamed Wildlife Warriors Worldwide, and became an independent charity. Irwin discovered a new species of turtle that now bears his name, Elseya irwini a type of snapping turtle found on the coast of Queensland. As a tribute to the great man, MSN messenger users may wish to put a turtle (tu) in front of their nick.
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