Steve Irwin
Stephen Robert "Steve" Irwin (born February 22, 1962 in Upper Ferntree Gully , Victoria ; † September 4, 2006 off the coast of Port Douglas , Queensland ) was an Australian documentary filmmaker , TV presenter , herpetologist , adventurer and zoo director . Through his series produced by the American TV station Animal Planet , which was named after his nickname "The Crocodile Hunter", he achieved worldwide fame.
Life
Even as a child, Irwin supported his father, who was engaged in the relocation of various reptiles from settlement areas on behalf of the Australian government . Irwin got his first python on his sixth birthday, and with the help of his father he caught his first crocodile when he was nine . He lived in the Australian bush for many months in the 1980s and continued his father's work, capturing all of his crocodile catches on camera. He has since been regarded as a specialist in survival in the wild, as well as the capture and relocation of reptiles such as crocodiles, snakes and monitor lizards . During his work he also discovered Elseya irwini ("Irwin's turtle"), a species of the snake necked turtle, named after him on the coast of Queensland .
In 1991, Irwin and his wife Terri took over the Reptile & Fauna Park in Queensland from his parents , which was later renamed Australia Zoo . A rescue team set up there, to which residents can report if they feel threatened by reptiles, continues Irwin's earlier work.
The Crocodile Hunter
In 1996 the series The Crocodile Hunter started on Australian television. Over the years, 345 parts have been filmed, which Irwin claims have been seen by over 500 million people in 137 countries. This series includes not only the episodes of The Crocodile Hunter , but also the Croc Files , the Croc Diaries , New Breed Vets (German title: Tierärzte ohne Grenzen ) and the movie Crocodile Hunter - Auf Crash-Kurs . All of the income generated through series and merchandising went to Irwin's animal welfare organization and zoo. The series was discontinued after criticism from environmentalists . Irwin is said to have interacted too much with whales , seals and penguins while filming in Antarctica , which is prohibited by law. However, an investigation by the Australian government showed that the allegations were incorrect. Nevertheless, Irwin has stopped continuing the series and has instead taken care of new projects.
In the United States , his fame took on enormous proportions. Through his 15 years of working in front of the camera, with his Australian English and accent he was the representative of Australia for a whole generation of Americans. On Australian television in 2003, Irwin said he considered his fame to be the dark side of his success. He was always only interested in animal welfare .
In the German television consequences of the series are radiated since of 2002. Irwin said that with his series he wanted to show above all that even unpopular animals have a right to life and our protection. It is his fault if he is bitten by an animal because he knows what he is getting into.
death
Steve Irwin died on September 4, 2006 while shooting underwater on the Great Barrier Reef after being stung to the heart by a stingray . The attack was apparently completely unexpected. According to his cameraman, Irwin's last words were “I'm dying” (“I'm dying”).
Steve Irwin left behind his wife Terri and his two children, Bindi Sue and Robert Clarence. The recordings of the fatal accident were destroyed at the family's request.
Irwin was buried on the grounds of the Australia Zoo, the exact location of the grave is only known to close family members. The family refused a state funeral in his favor, as he always saw himself as an “ordinary bloke” (“normal guy”). The news of Irwin's death caused consternation, especially in Australia, but also in other countries.
In the days after Irwin's death, several dead and mutilated stingrays were found on the Queensland coast with their sting cut out. Environmentalists from Irwin's Wildlife Warrior Foundation believed that fanatical Irwin supporters had taken revenge.
Wildlife Warriors Worldwide
Irwin founded his own animal welfare organization, the Steve Irwin Wildlife Foundation (SIWF), now Wildlife Warriors Worldwide, and his zoo conducts rearing programs for endangered species. A large proportion of their income and donations were used by the Irwins to purchase large tracts of land in Australia, Fiji , Vanuatu, and the United States that were used as wildlife habitats and as national parks. In this way, Irwin wanted to make sure that there are always places to go to when animals can no longer live in the areas around his property.
Honors
In 2001, Irwin was awarded the Centenary Medal for his work on global conservation and his positive influence on Australian tourism. In 2004 he was named Tourism Export of the Year and was nominated for Australian of the Year ; however, Steve Waugh received this award .
In December 2007, was Robert Hunter of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society in Steve Irwin renamed. With this, the organization honored his work for nature conservation.
In late April 2018, Irwin received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame .
On the occasion of his 57th birthday, Irwin was honored by the search engine Google with a doodle and the publication of personal memories of his wife.
criticism
Irwin was criticized when he, with his then one-month-old son in his arms, fed an almost four-meter-long saltwater crocodile from his hand as part of one of his daily demonstrations in January 2004 .
Web links
- Steve Irwin in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Australia Zoo - Home of the Crocodile Hunter (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Elseya irwini in The Reptile Database ; accessed on May 20, 2016.
- ↑ Sea Shepherd Renames Its Whale Defending Ship the Steve Irwin ( Memento January 5, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) (English)
- ↑ A Hollywood star for the "Crocodile Hunter". Spiegel Online, April 27, 2018, accessed on the same day.
- ↑ Jens Minor: Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin: Google-Doodle for the 57th birthday of the 'Crocodile Hunter' - that can be seen. In: GoogleWatchBlog. February 21, 2019, accessed on February 21, 2019 (German).
- ↑ Crocodile hunter escapes charges. (engl.). CNN, January 5, 2004, accessed February 22, 2019 .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Irwin, Steve |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Irwin, Stephan Robert |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Australian documentary filmmaker, director of Australia Zoo, owner of an animal welfare organization and producer of a television show |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 22, 1962 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Upper Ferntree Gully , Victoria |
| DATE OF DEATH | September 4, 2006 |
| Place of death | Great Barrier Reef , Australia |