Steve Irwin

Submission 20,527

About

Stephen "Steve" Robert Irwin, nicknamed "The Crocodile Hunter", was an Australian naturalist, zoologist and television personality, known for his wildlife documentary series The Crocodile Hunter which he co-hosted with his wife Terri Irwin. Irwin's sudden death of a stingray attack in 2006 prompted a global reaction, with Irwin receiving numerous posthumous honors, including a Hollywood Walk of Fame star in 2018.

History

Steve Irwin came into the spotlight with wildlife documentary series The Crocodile Hunter in 1996. The first episode of the series, based on the honeymoon footage of him and his wife Terri, premiering on October 25th, 1996.^[1] The show became an international success and continued for five seasons and 78 episodes, with the last episode premiering on September 4th, 2007 one year after Irwin's death.

Besides The Crocodile Hunter, Irwin also worked on a number of wildlife documentaries, including Croc Files and The Crocodile Hunter Diaries, took part in multiple TV specials and launched the Steve Irwin Conservation Foundation. He also helped developing a show for his daughter Bindi Sue Irwin, which aired for two seasons as Bindi the Jungle Girl.

Death

On September 4th, 2006, Irwin was taking part in a production of animal documentary series Ocean's Deadliest. During a break in filming, Irwin went for a snorkeling session in shallow water in order to film footage for his daughter's show Bindi the Jungle Girl.

While filming a stingray, Irwin was unexpectedly attacked by the animal, which pierced his heart with its tail barb. Irwin was pronounced dead the same day at Low Isles hospital.

Steve Irwin's death was met with strong reactions globally, with tributes on Animal Planet, CNN and other major networks, flags at the Sydney Harbour Bridge being lowered to half-mast and Australian Prime Minister commenting that "Australia has lost a wonderful and colourful son."^[2]

Hollywood Walk of Fame Star

On April 26th, 2018, Steve Irwin received a posthumous star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame.^[3] The opening ceremony was attended by Irwin's widow Terri, their daughter Terry and son Bob.

Reputation

PETA Tweet Backlash

On February 22nd, 2019, the 57th anniversary of Irwins' birth, Google released a Google Doodle^[4] dedicated to the naturalist. The doodle consisted of six drawn slides featuring Irwin.

On the same day, American animal rights organization posted an accusatory tweet^[5] aimed at Steve Irwin, criticizing him for interfering "with wild animals minding their own business" and saying that "today's Google Doodle sends a dangerous, fawning message." The tweet gained over 3,100 retweets adn 14,900 likes in four days.

The post was followed by two more tweets critisizing Irwin.^[6]^[7]

Online, the tweets were met with severe backlash with PETA being criticized on Twitter and other social platforms (examples shown below).

On Reddit, multiple memes criticizing PETA and highlighting the organization's past missteps were posted on /r/dankmemes and other subreddits (examples shown below).

On February 22nd, 2019, Change.org^[8] user Biohazard 75 started a petition titled "Officialize PETA as a Hate/Terrorist group, or bring PETA back to its original Idea". As of February 25th, 2019, the petition received over 28,000 signatures.

Several news outlets reported on the backlash, including pieces by Evening Standard^[9], USA Today^[10], BuzzFeed^[11] and Mashable^[12].

Personal Life

Steve Irwin was born on February 22nd, 1962, in the family of Lyn and Bob Irwin in Essendon, Victoria. In 1970, the family moved to Queensland, where Steve's parents started the small Queensland Reptile and Fauna Park, with Steve gradually getting involved in park's activities and overtaking its management in 1991.

He married Terri Raines in 1992. Together, they had two children, daughter Bindi Sue and son Robert.