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Stephen Robert Irwin (22 February 1962 – 4 September 2006), nicknamed \"The Crocodile Hunter\", was an Australian conservationist and television personality. more...

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He achieved world-wide fame from the television program The Crocodile Hunter, an internationally-broadcast wildlife documentary series co-hosted with his wife Terri Irwin. Together with his wife, he also co-owned and operated Australia Zoo in Beerwah, Queensland, founded by his parents.

Early years

Born to Lyn and Bob Irwin in Essendon, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Irwin moved with his parents as a child to Queensland in 1970. Irwin described his father as a wildlife expert interested in herpetology whilst his mother Lyn was a wildlife rehabilitator. After moving to Queensland, Bob and Lyn Irwin started the small Queensland Reptile and Fauna Park, where Steve grew up around crocodiles and other reptiles.

Irwin became involved with the park in a number of ways, including taking part in daily animal feeding, as well as care and maintenance activities. On his sixth birthday he was given a 12-foot scrub python. He began handling crocodiles at the age of nine, after his father had educated him on reptiles from an early age. Also at age nine he wrestled his first crocodile, again under his father's supervision. He graduated from Caloundra State High School in 1979. He soon moved to Northern Queensland, where he became a crocodile trapper, removing crocodiles from populated areas where they were considered a danger. He performed the service for free with the quid pro quo that he be allowed to keep them for the park. Crocodiles that he caught were sent down to the family zoo. He stayed in North Queensland for around five years. Irwin followed in his father's footsteps, becoming a volunteer for the Queensland Government's East Coast Crocodile Management program.

Career

Rise to fame

The park was a family run business until it was turned over to Irwin in 1991. He took over the running of the park, now called Australia Zoo (renaming it in 1992). Also that year, he appeared in a one-off reptile and wildlife special for television. In 1991, he met Terri Raines at the park, whilst performing a demonstration. The two married in June 1992, Eugene, Oregon. The footage, shot by John Stainton, of their crocodile-trapping honeymoon became the first episode of The Crocodile Hunter. The series debuted on Australian TV screens in 1996, and by the following year had made its way onto North American television. The Crocodile Hunter became wildly successful in the United States and the UK. By 1999, he had become very popular in the United States, making his first appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. By this time, the series was now broadcast in over 137 countries, reaching 500 million people. His exuberant and enthusiastic presenting style, broad Australian accent, constant wearing of khakis, and catchphrase \"Crikey!\" became known worldwide.

Read more at Wikipedia.org