Personal life

Family

In 1992, Irwin married Terri Raines from Eugene, Oregon, United States. The pair had met a few months earlier when Raines had visited the zoo on a holiday. Together they had two 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 Irwin’s favourite animals: Bindi, a saltwater crocodile, and Sui, a dog who died in June 2004.

Irwin was as enthusiastic about his family as he was about his work. He once described his daughter Bindi as “the reason he was put on the Earth”. His wife once said, “The only thing that could ever keep him away from the animals he loves are the people he loves even more.”

Controversy

Some controversy arose during a public show on 2 January 2004, when Irwin carried his one-month-old son, Bob, in his arm whilst hand-feeding a chicken carcass to a 4-meter-long crocodile. The infant was close to the crocodile, and comparisons were made in the press to Michael Jackson’s dangling of his son outside a German hotel window.

In addition, child welfare groups, animal rights groups, and some of Irwin’s television viewers criticised his actions as being irresponsible and tantamount to child abuse. Irwin claimed that any danger to his son was only a perceived danger and that he was in complete control of the situation, and consistently refused to apologise for his actions despite public outcry, by some, both in Australia and abroad.

His defenders pointed to his many decades of hands-on professional experience and direct interaction with crocodiles, as well as his well-known devotion to his responsibilities as a father. This was also an old crocodile that had been in the zoo for years, and which he knew very well, making it possible to predict its behavior and knowing where the limits of actual danger went.

Terri Irwin claimed that their child was in no more real danger than a child being taught to swim would be. No charges were filed; according to one journalist, Irwin told officials he would not repeat the stunt. The incident prompted the Queensland government to change its crocodile-handling laws, banning children and untrained adults from entering crocodile enclosures.

In June 2004, allegations were made that he came too close to and disturbed some wildlife (namely whales, seals and penguins) whilst filming a documentary, Ice Breaker, in Antarctica Subsequently, the matter was closed without charges being filed.

Animal Planet released a “Crocodile Hunter” special called “Crocodiles & Controversy,” which attempted to explain some incidents behind Irwin’s controversies. This special argues that Irwin’s son was never in danger of being eaten by the crocodile, and that Irwin could not have endangered animals in Antarctic.

Search and rescue effort in Mexico

In November 2003, Irwin was filming a documentary on sea lions in Baja California Sur, Mexico when he heard via his boat’s radio that two scuba divers were reported missing in the area. Irwin and his entire crew suspended operations to aid in the search. His team’s divers searched with the rescue divers, and Irwin used his vessel to patrol the waters around the island, as well as using his satellite communications system to call in a rescue plane.

On the second day of the search, kayakers found one of the divers, Scott Jones, perched on a narrow ledge of rocks over waters with dangerous currents. Irwin and a crewmember escorted Jones to Irwin’s boat and to safety. Jones reported not recognising his celebrity rescuer as he had never seen Irwin on television.

The other lost diver, Katie Vrooman, was found dead the following day by a search plane not far from Jones’s location.

Politics

After questions arose about Irwin’s being paid $175,000 worth of taxpayers’ money to appear in a television advertisement and his possible political ties, Irwin told ABC: “I love John Howard, and that’s the way I am. So everyone thinks I’m, like, this diehard Liberal supporter. I’m not! I’m not. I’m sitting on the fence, mate; I’m a conservationist.

I can’t afford to be one way or the other. I just have to run straight up the middle, mate. I have to get on with whoever’s in power. And to tell you the truth, the best speech that popped up in Parliament House when George Bush was here was Simon Crean. Here’s a bloke who actually disagreed with Iraq, OK, so he put forward the most eloquent speech, which really boosted his profile in my eyes.

By crikey, I thought, Simon did the best one there, which is fantastic. So I appreciate good work when I see it, and that’s all it is.” His comments describing John Howard as the “greatest leader in the world” earned him great scorn in the media.

Resources:

Wikipedia entry for Steve Irwin (Source of Steve Irwin Biography above)

Australia Zoo Website

Croc one Australia Zoo’s World Leading Crocodile Research Vessel

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