Steve Irwin

STEVE IRWIN

Date of Birth: February 22, 1962

Best known for his Crocodile Hunter persona on his popular television show, Irwin was born to a couple of naturalists in Victoria, Australia. From an early age, he learned to respect the life around him, receiving reptiles for birthdays, and feeding and caring for the animals at his parents' Queensland Reptile and Fauna Park. He soon became an expert on local wildlife, particularly reptiles.

Irwin made his name in the Queensland government's rogue crocodile relocation program, where he was one of the most successful participants in this government-sponsored program, safely catching and relocating dozens of troublesome crocodiles without harm to them.

In 1992, he married fellow naturalist, Terri Baines and their daughter Bindi Sue was born six years later, and a son, Robert Clarence, born in 2003.

By 1996, the world was introduced to Irwin and his extreme tactics to catching crocodiles after a chance encounter with his friend, a television producer who was filming in the Park for TV. In true Steve style they took a punt and the first documentary, The Crocodile Hunter was produced. The documentary garnered enough notice that it soon became a series followed by a feature film, The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course (2002).

Unfortunately, Irwin was killed on September 4, 2006 at the age of 44 when he was filming an underwater diving scene. He was swimming over top of a stingray, an animal which is usually harmless, when he was fatally struck in the chest by the ray's barb. The incident was caught on tape, which was later viewed by police, who confirmed Irwin did not provoke the animal.

Filmography:

The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course (2002)
Dr. Dolittle 2 (2001)