Do we like Steve Irwin?
Our score: 8 out of 10. Decades of wildlife work and nothing harmful in his words or acts, with one 2004 reprimand keeping him off the top rung.
Steve Irwin grew up around animals: his parents founded the Queensland wildlife park where his career began, and he built it into Australia Zoo. The Crocodile Hunter started airing in Australia in 1992, then went worldwide on Discovery, turning a khaki-clad zookeeper into a global name.
His biggest run-in with officials came in 2004, when environment authorities investigated allegations he swam with two humpback whales and got too close to penguins and seals while filming in Antarctica. Irwin called it “just a big storm in a tea cup”. A month-long probe recommended no action, and the Prime Minister of the day said it was unfair to him.
The messier one was a crocodile-feeding show in January 2004 that caused an outcry in Australia and overseas. Queensland's Department of Family Services reprimanded him, but police declined to file charges and workplace safety officials found insufficient grounds to act. Irwin hit back: “It's all about perceived danger; I was in complete control.” You can call that showmanship or poor judgement, and it's the one real mark on him.
On the harm test, we found nothing in his words or acts against LGBTQ+ people, women, migrants or public health, and that is a thin record rather than a rich one, since he died in 2006 before most of today's culture wars. What we did find points the other way: he objected to crocodile safaris for wealthy tourists in the Northern Territory, and the federal government dropped the plan. He was also a vocal critic of wildlife hunting.
Nothing new on him lately beyond the 20th anniversary of his death in September 2026. Robert posted a photo with the caption “Your legacy is forever”, and Terri shared a post about their last weeks together on a crocodile research expedition. Nobody has dug up anything ugly for the occasion.
The good stuff is real and still running. The Steve Irwin Wildlife Reserve in Queensland protects about 180,000 hectares of habitat, and the family still does saltwater crocodile research, including satellite tracking with researcher Mark Read, who said Irwin was “super interested in the science”. He used a huge platform for animals, not for himself.