Gone are the days of sittin' back on the long lens on the tripod and lookin' at wildlife way over there. Unh-unh - come with me. Share it with me! Share my wildlife with me, because humans want to save things that they love.
Every day's a great day when you're an American river otter!
Never trust a person that doesn't kiss their pet.
I'd love to live until I'm 80. I want to see my daughter grow up; I want to love my wife. I hope I live a long and healthy life; but if I don't, I've had such a wonderful, fulfilled life and I get what a lot of other people don't get, which is to educate people about conservation. There's my reason for living, my passion. This is why God created me.
I've been put on this planet to protect wildlife and wildnerness areas, which in essence is gonna help humanity. I want to have the purest oceans, I want to be able to drink water straight outta that creek, I want to stop the ozone layer [from depleting], I want to save the world.
My job, my mission, the reason I've been put onto this planet, is to save wildlife. And I thank you for comin' with me. Yeah, let's get 'em!
Unless we do something quickly about teaching kids about our dying animals, there isn't going to be much left, if anything, for the generations that follow.
What I want to do, with the help of others who share my vision, is to buy up land and save it for the animals that are losing their environment nearby. Just move them into my bit of space. It's a small token in terms of the big wide world but, hey, we've got to do something.
Because, when they strike, it can be that quick that if they're within range, you're dead, you're dead in your tracks. And his head weighs more than my body so it's WHACK!
But I put my life on the line to save animals.
Every cent we earn from Crocodile Hunter goes straight back into conservation. Every single cent.
To say that I've got millions in the bank, mate, would be a load of crap. Of course I've made money, but it's all gone back into wildlife welfare. I don't keep it.
Herein lies our problem. If we level that much land to grow rice and whatever, then no other animal could live there except for some insect pest species. Which is very unfortunate.
This isn't rocket science, mate. We've got to stop being so bloody selfish. We're not the only ones on this planet.
I am optimistic globally. So many scientists are working frantically on the reparation of our planet.
I believe our biggest issue is the same biggest issue that the whole world is facing, and that's habitat destruction.
You know, the basic problem is greed and poverty. The poor chop down trees because they need wood for fire, and big companies chop them down for profit, with corrupt officials getting their take while looking the other way, before the wood is exported or sold to local factories. No one thinks about the wildlife that is being left homeless or destroyed due to this desperation and this greed.
I believe sustainable use is the greatest propaganda in wildlife conservation at the moment.
I believe that education is all about being excited about something. Seeing passion and enthusiasm helps push an educational message.
I don't care whether people say I'm a showman, an adrenaline junkie, whatever. They can send me up, shoot me down - I don't care as long as people listen to what I say.
It's no good being a conservationist and keeping your lips sealed tight, no matter what you might be doing physically. You've got to tell people what you're doing, so they'll pick it up too, do the same thing. As for me, I'm going to keep on doing this until I can't do it anymore, and that will be the day when I say goodbye to this world.
I bled a lot. I got hit across the face. We couldn't film for seven days. I got hit, whacked, underwater, across the face. I finished the shot, got into the boat and blood started coming out.
My number one rule is to keep that camera rolling. Even if it's shaky or slightly out of focus, I don't give a rip!
I get called an adrenaline junkie every other minute, and I'm just fine with that.
I have no fear of losing my life. If I have to save a koala or a crocodile or a kangaroo or a snake, mate, I will save it.
I mean, these are all just little pink bits here (pointing at his arm) and are just curing up now. I've been recently filming a nine-and-a-half-foot female crocodile I had to catch. Oh, man, she bit me up! That was a mistake.
I sincerely believe that there's room for cutting down trees for forestry and grazing, so as we all get to eat. Everyone has to compromise.
I'm a proud Australian, a very, very proud Australian.
My belief is that what comes across on the television is a capture of my enthusiasm and my passion for wildlife.
My dad taught me from my youngest childhood memories through these connections with Aboriginal and tribal people that you must always protect people's sacred status, regardless of the pest.
My field is with apex predators, hence your crocodiles, your snakes, your spiders.
No, snakes are no problem. I'd go to any country, anywhere, any snakes, not a problem.
See, I've always seen Jacques Cousteau as a hero, mate. He's a legend - like my dad, just a legend. And so what he did for conservation in the '60s through the '70s was just phenomenal.
Sharks, I've been self-trained as well, and crocodiles, naturally. I've been catching them since I was nine. No problem.
Since I was a boy, from this house, I was out rescuing crocodiles and snakes. My mum and dad were very passionate about that and I was lucky enough to go along.
Snakes are just very instinctive to me. I've been playing with snakes since before I could walk. It doesn't matter where or what it is, from the biggest to the most venomous.
So fear helps me from making mistakes, but I make lot of mistakes.
Fear is a natural thing that us humans have. It keeps us alive. So every time I go in on a venomous snake, a crocodile, a bear, a cougar, a tiger shark — any wild animal — I get a little scared, a little nervy. Fear is a good thing.
So now what happens is the cameras follow me around and capture exactly what I've been doing since I was a boy. Only now we have a team of, you know, like 73 of us, and it's gone beyond that.
So, my tactic with conservation of apex predators is to get people excited and take them to where they live.
Take the crocodile, for example, my favorite animal. There are 23 species. Seventeen of those species are rare or endangered. They're on the way out, no matter what anyone does or says, you know.
That might have a lot to do with it, but you know, I probably don't show fear, but I suffer from fear like everyone else.
The first crocodile I ever caught was at nine years of age, and it was a rescue.
The only animals I'm not comfortable with are parrots, but I'm learning as I go. I'm getting better and better at 'em. I really am.
There's a lot of research behind the scenes that you don't get to see, but I have an instinct that my dad nurtured from when I was born. I was very lucky then.
We've evolved from sitting back on our tripods and shooting wildlife films like they have been shot historically, which doesn't work for us.
When I talk to the camera, mate, it's not like I'm talking to the camera, I'm talking to you because I want to whip you around and plunk you right there with me.
I can't stop, mate. I'm on fire. I wake up in the morning and I'm on fire. I just can't do enough. It drives me crazy that I've got to go to sleep; you know, can't I film something at night?
When the East Timor conflict broke out, when they gained independence, the militia killed a lot of East Timorese people. And their sacred totem is the crocodile. They believe that their island is actually a solidified crocodile, so it has sacred status.
Where I live, if someone gives you a hug, it's from the heart.
Yeah, for some reason parrots have to bite me. That's their job. I don't know why that is. They've nearly torn my nose off. I've had some really bad parrot bites.
Yeah, I think it's an absolute disaster that Australia, the government, allowed kangaroo killing.
You know, I'm Australian, and we have got the worst sense of humor. We are cruel to each other.
You know, you can touch a stick of dynamite, but if you touch a venomous snake, it'll turn around and bite you and kill you so fast it's not even funny.
I would never blame an animal if it bit me, that is for sure, because I'm at fault, not them... I heal so quickly, I tell you what, if you cut my arm off I would grow a new one.
In my life dealing with wildlife, I've been gored, clawed, chomped, bitten, savaged, jumped on, whacked, peed on, even groped! And every single time, it's been my fault. If I get bitten, I've made the mistake; I knew what I was up against when I went in on that animal. And it's been a giant learning curve for me.
If there's one thing that I, Steve Irwin, would wanna be remembered for, it's be remembered for passion and enthusiasm. Conservation is my job, my life, my whole persona.
When I saw Terri in the crowd, I looked up and our eyes met, and my heart just went "Bang, bang, bang, bang!" - just started thumpin'. It was love at first sight! I know this sounds like it's coming out of some Mills & Boon love novel, but it's true! Love at first sight!
I loved my mum more than anything in the world. She nurtured, protected, and loved me all my life. Lyn Irwin was a true "Australian Pioneer Woman", who dedicated her entire life to the rehabilitation and conservation of wildlife and to her family. Every single day, she worked and toiled to save injured and orphaned joeys while maintaining a happy, healthy Irwin clan.
Now, marriage is gonna be a tough one with Bindi, but, you know, I'll let her start dating as soon as she turns 31. (laughs)
Because this day has come where the audience you need to come with me and be there with an animal.
