Steve Irwin Trivia: 50 fascinating facts about the famous zoologist!

Stephen Robert Irwin nicknamed “The Crocodile Hunter”, was an Australian zookeeper, conservationist and television personality. He shared his passion for animals throughout television and documentaries and discovered numerous new species of animals. Lets check out some facts about this honorable human being!

1. His full name was Stephen Robert Irwin.

2. He was born on 22 February 1962 in Essedon, a suburb of Mebourne.

3. He was born on his mother’s birthday.

4. He was of Irish descent on his father’s side.

5. He attended Landsborough State School and Caloundra State High School in Queensland.

6. His father was a wildlife expert interested in herpetology.

7. His mother Lyn was a wildlife rehabilitator.

8. After moving to Queensland, his parents opened a small zoo called Queensland Reptile and Fauna Park, where Steve grew up around crocodiles and other reptiles.

9. Irwin met his wife, Terri Raines in 1991, and they both claimed that it was love at first sight.

10. Terri Raines was an American naturalist from Eugene, Oregon,

11. Together they had two children, a daughter, Bindi Sue Irwin (born 24 July 1998), and a son, Robert Irwin (born 1 December 2003).

12. His daughter was named after his two favourite pets, a saltwater crocodile named Bindi and a Staffordshire Bull Terrier  named Sue.

13. Although the Irwins were happily married, they did not wear wedding rings because they believed that wearing jewellery could pose a hazard to them and the animals.

14. Steve and Terri spent their honeymoon trapping crocodiles together.

15. The footage taken on their honeymoon became the very first episode of the infamous “The Crocodile Hunter“. 

16. The Crocodile Hunter became successful in the United States, the UK, and over 130 other countries, reaching 500 million people.

17.  The last Crocodile Hunter documentary spanned three hours with footage of Irwin’s across-the-world adventure in various remote locations.

18. He had a certain species of snapping turtle named after him, being the first to discover it. It’s called Elseya Irwini.

19. He aided in the search of two lost scuba divers while in the making of a documentary in Mexico. Only one of them was found alive.

20. In 2005, Irwin provided his voice for the 2006 animated film Happy Feet, as an elephant seal named Trev. The film was dedicated to Irwin, as he died during post-production.

21. Steve had been around animals almost all of his life. As a present on his sixth birthday, he was given a scrub python. By age nine, he was handling crocodiles under the supervision of his father.

22. In 2002, Steve starred in his only feature film, The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course. The film won a Young Artist Award for the Best Family Feature Film Comedy.

23. Despite working with dangerous animal like crocodiles and snakes, Steve’s greatest fear was of parrots.

24. In 2002, Irwin and his family appeared in the Wiggles video/DVD release Wiggly Safari, which was set in Australia Zoo.

25. Steve was awarded the Australian Centenary Medal in 2001. The medal honored Steve for his service to global conservation and Australian tourism.

26. He was a big fan of the Australian rules football team Essendon Bombers and also trained in the martial arts system of Gaidojutsu.

27. In May 2007, the government of Rwanda announced that it would name a baby gorilla after Irwin as a tribute to his work in wildlife conservation.

28. Irwin was to be named an adjunct professor at the University of Queensland’s School of Integrative Biology.

29. Another newly discovered species of air-breathing land snail, Crikey steveirwini, was named after Irwin in 2009.

30. In 22 June 2017, it was announced that Irwin will be posthumously honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

31. Like many Australians, he was an avid cricket fan. 

32. Irwin died on 4 September 2006. He was only 44 years old.

33. At the time he was taking part in the production of the documentary series Ocean’s Deadliest.

34. He was pierced in the heart by a stringray’s tail while trying to obtain footage for his daughter’s television show.

35. Flags at the Sydney Harbour Bridge were lowered to half mast in honour of Irwin.

36. In the weeks following Irwin’s death, at least ten stingrays were found dead and mutilated on the beaches of Queensland, with their tails cut off, possibly an act of upset fans.

37.  Irwin was buried in a private ceremony at Australia Zoo.

39.  The grave site is inaccessible to the zoo’s visitors.

40. Prime Minister Howard and Queensland Premier Beattie had offered to hold a state funeral, but Irwin’s family decided this would not be appropriate and in the words of his father, he would have preferred to be remembered as an “ordinary bloke”

41. On 20 September, a public memorial service, introduced by Russell Crowe, was held in Australia Zoo’s 5,500 seat Crocoseum.

42. The memorial included remarks by Prime Minister Howard; Irwin’s father Bob and daughter Bindi; his associates Wes Mannion and John Stainton; and celebrities from Australia and around the world.

43.  During the service, Australian music star John Williamson sang “True Blue”, which was Irwin’s favourite song.

44. As a final tribute, Australia Zoo staff spelled out Irwin’s catchphrase “Crikey” in yellow flowers as Irwin’s truck was driven from the Crocoseum for the last time to end the service.

45. A street and a ship were also named after him.

46. Steve Irwin made a cameo appearance as himself in Dr. Dolittle 2.

47. He once fed a crocodile while holding his infant son.

48. After that incident comparisons were made in the press to Michael Jackson’s dangling his son outside a German hotel window.

49. His daughter, Bindi Sue Irwin is now an Australian-American actress, television personality, conservationist, singer, and dancer.

50. According to her father, Bindi is an Australian Aboriginal word that means “young girl”.