Croc Hunter

Steve Irwin
Irwin at Australia Zoo in 2005
Born	Stephen Robert Irwin (1962-02-22)22 February 1962 Essendon, Victoria, Australia
Died	4 September 2006(2006-09-04) (aged 44) Batt Reef, Queensland, Australia
Cause of death	Stingray injury to the heart
Nationality	Australian
Other names	"The Crocodile Hunter"
Occupation	Naturalist, zoologist, conservationist, television personality, herpetologist
Years active	1991–2006
Notable work	The Crocodile Hunter
Spouse(s)	Terri Raines (m. 1992)
Children	Bindi Sue Irwin Robert Clarence Irwin
Parent(s)	Bob Irwin Lyn Irwin
Website	Australia Zoo

Stephen Robert Irwin (22 February 1962 – 4 September 2006), nicknamed "The Crocodile Hunter", was an Australian zookeeper, conservationist and television personality. Irwin achieved worldwide fame from the television series The Crocodile Hunter (1996–2007), an internationally broadcast wildlife documentary series which he co-hosted with his wife Terri; the couple also hosted the series, Croc Files (1999–2001), The Crocodile Hunter Diaries (2002–2006), and New Breed Vets (2005). They also owned and operated Australia Zoo, founded by Irwin's parents in Beerwah, about 80 kilometres (50 mi) north of the Queensland state capital city of Brisbane.

Irwin died on 4 September 2006 after being pierced in the heart by a stingray barb while filming an underwater documentary film titled Ocean's Deadliest.

Irwin was born on his mother's birthday to Lyn and Bob Irwin in Essendon, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria. He was of Irish descent on his father's side. He moved with his parents as a child to Queensland in 1970, where he attended Landsborough State School and Caloundra State High School. Irwin described his father as a wildlife expert interested in herpetology, while his mother Lyn was a wildlife rehabilitator. After moving to Queensland, Bob and Lyn Irwin started the small Queensland Reptile and Fauna Park, where Steve grew up around crocodiles and other reptiles.