Bob Irwin
Encyclopedia
Robert "Bob" Irwin is an Australian naturalist
, animal conservationist
, and a pioneering herpetologist who is also famous for his conservation and husbandry work with apex predator
s and reptiles. He is the father of Steve Irwin
and the widowed husband of Lyn Irwin
, the couple's middle child, would not only come to fulfill the roles of curator and director of the Beerwah Reptile Park, but also produce and star in his highly popular educational documentary series, The Crocodile Hunter
. Steve would enlarge the park to its present size of 72 acres (29.1 ha) and rename the park the Australia Zoo
.
Steve Irwin wrote on his website
Steve Irwin died in 2006. While filming a documentary, he swam too close to a stingray
, which stung him. The barb pierced his heart, and Steve died of blood loss and cardiac arrest.
Bob has since remarried to Judy, and was Queensland's Grandfather of the Year in 2008. Bob and Judy live on a rural property near Kingaroy, from where Bob continues to campaign for wildlife and environmental conservation.
, located west of Melbourne
, Australia
, to Queensland
.
Irwin had decided to turn his love for animals from a hobby into a career and purchased 4 acres (16,187.4 m²) of land to construct a wildlife refuge. As a builder, Irwin personally turned his hand to building and designing the Beerwah Reptile Park. Irwin dedicated so much time to constructing the Reptile Park and the enclosures that, for the first years in their new life of exhibiting native fauna, the Irwins lived in an old RV caravan. Irwin would build a shed, and then the Irwin house, which the Irwin family and Bob Irwin lived in until Bob gave the wildlife park to son, Steve Irwin.
"The family home was itself a mini zoo and wildlife hospital," said son, Steve Irwin
, on his website, "With makeshift marsupial 'pouches' slung over the backs of chairs and snakes stashed everywhere. Later, the park would be significantly expanded to cover 72 acres (29.1 ha).
in order to "keep his son's dream alive". He thanked all the zoo staff for all their support with the notable exception of Terri Irwin
.
Bob quit the zoo and his role as manager of Ironbark Station at Blackbutt where he lived, moving to a new 240 hectares (593.1 acre) property surrounded by forest and national park between Kingaroy and Murgon where he would continue his son's conservation work.
On 12 April 2011, Bob Irwin was arrested and charged for contravening police direction as part of his actions against the Queensland Gas Company. He is to face court in May 2011.
On 5th September it was reported in the mainstream media that Bob had become disenchanted with politics and felt he could best carry on his passion for animal conservation and fight against the coal seam gas industry from outside of the political arena.
Bob Irwin is reportedly considering rejoining the Queensland Party if it can obtain 500 members and remain registered on friday 23rd September 2011. According to reports in the press he doesn’t like Bob Katter or his support for indigenous hunting rights like hunting dugongs and turtles. He originally left the party because he couldn’t in good conscience work with the Minister for Kennedy Bob Katter . If the Queensland Party can pull together 500 members by Friday 23rd September 2011 and remain registered then he has stated that he might come back and stand as a candidate for Ashgrove after all.
Natural history
Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...
, animal conservationist
Conservationist
Conservationists are proponents or advocates of conservation. They advocate for the protection of all the species in an ecosystem with a strong focus on the natural environment...
, and a pioneering herpetologist who is also famous for his conservation and husbandry work with apex predator
Apex predator
Apex predators are predators that have no predators of their own, residing at the top of their food chain. Zoologists define predation as the killing and consumption of another organism...
s and reptiles. He is the father of Steve Irwin
Steve Irwin
Stephen Robert "Steve" Irwin , nicknamed "The Crocodile Hunter", was an Australian television personality, wildlife expert, and conservationist. Irwin achieved worldwide fame from the television series The Crocodile Hunter, an internationally broadcast wildlife documentary series which he co-hosted...
and the widowed husband of Lyn Irwin
Personal life
Bob Irwin married Lyn, a maternity nurse who died in a single automobile accident in 2000. Together, they have a daughter, Joy, son Steve (who died in 2006), and second daughter, Mandy. Although Irwin was officially a plumber, and Lyn a maternity nurse, the family's consuming passion was rescuing and rehabilitating local wildlife. Steve IrwinSteve Irwin
Stephen Robert "Steve" Irwin , nicknamed "The Crocodile Hunter", was an Australian television personality, wildlife expert, and conservationist. Irwin achieved worldwide fame from the television series The Crocodile Hunter, an internationally broadcast wildlife documentary series which he co-hosted...
, the couple's middle child, would not only come to fulfill the roles of curator and director of the Beerwah Reptile Park, but also produce and star in his highly popular educational documentary series, The Crocodile Hunter
The Crocodile Hunter
The Crocodile Hunter was a wildlife documentary television series that was hosted by Steve Irwin and his wife Terri. The show became a popular franchise due to its unconventional approach and Irwin's approach to wildlife...
. Steve would enlarge the park to its present size of 72 acres (29.1 ha) and rename the park the Australia Zoo
Australia Zoo
Australia Zoo is a zoo located in the Australian state of Queensland on the Sunshine Coast near Beerwah/Glass House Mountains. It is a member of the Zoo and Aquarium Association , and is owned by Terri Irwin, the widow of Steve Irwin, whose wildlife documentary series The Crocodile Hunter made the...
.
Steve Irwin wrote on his website
What a childhood! My mum was the Mother TeresaMother TeresaMother Teresa , born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu , was a Roman Catholic nun of Albanian ethnicity and Indian citizenship, who founded the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta, India, in 1950...
of wildlife rehabilitation. Our house was a giant maternity ward fair smack-dab in the middle of the Beerwah Reptile Park. It was nothing for us kids to be sharing our house with orphaned joey kangarooKangarooA kangaroo is a marsupial from the family Macropodidae . In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, especially those of the genus Macropus, Red Kangaroo, Antilopine Kangaroo, Eastern Grey Kangaroo and Western Grey Kangaroo. Kangaroos are endemic to the country...
s, sugar gliderSugar GliderThe sugar glider is a small gliding possum originating from the marsupial family.The sugar glider is native to eastern and northern mainland Australia and is also native to New Guinea and the Bismarck Archipelago.- Habitat :Sugar gliders can be found all throughout the northern and eastern parts of...
s, ringtailCommon Ringtail PossumThe common ringtail possum is an Australian marsupial. It lives in a variety of habitats and eats a variety of leaves of both native and introduced plants, as well as flowers and fruits. These dietary factors have, over time, aided burgeoning introduced populations in New Zealand...
or brushtail possumCommon Brushtail PossumThe Common Brushtail Possum is a nocturnal, semi-arboreal marsupial of the family Phalangeridae, it is native to Australia, and the largest of the possums.Like most possums, the Common Brushtail is nocturnal...
s, koalaKoalaThe koala is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial native to Australia, and the only extant representative of the family Phascolarctidae....
joeys, baby birdBirdBirds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
s and untold amounts of other injured Australian animals. What a wild menagerie, and an exceptional household to be raised in.
Steve Irwin died in 2006. While filming a documentary, he swam too close to a stingray
Stingray
The stingrays are a group of rays, which are cartilaginous fishes related to sharks. They are classified in the suborder Myliobatoidei of the order Myliobatiformes, and consist of eight families: Hexatrygonidae , Plesiobatidae , Urolophidae , Urotrygonidae , Dasyatidae , Potamotrygonidae The...
, which stung him. The barb pierced his heart, and Steve died of blood loss and cardiac arrest.
Bob has since remarried to Judy, and was Queensland's Grandfather of the Year in 2008. Bob and Judy live on a rural property near Kingaroy, from where Bob continues to campaign for wildlife and environmental conservation.
Career
Irwin was a successful plumber from Melbourne who, in addition, had also spent time building sheds and houses. Bob Irwin's career in animal conservation officially began in 1970, when Irwin moved his family from EssendonEssendon, Victoria
Essendon is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 10 km north-west from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Moonee Valley...
, located west of Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, to Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
.
Irwin had decided to turn his love for animals from a hobby into a career and purchased 4 acres (16,187.4 m²) of land to construct a wildlife refuge. As a builder, Irwin personally turned his hand to building and designing the Beerwah Reptile Park. Irwin dedicated so much time to constructing the Reptile Park and the enclosures that, for the first years in their new life of exhibiting native fauna, the Irwins lived in an old RV caravan. Irwin would build a shed, and then the Irwin house, which the Irwin family and Bob Irwin lived in until Bob gave the wildlife park to son, Steve Irwin.
"The family home was itself a mini zoo and wildlife hospital," said son, Steve Irwin
Steve Irwin
Stephen Robert "Steve" Irwin , nicknamed "The Crocodile Hunter", was an Australian television personality, wildlife expert, and conservationist. Irwin achieved worldwide fame from the television series The Crocodile Hunter, an internationally broadcast wildlife documentary series which he co-hosted...
, on his website, "With makeshift marsupial 'pouches' slung over the backs of chairs and snakes stashed everywhere. Later, the park would be significantly expanded to cover 72 acres (29.1 ha).
Innovations
Irwin's foresight and innovation in captive care, breeding, and handling of native Australian animals set a new benchmark for wildlife welfare in Australia. Irwin was noted in the conservation sector for utilizing non-violent capture techniques which were then largely unemployed, such as proximity lassoing, hooding, trapping, and netting instead of the more common tranquilizers, chains, or other potentially harmful methods. Irwin would also come to strike bargains with the government, catching problematic or intruding crocodiles in Queensland and in return bringing them to the Reptile Park. Irwin, later aided by son Steve, personally caught and raised every crocodile in the Reptile Park, ultimately tallying over 100 crocodiles.Controversy
On 2 March 2008, it was announced that Bob Irwin had resigned from Australia ZooAustralia Zoo
Australia Zoo is a zoo located in the Australian state of Queensland on the Sunshine Coast near Beerwah/Glass House Mountains. It is a member of the Zoo and Aquarium Association , and is owned by Terri Irwin, the widow of Steve Irwin, whose wildlife documentary series The Crocodile Hunter made the...
in order to "keep his son's dream alive". He thanked all the zoo staff for all their support with the notable exception of Terri Irwin
Terri Irwin
Theresa Penelope "Terri" Irwin, AM is an Australian-based, American-born naturalist, author, the widow of Australian naturalist Steve Irwin and owner of Australia Zoo at Beerwah, Queensland, Australia...
.
Bob quit the zoo and his role as manager of Ironbark Station at Blackbutt where he lived, moving to a new 240 hectares (593.1 acre) property surrounded by forest and national park between Kingaroy and Murgon where he would continue his son's conservation work.
On 12 April 2011, Bob Irwin was arrested and charged for contravening police direction as part of his actions against the Queensland Gas Company. He is to face court in May 2011.
Politics
On 1st July Bob Irwin announced he was considering challeging Labor incumbent Kate Jones and Liberal National Party leader Campbell Newman for the seat of Ashgrove in Brisbane.On 5th September it was reported in the mainstream media that Bob had become disenchanted with politics and felt he could best carry on his passion for animal conservation and fight against the coal seam gas industry from outside of the political arena.
Bob Irwin is reportedly considering rejoining the Queensland Party if it can obtain 500 members and remain registered on friday 23rd September 2011. According to reports in the press he doesn’t like Bob Katter or his support for indigenous hunting rights like hunting dugongs and turtles. He originally left the party because he couldn’t in good conscience work with the Minister for Kennedy Bob Katter . If the Queensland Party can pull together 500 members by Friday 23rd September 2011 and remain registered then he has stated that he might come back and stand as a candidate for Ashgrove after all.