Steve Irwin

Have you ever seen Steve Irwin, the Crocodile Hunter, on TV? Steve is a reptiles specialist and zoo director in Queensland, Australia. 

             Steve 's parents, Bob and Lyn Irwin, owned a reptiles park. Steve grew up learning about and handling reptiles, as well as many other kinds of animals. 

When Steve was six years old, his father gave him a snake called a scrub python. Steve named it Fred. Steve 's dad taught him all about the wildlife of Australia and took him on field trips to study about it. Steve often begged to go on these field trips rather than going to school. He caught his first crocodile when he was only nine years old.
Now Steve runs the Australia Zoo. He is a Herpetologist. That means he is a reptile expert. His mission in life is to educate people about animals, teaching them to treat even dangerous animals with respect. Steve never hurts animals. In fact, he has rescued many animals that were in danger,especially crocodiles. Steve is an expert snake handler. He holds them by the tail and lets them go safely. He always warns others, though, that picking up a Snake is very dangerous. Sometimes even Steve has been bitten!