How to Live Like a TRUE Wildlife Warrior | 16-Minute Steve Irwin Tribute

But I'm a wildlife warrior, you know. I was born into wildlife. I eat, sleep, and live for conservation. I'd treat that croc like I'd treat my daughter, like I'd treat you, like I'd treat my wife, like I'd treat anyone. And I can hear my dad's words in the background there, "I'm gonna kick your bottom if you go complacent." Anyway, I got complacent. We're conservationists, mate, through and through. Like, we live for conservation, and our message is so strong. For months he's scratching his head, "How come that kid never got killed by that brown snake?" And I guess he figured it out then. He figured, this kid's got something. I won't eat. I will just— I'll stay on that river because I feel so passionate about catching that croc before someone gets to him. Some people would like to call me an actor. Ha! I don't think so. All I gotta do is go out there and do this. When I was the tiniest little kid, Andrew, I'd look up at my dad and, you know, he was like larger than life. He was just like this action hero. And this isn't some giant ego trip. Uh-uh. It's just that I gotta get the camera. I've gotta I've gotta be right in there. Righty-o, so what I'm gonna do is as soon as I get close enough, mate, I'm gonna grab it around the neck. Right. And then you're gonna have to skewer the tail, otherwise I'm gonna get killed. Crikey.

He was an Australian wildlife expert, TV personality, and conservationist. He achieved worldwide fame for his TV series, The Crocodile Hunter. The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society ship, My Steve Irwin, was named in his honor. He's Steve Irwin, and here are his top 10 rules for success.

Yeah, it's, it's kind of a juggling act. Yeah.

You know, the, you know, balancing wildlife always will be.

But I'm a wildlife warrior, you know. I was born into wildlife. I eat, sleep, and live for conservation. So I'm just running around all over the paddock, no matter which country I'm in, trying to conserve wilderness areas and look after trees and flora and our oceans. And which I guess in essence is really good for wildlife, but it's also good for humanity. For without trees and nice clean oceans and a lot of animals, it'd be a very sad place to live, our Earth. My philosophy of fatherhood? You know, I just treat her exactly the same way as I would want to be treated. And you know, the funny thing is, Andy, I treat my wildlife the same. You know, like if there was a croc there, I'd treat that croc like I'd treat my daughter, like I'd treat you, like I'd treat my wife, like I'd treat anyone. I treat things how I in turn would want to be treated. So my little kid, I just treat her how I want to be treated. You know how my mum said, you know, you can't have ice cream for breakfast? Here, sweetheart, have it. Go hard. And you know, yeah, absolutely. You want to catch that snake? Sure, it's venomous, but we'll do it and I'll show you how, and we'll do it. And we did it.

You have animals in the house, don't you?

Oh yeah, my word.

She came up close to a carpet snake at one point.

Yeah, bit her right on the face, her first snake bite.

Oh yeah, that must have been a proud moment.

It was a very proud moment. She's a snake— she's a snake maniac. My kid, my daughter's a snake freak. She loves snakes. Her favorite animal, the snake, you know, born and raised with snakes. So, you know, here's this carpet python coming across the road at night. We're going out to Poppy's house, and, um, she's like, oh, Daddy, Daddy, you know. I said, yeah, don't worry, sweetheart, I'll save it. So I run out there, I grab the snake, and she starts whinging, you know, I want the snake, not the snakes, you know. All right, sweetheart, here. But watch out, he's a bit bitey. And she grabs it and she starts singing, rock-a-bye baby, like this. It goes whack, bites her right on the lip, and she's like I said, "I told you, sweetheart. Told you he was gonna bite ya." She's like, "It's okay, Dad." "Rawr, I'm gonna bite." Whack! Right on the nose. "Let it go, Dad." Gave it back to him, blood all pouring down there. I was very proud of her. I spent a long time in the bush and I'd caught a whole series of crocodiles. And with that came a big head and complacency. And of course, never the two shall meet. Catching crocs and complacency is just not on. And I can hear my dad's words in the background there, "I'm gonna kick your bottom if you go complacent." Anyway, I got complacent.

I think he'd been in the bush a bit too long because he got very complacent. And he hadn't secured the— although he'd got this crocodile back to camp ready to put into a crate, she was still in the trap, but she hadn't been secured. Her mouth hadn't been secured. So while he's getting the transport crate ready, But he let this croc out of the trap and she was just sitting there. So he goes in the box.

As I'm backed out, whack! She put a series of real beaut holes in my feet all the way to the bone. Thanks a lot. And I had to ring my dad up. And so I've rung up, "Oh, Dad, I need some help." 'Is you need some help?' Geez, this doesn't sound like young Stevo.

'Look what that crocodile did to me, Suey.' So he was extremely fortunate that all he had in his foot was some holes, and he also still had the croc that could have just walked off back to the creek.

We're conservationists, mate, through and through. Like, we live for conservation. Our message is so strong, really. We're saving the world. Which is good! Well, have a look! Have a go at what's happening, Rove. You know, we've got this dark cloud of terrorism, you know, September 11th and all that kind of stuff. And here's this bloke from the bush up in Beerwah, Queensland, having a go and bringing goodness into the world, you know, wildlife, wilderness, conservation, greening up the earth. Yeah!

Your dad actually reckons you've got a gift. Yeah. An animal instinct which enables you to deal with animals. What is that gift, do you think?

Yeah, well, Dad was kind of the first one to notice it, and good on him. You know, I'm just a product of my parents and my environment. And I was 4 years old and Dad was catching snakes for the then Commonwealth Serum Laboratory, right? He was looking for brown snakes and tiger snakes at a place called Bulla in Victoria. And so we're looking for tiger snakes and brown snakes, and I'm 4 years old and I'm rattling around helping him. But, you know, I was Playing imaginary games, imaginary armies, you know. Shooting back at the— it was Japanese back then because my grandfather and great-grandfather died in World War II, so it was the Japanese or something. Whatever, please don't. You know, like, I drive a Toyota. So nonetheless, hunting around, hunting around, and Dad's over there and here's this huge brown snake. Oh, absolute whopper. Well over 5 foot. So I've come up and I've gone, "Oh, oh, oh!" You know, like, "Oh, oh!" Got it! Dad, Dad, I got one, I got one! He's like, what is he on about? He comes up, look at this, Dad! And here's this brown snake, Andy, and it's up on my shin like I'm wearing plastic sandals, no socks either. And here's this brown snake with his head right on my leg, and I've got a pin and it's a whopper, it's almost as thick as my dad's wrist. And he's gone whack, you know, and belted me out of the way, crushed me like a bug. Yeah, because I thought I'd got this brown snake for him and I thought I was going to come out of this a hero, and he decks me. And, uh, but he thought he saved my life. And, you know, for months he's scratching his head, how come that kid never got killed by that brown snake? And I guess he figured it out then. He's figured this kid's got something. So, you know, he's watched this develop. Then Mum and Dad just propped me up, just propped me up. Every time I'd make mistakes, they just keep, you know, hang in there, hang in there, lad, hang in there. And they just kept helping me and persuading me to follow my passion. Which was wildlife. And that, in essence, you know, helped me to be who I am. I've found that the best way to catch a crocodile is to treat it as a one-on-one situation. So I focus. I just focus on that crocodile so hard that I am unaware of anything around me. I won't eat. I will just— I'll stay on that river because I feel so passionate about catching that croc before someone gets to him. I just won't stop. I've just got to do it. And of course, when I— when that croc goes into the trap and I've trapped him, I'm elated. It's like, whoosh! It's quite a— it's almost an adrenaline surge after the act of catching the croc because you know that you've secured the animal and he's going to live a really happy life. I was born and raised as I am. You know, I can't help who I am. I really can't. You know, I'm Steve Irwin, same bloke. And I guess when I was 9, you know, I caught my first crocodile, or, you know, 2 months ago when I caught my 358th crocodile, I haven't changed, mate. I haven't changed one little bit. Now here's the beauty of the film. Here's the art, the trick, the genius. John Stanton, he actually, um, not only did he like write the whole thing and, and direct it and produce it, He also is the genius behind Steve Irwin. What he did was he didn't let me read the script. He didn't let me read the story. In essence, what he did, he created nothing. He just created nothing, absolutely nothing. I went into the film exactly as I am now and just went and just breezed through it. I just breezed straight through Collision Course being Steve Irwin, the crocodile hunter. I didn't have to change. So what a coup! What a coup! You know, some people would like to call me an actor. Ha! I don't think so. All I gotta do is go out there and do this. Yeah, yeah, just be me.

You truly adore your parents, don't you?

I love my parents just so much, mate. You know, like my mum, how'd you be, you know, I was born on her birthday and all she ever did was just love me and prop me up and get me back out in there. Dad, just the legend of the universe. When I was the tiniest little kid, Andrew, I'd look up at my dad and, you know, he was like larger than life. He was just like this action hero. He was everything I wanted to be. And all I've done in my life is following his footsteps, mimic him, and try to be him. And nowadays I just try to make him proud, mate. Yeah, I love my parents like, um, like nothing else. It's just they are everything to me, absolutely everything. And the day that my mum went was the day I lost something. I lost something. Lost something really big. 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. I jumped on a crocodile and it was a bad jump under the water. Whack! Hit me in the head, scarred me here. I got scars all over my face. Terry tore my ear in half. No two fingers are the same. They've been snapped, split, chomped, nails ripped off. Have a look at my hands. Virtually scars on scars. You can't see the last bite 'cause it's scar on scar. And this isn't some giant ego trip, uh-uh. It's just that I gotta get the camera, I've gotta be right in there. I have to get right fair smack into the action because this day has come where the audience, you, need to come with me and be there with that animal. If there's whales dying on the beach on the western side of Tasmania, I wanna share it with you because if we can touch people about whales, wildlife, then they want to save it. If you go to SeaWorld and you get to have an encounter with a dolphin, you want to save dolphins. Gone are the days of sitting back on the long lens on the tripod and looking at wildlife way over there. Uh-uh. Come with me. Share it with me. Share my wildlife with me. Because humans want to save things that they love. My job, my mission, the reason I've been put onto this planet is to save wildlife, and I thank you for coming with me.

Okay, can I go in hard on, like, say, a pretend crocodile?

I'll take— you be Terry, mate. I'll walk you through it. Okay, it's all about picking them up in the spotlight, getting close enough. I'll take the head end, but for me to stay alive, you'll have to hit hard on the tail end, mate. Otherwise I die.

Come out the back. We've got a special Rove Life crocodile area set up. Out this way.

Righto, mate.

So when did you first learn how to wrestle a croc?

When I was 9. 9? Yeah, 9 years old, mate. Dad had me out the front of the boat. He's gone, "You get this one, son." Couldn't believe me luck.

Okay, so here it is. Now don't get too scared.

Righto. If you think you can handle it.

So let's say there's a croc There it is in the water. You probably should, if you're going to get in.

It's only a 6-footer, mate. This shouldn't be too hard.

So take me through what you're going to do. All right, we're just going to get Steve's equipment off so he doesn't electrocute himself.

It's all about reality, mate. Like, um, first thing you do is you pick up their eyeshine.

Yeah.

And then when I've located their eyeshine, then I'll put my spotlight down. You'll have to keep yours on it until the last possible moment. Righty-oh, let's, um, Sneak around here, mate, because you don't want to hit him from the side because I'll just whack and hit your head.

That's right, I've seen him do it.

Righty-o, so what I'm going to do is as soon as I get close enough, mate, I'm going to grab it around the neck, and then you're going to have to skewer the tail, otherwise I'm going to get killed. Righty-o. You're going to need a rope. You're right. Righto, mate, I'm going in, mate. Is that what you do? I think there's a snake in here as well, Steve! Did we get it? I think we got it. By crikey, what a beauty! Steve Irwin, ladies and gentlemen! Have a look at this little beauty.

Thank you so much for watching. I made this video because SteveIrwin4477 asked me to. So if there's a famous entrepreneur that you want me to profile next, leave it in the comments below and I'll see what I can do. I'd also love to know which of Steve's top 10 rules had the biggest impact on you. What changes are going to make in your life or your business? Leave it in the comments and I'll join the discussion. Thank you so much for watching. Continue to believe and I'll see you soon.

Do you have moments of repose, moments of just, I'll just take it in and sit quietly?

No. You know, I gotta— I have to do a lot of plane flights.

Yeah.

And, uh, oh, I'm a handful. I don't know, I haven't made it in the tabloids as the bloke who started the riots and stuff on the planes yet, but I guarantee you it will happen. You know, you can't— you can't hang your arm out the window, and you can't stop and have a pee and look at the wildlife.

Yeah.

You know, you're stuck in this thing for like sometimes 14 hours in a leg. You know, like going to America is just— it's a 14-hour stint, mate, and it's shocking awful to sit there. And all the— you know, you can't— I'm just— you know, I like a good movie, but not 5 of them in a row. It's like— and I don't read much, you know, like I'm just—

You don't read? How come you don't read?

Well, I do read, but no, you know, like Not for 14 hours. You know, surf mags take a good 20 minutes. I absolutely thrived on it, living right in the bush. I became at one with nature, and I think those years of isolation in the bush trying to help crocodiles built Steve Irwin. And I had to use bush tucker, and I'd resort to fishing to get a, uh, to get feet. So it really honed my bush skills. If there's one thing that I, Steve Irwin, would want to be remembered for, it's be remembered for passion and enthusiasm. Conservation is my job, my life, my whole persona.