New Delhi: Google on Friday dedicated a doodle celebrating wildlife conservationist and television personality Steve Irwin’s life and legacy, whom many grew up watching wrestling giant crocodiles in the Australian wilderness. A zookeeper by profession, Irwin achieved worldwide fame from his television series “The Crocodile Hunter”. A typical “Aussie” mate, who would have been 57 on this day, created the runaway hit show that was seen in more than 100 countries by over 500 mn people.
Doodle guest artist Shanti Rittgers created the slideshow of six images that told the story of Irwin, who inherited his love for the reptiles from his parents Lyn and Bob Irwin when they gave him an eleven-foot python for his sixth birthday, the Google blog post said.
Irwin who was born in Melbourne suburbs in 1962 named his first slithery friend Fred and later went on to introduce a whole new generation to reptiles, which could also be loved.
Thanks to the show, Irwin’s enthusiasm for saving endangered animals quickly became as popular as his one-word catchphrase “Crikey!” It was also a family effort — while Steve and Terri hosted the show together, their children Bindi and Robert became fixtures on the show as well.
On September 4, 2006, Irwin was on location in Queensland, taking part in the documentary series when while snorkelling in shallow waters he was approached by a short-tail stingray and was stabbed by the marine creature.
