Steve Irwin 20 years on: Crocodile Hunter’s 10 most unforgettable moments remembered

Crikey! It has been 20 years since Australia lost Steve Irwin, but two decades on, there are few Australians quite as instantly recognisable — or as enthusiastically imitated — as the khaki-clad Crocodile Hunter.

Irwin died on September 4, 2006, after suffering a fatal stingray injury while filming an underwater documentary. He was just 44.

What followed was an extraordinary outpouring of grief for a man whose boundless enthusiasm for wildlife had taken him from Australia Zoo in Queensland to television screens around the world.

His legacy has endured through his family, his conservation work and Steve Irwin Day, held annually on November 15 in celebration of his life and everything he stood for.

But perhaps the best reminder of what made Irwin such a phenomenon is the enormous catalogue of television moments he left behind.

From crocodile encounters and snake bites to Logies appearances and unexpectedly emotional moments, here are 10 times Steve Irwin showed exactly why Australia, and the world, fell in love with him.

1. Taking on the world’s most venomous snake

Crocodiles may have earned Irwin his famous nickname, but there were few creatures he wasn’t prepared to get up close and personal with.

That included some of the world’s most venomous snakes.

His encounters with dangerous animals became a hallmark of his television career, but what made Irwin different was the respect he maintained for them, even when an encounter ended with him on the receiving end of teeth, claws or scales.

He once recalled being bitten by a crocodile while attempting to feed it, but rather than blaming the animal, Irwin maintained the philosophy that helped define his career: the animal was simply behaving like an animal.

2. Breaking down over the death of a crocodile

Behind the larger-than-life television personality was a man deeply attached to the animals in his care.

That was never clearer than when Irwin spoke about the death of his crocodile Mary.

A visibly emotional Irwin struggled through tears as he farewelled the animal, speaking about her less like an exhibit at Australia Zoo and more like an old friend.

It was a markedly different side to the energetic Crocodile Hunter viewers were accustomed to seeing, and one of the moments that demonstrated just how personal his work with wildlife was.

3. Getting bitten on the nose by a bearded dragon

Not every Steve Irwin animal encounter involved a giant crocodile or deadly snake.

Sometimes, the smaller creatures proved just as capable of keeping him on his toes.

During one particularly memorable encounter, a bearded dragon decided it had had enough and latched onto Irwin’s nose.

“You bit me on the nose, you little brat!”

It was classic Steve: surprised, amused and still seemingly incapable of holding a grudge against an animal that had just bitten him in the face.

4. Carrying baby Robert while feeding a crocodile

Not every famous Steve Irwin moment was celebrated.

In 2004, Irwin caused an international controversy when he carried his one-month-old son Robert in one arm while feeding a crocodile at Australia Zoo in Queensland.

Footage of the encounter prompted fierce criticism over the perceived danger to his baby son, although Irwin maintained Robert had never been at risk.

The moment became one of the most controversial episodes of his career and sparked a very different conversation about the fearless approach that had made him famous.

5. Explaining why money was never the point

For all the international fame that came with The Crocodile Hunter, Irwin repeatedly made clear that celebrity and wealth weren’t what motivated him.

That philosophy was perhaps best captured by one quintessentially Australian question: ’What good is a fast car, a flash house and a gold-plated dunny?’

“I’ve been put on this planet to protect wildlife and wilderness areas, which in essence is going to help humanity,” he said.

Behind the catchphrases, khaki and television theatrics was a conservationist who understood exactly what he wanted to do with the platform he’d been given.

6. Bringing a very unusual date to the Logies

Putting Steve Irwin on live television was always going to come with an element of unpredictability.

The Logies were no exception.

Irwin took centre stage at Australian television’s night of nights and introduced the room to his rather unconventional companion, a snake.

There were screams, laughs and plenty of nervous faces as Irwin did what he did best: made handling a potentially dangerous animal look like the most natural thing in the world.

7. Famous last words before a python bite

Irwin spent enough time around wild animals to know they could be unpredictable.

Occasionally, however, even the Crocodile Hunter got his predictions spectacularly wrong.

“This one is a python and as you see, he won’t bite,” he said.

You can probably guess what happened next.

The python promptly proved him wrong, creating one of those perfectly timed television moments that almost seemed scripted, except with Steve Irwin, it rarely needed to be.

8. Steve and Terri’s love at first sight

Steve’s story wasn’t only about wildlife.

Terri Irwin has previously recalled the first time she watched the Australian conservationist doing what he loved, revealing it didn’t take long for her to realise there was something special about him.

“I stood and listened to him talk about crocodiles and I thought ‘hang on, I’ve never heard anyone talk like that’,” she said.

“ … I was sold.”

The pair married in 1992 and became one of Australia’s most recognisable couples, with Terri joining Steve in his wildlife and conservation work.

9. When mowing the lawn became a crocodile encounter

Most people can mow the lawn without encountering a crocodile.

Steve Irwin was not most people.

Footage of Irwin attempting the everyday chore quickly turned into anything but an ordinary afternoon when a crocodile emerged and transformed some basic yard work into another unmistakably Steve encounter.

It summed up the wonderfully chaotic nature of his life: even mowing the grass could somehow become an episode of The Crocodile Hunter.

10. Leaving Conan O’Brien stunned on live television

Long before Australian personalities could go viral internationally with a single clip, Irwin was taking his uniquely Australian brand of chaos directly to American television.

During an appearance with Conan O’Brien, Irwin brought along a crocodile and proceeded to wrangle it in front of the US host.

O’Brien’s reaction said almost everything.

For international audiences still discovering the energetic Australian in khaki, appearances like this helped turn Irwin from a television wildlife presenter into a global phenomenon.

Twenty years after his death, the footage still feels unmistakably Steve.

The danger was real, the enthusiasm somehow even more real, and whether he was staring down a crocodile, being bitten by something considerably smaller or talking passionately about conservation, Irwin had an ability to make people stop and pay attention.

For a man who dedicated his life to making the world care a little more about wildlife, perhaps that’s the legacy that matters most.