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)