About The Rescue And Conservation Of Wildlife

When the world thinks of wildlife rescue and conservation, the first person that comes to mind for us all is the one and only, Steve Irwin. For years, the world used to gather around the television, tune in to Animal Planet, and watch a man who had enough compassion to go around for everyone, and then some. There was no animal big or venomous enough that Irwin believed to be too dangerous. With his respect to nature, as well as all of its wildlife, he was able to educate his viewers on what to do and what not to do if ever encountering one of these animals. Stephen Robert Irwin was born on February 22, 1962 to Bob and Lyn Irwin, in Melbourne Victoria. Steve had what seems to most as an unusual childhood, from catching venomous snakes to wandering away at school to go lizard hunting.

For his 6th birthday his parents gifted him exactly what he had asked for, a 12ft Scrub python which he later named Fred. It is uncommon for parents to let their child anywhere near a snake at such a young age, let alone give it as a gift, but Steve’s parents set strict rules for him. He was not allowed to remove it from its enclosure and only allowed to feed it. Bob and Lyn Irwin played a big part in their son’s early years. Bob was a renowned plumber in all of Melbourne, but had a bigger love for reptiles. Lyn was a maternity nurse. In 1970, Bob and Lyn moved Steve and his two sisters to Beerwah on the Sunshine Coast which was located in Queensland. They opened up a different kind of zoo that people were not accustomed to, it went by the name of Beerwah reptile park.

The unusual thing about this zoo was that compared to other zoos, this one was completely covered with reptiles of all kinds, along with a few wounded marsupials that Lyn would nurse back to health. Steve received his first “job” here at the zoo. His daily responsibilities included helping his father feed all the animals, clean each of their enclosures, while also helping his father catch wild reptiles to bring into the exhibits. On the side, Bob had a job with the Queensland National Parks and Wildlife Service. The objective of this job was to help remove the crocodiles that were in populated areas, mostly in people’s backyards and on boat docks. He then decided to bring his son along to give him a hand. At the young age of just nine, Steve caught his first crocodile with the help of his father’s expertise.

Towards the end of his early childhood years, Steve was now catching and removing these crocodiles by himself with no help. He was relocating them to the Beerwah reptile park, all while perfecting his catching techniques that he would go on to use in the future. This is when Steves’ “career” began to gain momentum. The love for animals ran through both his parents blood and was now running strongly through his. Steve Irwin’s father recalled that he knew his son had a “natural affinity for reptiles, but knew this fearlessness would prove to be his downfall.” In 1991, the zoo was renamed once more to the “Australia Zoo.”

Here, kids and adults from all over could attend and see all the exciting kinds of animals that Australia had to offer. The zoo continuously did so well that both Bob and Lyn felt comfortable in the decision of leaving the zoo in the hands of their son. They both went on to retire, while Steve never passed up a moment to give his parents credit for making it all possible. With Steve’s gradual growth in popularity and “knowledge” on exactly what his guests would find entertaining, he was able to drive the zoo’s attendance to greatly increase and went on to expand the parks parameters. With his dedicated hard work, Steve was eventually able to make it Australia’s most famous zoo. He “…developed it into a major tourist attraction. A theme park famous around the world, it has more than 1,000 animals on 60 acres of bushland and 360 employees…” as said by Marks.

One day a young naturalist, from Oregon, was in attendance at his park. Steve was doing his normal routine demonstration with a 13 foot croc in front of a large crowd, when he just happened to look up and make eye contact with this particular naturalist. After the show she decided to stay for a chance to have a conversation with Irwin, they did and they immediately hit it off. This young lady went by the name of Terri Raines and she ran a cougar rehabilitation park back home in Oregon. The two went on a few dates until it was time for Terri to head back home. A month or two passed, the two still on complete opposite sides of the world, when Steve called her saying that he couldn’t take the time apart anymore and he needed to see the lady who made him fall head over heels after the first conversation.

Eight months from the day they first met, they did what seems just about crazy to most of us. On June 4th, 1992 Steve and Terri got married and spent their honeymoon catching wild crocodiles back in Australia all while being filmed. A close friend of the Irwins, along with a small camera crew of four, accompanied them on the trip and filmed every moment of it. The footage soon after became the first episode of what would later become famous worldwide, “The Crocodile Hunter”. The series came out in Australia in 1996, and then American television the following year. The program quickly became popular around the world, with almost 500 million viewers. Part of this was due to Irwins’ understanding of nature and his ability to educate his viewers through the tv screen.

Irwin was also loved for his charismatic, loving, and down to earth personality. Along with his heavy Aussie accent, his khaki shorts, and his famous catch phrase ‘Crikey!’ Steve Irwin became a name every man, woman, and child were very familiar with. “Irwin quickly became internationally known, promoting wildlife conservation through a highly entertaining program that featured Irwin’s wrestling with crocodiles and chasing snakes into trees, rocks, and other hiding places…”. The couple gave birth to a baby girl named Bindi and a few years later, a son whom they named Bob, after Steve’s father. Irwin’s following became so grand because of his hit show “The Crocodile Hunter”, his many cameos in movies and appearances on shows like the Leno show.

These events lead to the making of his very own movie called “The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course.” Along with everything else that Irwin was involved in, he was also a heavy conservationist. He wanted all animals especially the ones on the endangered species list to last so that Bindi and her generation would be able to enjoy animals and grow up learning about him as he did. He believed entirely in promoting conservation by sharing his love for nature rather than teaching it in a school-like environment.

Irwin was concerned with conservation of endangered species along with habitat loss. He also considered conservation to be of the utmost importance, he at times considered himself a warrior for wildlife for all animals on the endangered species list. In response, Irwin bought large amounts of land which he called “national parks” in Australia, Vanuatu, Fiji and the United States. He used the purchasing of these lands to stress the importance of trying to get people to realize that every little bit makes a difference.

This was only the beginning of Steve Irwin’s’ contributions to make the world a better place. Irwin took part in founding multiple foundations; such as the Lyn Irwin Memorial Fund, the International Crocodile Rescue, and the Ironbark Station Wildlife Rehabilitation Foundation. However his most self-revered contribution was the Steve Irwin Conservation Foundation, which was later named the Wildlife Warriors Worldwide. The Wildlife Warriors was founded by Steve & Terri Irwin in 2002, to involve and educate others in the protection of injured, threatened or endangered wildlife. Steve Irwin’s amazing and inspiring legacy is part of the reason why we chose him.