Croc Hunter's kindred spirit:
Terri Irwin keeps husband's memory alive
The late Steve Irwin, Australian wildlife expert and TV personality better known as “The Crocodile Hunter,” was one tough mate. He captured crocs by hand, diving into reptile-infested waters, wrapping his body around a thrashing creature, and hauling it into his dinghy. He didn’t want to eat it, he wanted to help it survive.
He shared his daredevil antics and passion for preservation with the world through his television program “The Crocodile Hunter,” co-hosted by his American-born wife Terri.
He died in September 2006 at the age of 44 from a stingray barb that pierced his chest during the filming of an episode for the Discovery Channel’s “Ocean’s Most Deadliest.”
Now, a year later, Terri carries on his message, with the couple’s 9-year-old daughter Bindi (named after a large female croc at the Irwin’s Australia Zoo) and 4-year-old Robert. Bindi has a show and Terri has written a book, “Steve and Me,” as a tribute to her husband. It’s both a real-life adventure story and a celebration of Steve’s life and the family’s dedication to education and wildlife protection.
Irwin could not have found a more perfect soul mate than Terri Raines, a wildlife conservationist from Eugene, Ore., who would walk her pet cougar Malina on the beach on a 30-foot leash and who had established a cougar rehabilitation center in her backyard. Terri met Steve in Australia in 1991 while on vacation at the Australia Zoo, which Irwin’s family owned and where he gave lectures about crocodiles while bravely handling them.
They married eight months after meeting and appropriately opted to go crocodile hunting for their honeymoon, inviting a camera crew along to film the expedition. The film later became the first episode of “The Crocodile Hunter.” In 2002 Steve and Terri played themselves in the movie “The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course,” a fictional tale about wildlife conservationists battling crocs and rogue CIA agents to retrieve a fallen satellite.
Terri discussed Steve, her book, and her naturalist work in a telephone interview from New York City, where she was starting the book’s East Coast promotional tour.

What prompted you to write the book?
Soon after losing Steve I did an interview with Barbara Walters, and afterwards people would come up to me and thank me for doing it, that it really helped them. It made me understand that I wasn’t the only person grieving. I thought if I could write a book and help other people honor Steve’s legacy and get a good conservation message across then perhaps I would have achieved something worthwhile.
What is the reaction to it so far?
Well, people didn’t expect anything could surprise them after knowing Steve from 14 years of television work, but the personal aspects of our life—how we met, who he was, being a parent—is something they hadn’t known and really appreciated hearing about.
In spite of his Hollywood smile and great camera presence, would you say he was really more of a loner?
Very much so. He treasured his time in the bush and his country. He was very much a family person with just a few close friends. We didn’t go to a lot of parties or have weekends out. He was determined that wherever life took him he would stay in Australia. Outback Australia is a lonely, introspective place and I’ve come to understand why he loved it so much.

You two were really kindred spirits, weren’t you?
I was amazed by how much we connected. In fact, my family and close friends would probably agree that if I hadn’t met Steve, I probably wouldn’t have gotten married. We were very blessed to have met, and it’s interesting we had such parallel lives at opposite ends of the world. My message to people is, if you see a magical opportunity, take it. Don’t be afraid to seize the chance and run with it.
You spent your honeymoon filming a crocodile documentary, but that was not your original plan?
Originally we were going to see the U.S. because the wildlife here is so dramatic, especially in places like Montana or near the Canadian border. We were just going to take off and disappear. But Steve’s friend John Stainton got word that a big croc had been frequenting areas too close to civilization, and had to be relocated. What we ended up doing was exciting and I’m glad we did it, but it was challenging going on honeymoon with a film crew, trying to find those romantic moments. But we did!
Throughout the book you mention Steve’s premonition of an early death.
That was so much part of the fabric of who Steve was that it wasn’t disconcerting or surprising. It wasn’t morbid, just a bit eerie. He was very matter-of-fact about it and very concerned about living his life to the fullest. Although he spoke often about it—making me promise I’d take care of the zoo, and things like that—it was still a tremendous shock when we lost him. But I feel there is a destiny to our lives, a reason for being here. It’s increased my faith and my desire to make my life count.

I understand he had an unusual ability to predict animal behavior, such as telling a camera crew they would see the snakes they were looking for at 7:30 the next morning, and sure enough they did.
He was very strange in that way—he had a real sixth sense with wildlife. It wasn’t that he could approach any animal. What was bizarre was that animals would approach him. He was also an amazing judge of people, very intuitive, and could read people so quickly.
I have read about the controversy regarding an episode where he was holding his infant son in one arm while feeding a crocodile with the other. What do you think started it all?
I don’t understand that one myself, especially since we were sharing so much of our lives with Bindi in the exact same manner, and there were no repercussions. In fact, people found it endearing that the children grew up in a wildlife atmosphere and that we shared things with them and loved them.
Is Bindi following in her father’s footsteps?
Since she was a little girl she’s said she wanted to be just like her daddy, just like Steve wanted so much to follow in his father’s footsteps. That seems to be the track she’s following—she’s a little wildlife warrior, and will admonish you on why shark fin soup is bad or tell you what you can do to help the environment. My son is much like that as well, but is more hands-on. She’s more interested in the teaching and science part—they’ll make a great team.
She has her own TV show?
Yes, “Bindi the Jungle Girl.” It’s on the Discovery Kids channel. I’m co-hosting it, and Robert occasionally makes cameo appearances. The first seven episodes were with Steve. After we lost him, we kept filming.
Did you have plans for another movie after “Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course”?
Nobody knows this yet—you were the first to ask—but Steve was working on an IMAX production on crocodiles. He really enjoyed the process of making a movie, and was determined to get the Imax camera where it never had gone before. Since we lost Steve, that’s been shelved. I don’t know anyone else who could take a camera right up to a crocodile’s mouth and live to tell about it.
In your book you describe how you actually picked up, by hand, the world’s most venomous snake. How did you get the courage to do it?
It was just one of those things where Steve said, “You grab this one.” I thought, oh my, I must be able to do it because he just said I could. At first I goofed it up completely and it got away. Steve said, “The reason you can’t pick it up is that you’re too bloomin’ scared!” So then I just picked it up. I’ve got to tell you, I had this wonderful connection with it. It was amazing_you simply can’t duplicate the hands-on wildlife experience. Steve really tried to bring wildlife into everyone’s living room and give them that experience vicariously.

Steve almost got into a fight with some tough crocodile farmers. Was there a lot of friction between Steve and them?
Absolutely. You’ve got to consider that these are people making money by treating our wildlife horribly and destroying it, while Steve was trying to protect it. If we were able to stop croc farms, it would be a step in the right direction. There’s a lot of criminal activity that Steve was trying to bring to light and stop—there was a lot of animosity about that. I hope to be able to continue carrying that torch. What goes on is horrifying. There’s nothing appropriate about farming wildlife—it’s heinous.
Where the profits from the book are going?
All profit raised from book sales—100 percent of it—is going toward conservation projects in Steve’s honor, specifically to habitat acquisition and purchasing land to protect and study wildlife. The beat goes on, we’re working hard, and hopefully we’ll honor Steve’s lifetime of work.