~steve
Stephen Robert Irwin was born to Lyn and Bob Irwin in Victoria in February 1962. Bob Irwin was a keen enthusiast of reptiles and moved his family to Queensland in 1970 to start a small reptile park at Beerwah on the Sunshine Coast. Australia Zoo became a true family business, flourishing until 1991 when Bob & Lyn retired, turning over management to their son, Steve.
Living in the Zoo, Steve grew up with animals of all kinds, taking part in the animals daily feeding, care and maintenance. His 6th birthday present was what he had always wanted – his very own scrub python! It was 3.6m (12ft) long and while most other children were opening cans of pet food for their cats or dogs, Steve was out catching fish and hunting rodents to feed to his crocodiles and snakes.
Bob taught the young Steve everything there was to know about reptiles – even teaching his nine-year-old how to jump in and catch crocodiles in the rivers of North Queensland at night. This father and son’s proud boast is that every crocodile in their Zoo (the numbering some 100 animals) was either caught by their bare hands or bred and raised in their Zoo.
As he grew older Steve followed in his father’s footsteps and volunteered his services to the Queensland Governments East Coast Crocodile Management program which saw him spend years living on his own in the mosquito infested creeks, rivers and mangroves of North Queensland catching huge crocodiles single-handed. His record of successful catches is still staggering to this day.
Since 1991, Australia Zoo has flourished and expanded under Steve’s guidance. In 1990 a chance reunion with his friend, television producer John Stainton, filming in the Zoo for a TV commercial, gave Steve the opportunity to show his diverse animal talents to the world when they both took a punt and make the first documentary, "The Crocodile Hunter" in 1992.
The tremendous success of this one program quickly encouraged the making of more and so over the next 3 years, 10 one hour episodes were made and on television screens all over the world. Steve has now filmed over 70 episodes of "The Crocodile Hunter", 53 episodes of "Croc Files", 43 episodes of “Croc Diaries” and his next television series is called “The New Breed Vets” for release in 2005.
Steve has the greatest respect and understanding for all animals – something that has been instilled into him by his family for all of his life – and he's proud to share his passion with everyone who visits his Zoo and with his five hundred million viewers world-wide.
In June 1992, Steve married Terri Raines from Oregon USA. They had met a few months earlier when Terri visited the Zoo whilst on holidays in Australia. They now spend their lives together educating people everywhere to care for all of our world’s wildlife.
~sui
A mans best friend.
My girlfriend has been my family and Wes my best mate’s loyal friend, protector and wildlife warrior since she was born Christmas day 1988.
She is the love of my life. I was devastated in 1998 when she was diagnosed with terminal cancer; she died once on the veterinary operating table in 1990, my Mum and my Sister Mandys dog saved her life with 2 complete blood transfusions; Wes saved her from certain death when she was impaled through the eye and out through the ear on a wild boar tusk. She’s been running on one lung losing one to a poison; her cruciate ligament snapped in a car crash and so forth and so on. She's tough - here's some of her story.
My sweet little Sui was born on Christmas Day 1988. I brought her home when she was just six weeks old and we became inseparable friends. She was supposed to be a purebred Staffordshire Bull Terrier, but she never quite looked the part. I always called her my Staffordshire Bull Scrub Yowie! She was the runt of the litter, but she definitely had the most heart.
Poor Sui - She's certainly lived a full life and along with that comes wear and tear on your body. She was chasing a rat and drove a stake straight into her chest between her two front legs - totally impaling her. I had to pull her off it. Crikey she's tough.
Bindi loved snakes, but Sui just loves Bindi and she was very, very protective of Bindi as an infant. They still love each other dearly.
I just love my girl.
Sui has always been keen on catching wild pigs, it used to be her forte. You can see Terri has got her work cut out hanging onto her so I could let the pig go without Sui bailing it up again.
I taught Sui when she was just months old to avoid - go around snakes. She's never even come close to getting bitten despite the fact that she's helped me catch thousands. Here she's helping me take temperatures on the Fierce Snake Plains.
When I first met Terri, Sui was incredibly jealous. Sui would sit in the front of my 4WD and wouldn't let her in. Sometimes she'd refuse to even look at her. The wife and the girlfriend sorted it out and loved each other happily ever after.
She can swim like a fish so I'd use her to help me catch water monitors, swim ropes to the shore and her all time favourite, CHASE STICKS. Here we're working out a strategy to confuse a small croc long enough for me to sneak up on it and catch him.
Always a much loved part of the family, back in the 80's. From left to right: Me, Sui, Dad, Grandpa, Mum, Mandy, Joy, Frank, Rebecca, and Nanna.
Just as soon as Sui saw the swag come out she'd drive us crazy as she knew that we were going bush - her favourite place, mine too. This is a beautiful sunset on Cattle Creek, North Queensland, where I caught a heck of a lot of crocs with her.
Salty Sea Dog. She absolutely adored the boat and catching crocodiles. In fact she lived for it, just like me. It's all we did for many, many years so we were best mates, boyfriend/girlfriend, and so close to each other we could communicate with eye movements alone.
As the sun goes down we loved a cuppa.
She has a softer side too. Sui loved kisses and cuddles from Terri even if we were in the middle of catching crocs in the Gulf of Carpentaria. In 1995 on the Nickleson River near Burketown.
Sui the wildlife documentary presenter who made it to Hollywood.
Here she is doing a massive promotion with our Producer, Director and Manager, John Stainton. She loves John because generally as soon as he turns up we're going on another adventure.
She is definitely the brains of the outfit.
Everyone loves Sui at Australia Zoo. She is simply part of the family. Here she is with her good mates Brian, Leanne and Tiffany. They're about to lead her out onto a movie set.
Sui is amused with Terri's very first croc capture.
We took her to the finest veterinarians in the country and consulted specialists. Her time was running out.
On Wednesday 23rd of June sui passed away in mine & Wes's arms. Wes and I had spent 16 years loving each other and shared her transition from life to death. It hurt so, so much. We cried unbearably for hours as we dug a hole in her backyard and laid her to rest.
God bless her soul. Her spirit will live forever.
Bindi took great care in placing flowers on her grave.
Bindi gave me great strength while I mourned Sui's death. Sui protected Bindi for six years - it was so funny - no-one was allowed to muck with Bindi whilst Sui was guarding her. Then Bindi would put bows in her hair and play Barbies with her, we lost count how many times Bindi fell asleep on top of a very, very patient Sui. She was also Bob's first animal love. We'll miss you mate.
~terri
Terri Raines was born in Eugene, Oregon in the USA in 1964 joining two older sisters. Her father ran a successful construction business – very much a family affair and in 1979 Terri joined her dad to learn all the skills of managing their large trucking business. As a small child, Terri was exposed to her father constantly bringing home injured animals from the highways his trucks traversed and this was to eventually instill in her an ongoing commitment to saving and rehabilitating wild animals.
In 1986 she started a rehab facility called "Cougar Country" to re-educate and release predatory mammals such as fox, possum, raccoon, bears, bob-cats, and of course cougars back into the wild. Soon she was handling 300 animals a year.
Later in 1989 she joined an Emergency Veterinary Hospital to work as a vet technician to gain further valuable knowledge on the care and support to all kinds of animals. Life couldn’t have been busier as she still kept a hand in helping her dad run the family business, rehabilitating animals through her "Cougar Country", working spare moments at the Vet Hospital and looking after her own 15 cats, several birds and a dog. There was hardly any time for dating… wildlife always came first.
So it was in October, 1991 that she visited Australia to explore the rehabilitation scene in our wildlife parks. It was while she was on the Sunshine Coast visiting a friend that she decided to drop into Australia Zoo at Beerwah "just out of curiosity". A chance meeting with the man doing the Crocodile demo, Steve Irwin, was to change her life forever. A whirlwind courtship saw the couple get engaged four months later and married on the 4th June 1992 and honeymoon on location of their first television documentary.
Terri left everything she had worked so hard for in the United States all behind… her family’s business, her rehab centre, her veterinary work and all her beloved pets – but it was almost as if fate had taken a hand. From the dreams of a small child, she was to share her lifelong ideals for wildlife with the world. She quickly adapted to her new role beside Steve at the Zoo, feeding and caring for their hundreds of animals and accompanying him on his adventures into crocodile territory or the harsh outback to study snakes and goannas.
Terri Irwin is the perfect partner in this incredible daring duo of the New Millennium.
~bindi sue
On July 24, 1998, Steve and Terri Irwin became the proud parents of a little girl, Bindi Sue. With such animal loving parents it is no surprise that Bindi loves nothing more than running around the Zoo. Snakes, dingoes, koalas and yes even crocodiles, make this little girl go wild with excitement!
Bindi is part of the Australia Zoo team and even has her daily chores. After the important tasks of breakfast and dressing into her Zoo uniform, including her work boots, it is off to work at Australia Zoo.
Upon arrival at work Bindi wastes no time in getting down and dirty – literally. Harriet the Giant Galapagos Land Tortoise is the first animal on her list that must be thoroughly inspected. Harriet and Bindi’s relationship is a match made in heaven, they truly love one another. The next task Bindi must complete is examining the Shingle back Skinks. Now these little critters are Bindi’s favorite animals at Australia Zoo. As Bindi enters the enclosure she quickly proceeds to check that all are present. Digging sand, lifting rocks and even moving small logs is nothing for Bindi when it comes to checking on her friends. Oh yeah, it’s crocodile time! Now is the most important part of the day, Bindi must go to the crocodile demonstration just to keep an eye on Mum and Dad – you never know what they might get up to! Bindi carefully keeps watch as mum tells the crowd great stories and dad feeds Agro, the big male saltwater crocodile. The life of a zoo keeper is very tiring, so Bindi decides it’s time to make her way to the kangaroo and koala paddock to unwind. Snuggling up with a warm fluffy koala is time well spent. Bindi is a real animal lover just like her mum and dad. She knows and recognizes all of the animals and she can even make all of their relevant noises.
Although Bindi is only young she has traveled all over the world to many different countries, and met many famous people. In the spring of ’99 Bindi made her first T.V. appearance on the Rosie O’Donnell show. Rosie and Bindi became instant pals and had a great time together.
As the daughter of the Crocodile Hunter, Bindi is involved in the filming of ‘ The Crocodile Hunter’ and ‘Croc Files’ series. Her first big film shoot was with rattlesnakes in Texas when she was just two weeks old!
Bindi spends a lot of time with animals so to reflect the adventurous nature of Bindi’s everyday antics a new children’s clothing range was designed. “Bindi Wear” is durable and made to outlast even the most active child. Featuring a cute crocodile logo, Bindi Wear comes in alternate khaki colors. Bindi Wear is 100% Australian made and is available exclusively at Australia Zoo.
Bindi Sue Irwin as you can see is a very busy little girl. Her life is always full of new and exciting things but she loves nothing more than spending time with her Mum, Dad and little brother Robert. Oh, what a life!
~robert
On Monday 1st December 2003, Steve and Terri became very proud parents to their second child, Robert Clarence Irwin. Robert, or ‘Bob’ as they call him, was a gorgeous 7 pound 4 ounce baby boy. In Bob’s short journey so far he has become a great younger brother for Bindi and a fascination to all the Australia Zoo crew. We all look forward to Bindi and Robert being the next generation of ‘Wildlife Warriors’.
~the family
Anyone who gets their very own scrub python for their 6th birthday would have some tales to tell and Steve has plenty! While most other children were opening cans of pet food for their cats or dogs, Steve was out catching fish and hunting rodents to feed to his crocodiles and snakes.
As the son of renowned naturalists, Bob and Lyn Irwin, Steve developed a love for critters from a very young age, helping to feed and care for the animals at the family's Queensland Reptile and Fauna Park. Steve's dad taught the young Steve everything there was to know about reptiles - even teaching his nine year old how to jump in and catch crocodiles in the rivers of North Queensland at night! This father and son's proud boast is that every crocodile in their park (now numbering some 100 animals) was either caught by their bare hands or bred and raised in their Park.Steve is now the director of Australia Zoo in Queensland, Australia, and host of that wild series THE CROCODILE HUNTER.
As he grew older Steve followed in his father's footsteps and volunteered his services to the Queensland Governments rogue crocodile relocation program which saw him spend years living on his own in the mosquito infested creeks, rivers and mangroves of North Queensland catching huge troublesome crocodiles single-handed. His record of successful catches is still staggering to this day.
Since 1991, Australia Zoo has flourished and expanded under Steve's guidance. Steve the star was born after a chance encounter with his friend, a television producer who was filming in the Park for TV. In true Steve style they took a punt and the first documentary, "The Crocodile Hunter" was produced in 1992. The tremendous success of this one program quickly encouraged the making of more and so over the next 3 years, 10 one hour episodes were made and on television screens all over the world. Steve has now filmed 50 episodes of "Crocodile Hunter", 52 episodes of "Croc Files", and his next project will be an animated series.Steve has the greatest respect and understanding for all animals - something that has been instilled into him by his family for all of his life - and he's proud to share his passion with everyone who visits his Zoo and with his five hundred million viewers world-wide.
In 1992, Steve married Terri Raines, a young American whom he met when she visited the zoo.
Terri Raines was born in Eugene, Oregon in the USA. Her father ran a successful construction business - very much a family affair and in 1979 Terri joined her dad to learn all the skills of managing their large trucking business. Terri's dad was constantly bringing home injured creatures from the highways his trucks traversed and this was to eventually instill in her an ongoing commitment to saving and rehabilitating wild animals. In 1986 she started a rehab facility called "Cougar Country" to re-educate and release predatory mammals such as fox, possum, raccoon, bears, bob-cats, and of course cougars back into the wild. Soon she was handling 300 animals a year. Later in 1989 she joined an Emergency Veterinary Hospital to work as a vet technician to gain further valuable knowledge on the care and support of all kinds of animals. Life couldn't have been busier as she still kept a hand in helping her dad run the family business, rehabilitating animals through her "Cougar Country", working spare moments at the Vet Hospital and looking after her own 15 cats, several birds and a dog. Too full for low priority activities like dating. Or so she thought. So it was in October, 1991 that she visited Australia to explore the rehabilitation scene in our wildlife parks. It was while she was on the Sunshine Coast visiting a friend that she decided to drop into the Queensland Reptile & Fauna Park at Beerwah "just out of curiosity". A chance meeting with the man doing the Crocodile demo, Steve Irwin, was to change her life forever. The couple got engaged four months later and married on the 4th June 1992 and honeymooned while filming their first television documentary. Terri left everything she had worked so hard for in the United States all behind…… her family's business, her rehab centre, her veterinary work and all her beloved pets - but it was almost as if fate had taken a hand. From the dreams of a small child, she was to share her lifelong ideals for wildlife with the world. As "the sensible one" on Animal Planet's THE CROCODILE HUNTER, Terri Irwin has won fans all over the world. If you saw Terri braving the murky depths of a croc infested river after falling from the boat you would know this is one capable lady.
Terri Irwin is the perfect partner in this incredible daring duo of the New Millennium and now they have a baby Irwin wrestling tiny geckos … Bindi Sue Irwin was born July 24, 1998. And no…she isn't the squeamish type.
The latest arrival to the Irwin clan is Robert Clarence, born December 1, 2003. Robert is mammal mad with a passion for everything from dingoes to koalas. He also loves to flirt with the ladies and is keen on motorcycles and nothing gets him going like art. He points with great excitement at anything framed on the wall. What a little beauty!
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