Why steve irwin is my hero

He always had an uncanny sixth sense when it came to wildlife and spent his life honing that skill. Here he worked countless hours with his best mate, Wes Mannion, caring for the wildlife and maintaining the grounds. He did all this with the company of his little dog, Sui.

Steve developed crocodile capture and management techniques that are now utilised with crocodilians around the world. Steve took over managing the park on October 4, Two days later, he met Terri Raines, a visiting tourist. On June 4, , they were married in Eugene, Oregon.

Instead of a honeymoon, the couple embarked on filming a wildlife documentary while relocating a problem crocodile in far north Queensland. So I became the crocodile girl. I abandoned my dreams of being a veterinarian and decided to become a herpetologist instead.

This declaration was usually met with blank stares by adults and adolescents alike. I had a crocodile birthday party, a dorky leather hat, and I even signed my name with a little crocodile stick hieroglyph of my own design. My crocodile days faded with time. I changed schools, got a bit less awkward, and found a new identity in athletics and my love of language and literature.

The crocodile girl became the volleyball player and wannabe poet, who later became a rower and lover of southern American literature. I forgot all about Steve Irwin, until I saw his obituary on the news during my first week of college. And then I promptly forgot about him again, until I started working in conservation.

Most criticisms of Irwin arise from his handling of wildlife, with detractors arguing that he unnecessarily harassed wild animals to benefit his own celebrity. Another often-mentioned incident occurred when Irwin walked through a captive crocodile enclosure with a dead chicken in one hand and his 1-month-old son in the other. Despite the cowboy persona, Irwin was a serious conservationist. He helped found a research project with scientists at the University of Queensland, who still use his croc-capture techniques more than a decade later to tag and release dozens of saltwater crocodiles.

The satellite-tracking data they gather is helping scientists better understand a creature that — for obvious reasons — would otherwise remain enigmatic. I still have a memento from my crocodile days that my mother saved along with my crayon drawings of Florida panthers and manatees. In my entry, I wrote that I wanted to be a veterinarian or a herpetologist, and that I wanted to move to Australia. Yet it proved prescient. In hindsight, I feel the same way about Irwin that I do about zoos.

It will always hurt to see wild species in captivity, and yet zoos fulfill an essential conservation function. They safeguard species in need of protection, providing an essential reservoir of genetic diversity and scientific knowledge that we have relied on time and again to help save endangered species.

And, equally essential, they connect people with nature they would otherwise never know. Irwin is the same. Irwin taught millions of children like me that wildlife — even the ugly, slimy, and scaly — should be loved. He also told people on national television to never, ever hurt an animal. I will always remember Steve Irwin because of what he did to help all the animals in the world. Steve probably saved a lot more animals than anyone thinks.

He also probably inspired a lot of people to save animals, including me. I think that a lot of people really miss him. Steve Irwin lived to save animals either reptile, mammal, or fish! February 22, - September 4, This is why Steve Irwin is my hero. Essays on Heroism.

Watch our short introduction video for more information. Ilse Bing was known as the queen of the Leica. Our gallery features art in the theme of heroism. All artworks in our commercial free, age-appropriate Gallery are contributed by professional and student artists as well as curated from art institutions around the world.

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