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His energetic delivery sometimes made him seem like an entertainer first.
But conservation was always at the center of what he was doing.
Australia Zoo says Steve and Terri ultimately worked on hundreds of episodes across The Crocodile Hunter and related programs, reaching audiences around the world.
And as his public profile grew, so did his ambitions for wildlife conservation.
Australia Zoo Became Part of the Mission
The wildlife park established by Steve’s parents eventually grew into Australia Zoo.
Under Steve and Terri, it became much more than a tourist attraction.
Conservation programs expanded.
Wildlife rescue became increasingly important.
The Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital was created to treat injured native animals.
Steve also used income generated through television and merchandise to support conservation efforts.
His goal was not simply to make people watch wildlife.
He wanted them to care about it.
That mission became inseparable from his public identity.
But while the world saw the Crocodile Hunter, Steve was also building a family.
Terri Became His Partner in Every Sense
Steve met American-born naturalist Terri Raines in 1991.
They married in 1992.
Their relationship soon became part of Steve’s television story as Terri joined him in wildlife work and filming.
In 1998, their daughter Bindi was born.
Their son Robert followed in 2003.
Steve’s children quickly became central to his life.
Photographs and footage from those years often show a man whose famous intensity around wildlife was matched by his excitement about fatherhood.
He imagined a future in which conservation would continue through another generation.
Then everything changed.
September 4, 2006
Steve was filming the documentary Ocean’s Deadliest near Australia’s Great Barrier Reef when he encountered a stingray.
During the encounter, the stingray’s barb struck Steve in the chest.
The injury was fatal.
Steve Irwin died on September 4, 2006.