Steve Irwin received a 12-foot scrub python for his sixth birthday. He was chasing and catching crocodiles when he was 9. By the time Irwin was in his 20s, he was working as a trapper who moved crocodiles, according to Associated Press.
Irwin's honeymoon resulted in the creation of the popular television show "Crocodile Hunter."
While Irwin took nonconventional approaches in his interactions with dangerous animals, he got peoples' attention.
People knew who Irwin was. Because they of that, they learned about the animals and the natural world he loved.
Irwin took over the Australia Zoo in 1991 and turned it into well known tourist attraction. The zoo has 550 employees, making it the largest local employer, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
Through "Crocodile Hunters," "Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course," "Dr. Dolittle 2" and other television appearances, Irwin was able to reach an audience that was reportedly more than 200 million.
Those were people Irwin was able to reach and teach about conservation and the value of our world's natural resources, including animals.
As a dedicated conservationist and environmentalist, Irwin had been working to expand the Australia Zoo on the Sunshine Coast.
Irwin put the money he earned from television to help animals by buying land to be used as natural habitat and running a wildlife park.
Because of the methods Irwin used with animals, he sometimes was criticized.
Irwin got closer to dangerous animals to try to bring animals closer to us.
Because of Steve Irwin and his crazy, yet educational antics, the world knows just a little more about itself.
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