00:00 She's gonna bite. You're a good girl, I'm getting out.
00:03 Everyone thinks Steve Irwin was just the crocodile hunter.
00:08 But that's far from the truth.
00:12 The reason I've been put onto this planet is to save wildlife.
00:17 Their habitat's being destroyed. They're caught in a war.
00:19 They're gonna go extinct. We're running out of time.
00:23 But when he tragically died, things got a lot worse.
00:27 Australia has lost more mammal species than any other continent.
00:30 Once it's gone, it is gone.
00:32 So his wife and kids had to step in.
00:35 Steve Irwin's family is managing the conservation and research
00:38 at a nature reserve named in his honour.
00:40 Dad's favourite place in the entire world.
00:43 But it's also rich in minerals and now the miners want to move in.
00:48 If Terri was serious about conservation,
00:50 she should be encouraging us and working with us.
00:52 They'll take away all of the trees, grasses and other plants.
00:56 This is not an evil, this is a good project.
00:59 We have to stay together and get each other through this.
01:02 It's inappropriate to use a 10-year-old child in a public debate.
01:05 He won the first round of this battle.
01:08 A court order giving him access to the reserve.
01:10 We're seeing terrible environmental destruction.
01:14 Towns decimated, communities ruined.
01:16 If we do nothing, we're in trouble.
01:19 Steve, look. Look right there.
01:24 What's it doing?
01:26 Why is it... Don't get too close.
01:28 Why isn't it going into the water?
01:29 It's dead. It's dead, Terri. It's dead.
01:32 It's dead.
01:33 God, it's dead.
01:34 We got this phone call and apparently there was a crocodile in North Queensland
01:41 that was in danger of being shot.
01:45 Poachers were after it.
01:46 So they said, "Do you want to come back and try to catch this crocodile?"
01:51 Unfortunately, we didn't save the big male crocodile and we found his body.
01:55 Now he's lost. Gone forever. A real shame.
02:00 But we were able to catch his female.
02:02 OK, Terri. I want you to come up here and I want you to rest your weight right on him.
02:11 Get right into it, babe. Get right into it.
02:14 I'm really scared.
02:15 That's OK.
02:15 Come on, babe. Drop back.
02:16 OK, I'm back.
02:19 OK.
02:20 That's incredible.
02:33 I've been put on this planet to protect wildlife and wilderness areas,
02:40 which in essence is going to help humanity.
02:42 I want to have the purest oceans.
02:43 I want to be able to drink water straight out of that creek.
02:46 I want to stop the ozone layer.
02:48 I want to save the world.
02:49 And you know money? Money's great.
02:51 I can't get enough money.
02:52 And you know what I'm going to do with it?
02:54 I'm going to buy wilderness areas with it.
02:56 Every single cent I get goes straight into conservation.
02:59 The time has come where if we don't get animals into people's hearts,
03:04 they're going to go extinct.
03:06 Eastern Australia has been placed alongside the most infamous places
03:11 in the world for forest destruction.
03:13 Australia has lost more mammal species than any other continent.
03:16 We're running out of time right now, Larry, right now as we stand here.
03:20 Our animals are dying.
03:22 Their habitat's being destroyed.
03:23 Steve was always in a hurry.
03:25 I want to get as much done as I can while I'm here.
03:29 I just can't do enough.
03:30 It drives me crazy that I've got to go to sleep.
03:33 What made Steve a wildlife warrior and what makes him so different to everyone
03:37 was he was prepared to do anything for the protection of wildlife.
03:41 He was afraid of nothing.
03:42 And the most important thing to him was to get people to embrace wildlife.
03:48 He came running in one evening after sitting by the fire for a little while,
03:56 and he said, "We've got to have children.
04:00 We've got to have children."
04:02 And so I was like, "Well, what's the urgency?"
04:04 And he said, "Who are we going to leave this all to?"
04:07 The whole reason you've been put on Earth is to do this.
04:13 It's what it seems like.
04:14 When my children can take the football that I call wildlife conservation and run it up,
04:25 when they're ready to run up our mission, I will gladly step aside.
04:31 And I guarantee you it'll be the proudest moment of my life.
04:35 And my job will be done.
04:37 Then and only then will I know that I have achieved my ultimate goal.
04:43 To be able to stand aside and let them run up my mission.
04:48 I remember Steve saying to me, "I'm getting to the point in my life
04:58 where I would like to spend more time being a dad and less time filming."
05:05 So he said, "I think after this documentary, I'm just going to slow down a bit with the filming."
05:11 Steve was standing at the runway and waving goodbye.
05:13 And it was just this incredibly, I don't know, poignant moment.
05:20 We all kind of had this strange sense of, I don't know, foreboding.
05:30 It just felt really weird.
05:31 It felt like we should be together.
05:33 And I remember Steve and I had said, "You know, as long as we're together, we'll always be okay."
05:39 I was traveling, so I couldn't get phone reception.
05:49 So no one could reach me.
05:50 And when I got to the destination for the night, they said, "You have an urgent message."
05:57 And it was my brother-in-law on the phone.
05:59 And he told me what happened.
06:01 And I remember thinking, "Don't say it.
06:06 Don't say it.
06:06 Don't say it."
06:08 He was swimming in shallows above a large stingray.
06:14 It turned quickly and lashed out with its tail.
06:16 The venomous barb pierced Erwin's chest.
06:19 I looked out the window and I thought, "Oh, my children."
06:34 He wouldn't have wanted to leave the children.
06:37 And I told her everything about it.
06:42 And she cried and cried and cried.
06:45 And I said, "We're still a family.
06:48 Daddy still loves you."
06:51 The exuberant conservationist known as the Crocodile Hunter, Steve Erwin, died today,
06:57 killed by one of the dangerous animals that he spent his life protecting.
07:01 People continue to leave floral tributes at Steve's Australia Zoo.
07:05 Steve Erwin will be remembered as a wonderful showman and a passionate conservationist.
07:09 But most of all, he was a husband and a father.
07:12 What will you miss the most?
07:15 You know what I'll miss the most?
07:18 And it's very selfish.
07:20 He was fun.
07:23 Steve was fun.
07:27 He didn't sweat the little stuff.
07:31 He saw the big picture.
07:33 And he had fun.
07:35 Well, I'm going to work really hard at having fun again.
07:41 Oh, I hope you do.
07:43 Well, I'm Mrs. Steve Erwin.
07:47 I've got a lot to live up to.
07:49 It's been less than a year since the Crocodile Hunter tragically passed away,
07:57 but his legacy is already under attack.
08:00 Steve Erwin's family is managing the conservation and research of crocodiles
08:05 at a nature reserve named in his honour.
08:07 But it's also rich in minerals, and now the miners want to move in.
08:12 Paul Messinger heads the mining company that's taking on the Erwins.
08:16 Terry was serious about conservation.
08:18 She should be encouraging us and working with us.
08:21 So this is it.
08:22 This is the bauxite that makes the aluminium.
08:25 That's the ore itself right there.
08:27 And this stuff has locked you in a fight with the mine.
08:30 This is what it's all about.
08:31 Absolutely.
08:31 China has huge demand for aluminium.
08:35 If they don't get it from us, they'll be getting it from rainforests in Borneo.
08:40 So are you saying this is the lesser of two evils?
08:43 This is not an evil.
08:44 This is a good project.
08:46 I've lost so much sleep over this and had such concern over this.
08:54 This stunning rainforest was the last place they were together as a family.
08:58 This was dad's favourite place in the entire world.
09:03 There's a whole host of species that live here.
09:05 I'm hoping to see a few of them.
09:07 More bad news for Steve Erwin's family, just days before the anniversary of his death.
09:18 Paul Messinger won the first round of this battle.
09:21 A court order giving him access to the reserve to carry out an environmental impact study.
09:26 Not only did Terry Erwin lose the court battle against Cape Illumina,
09:31 she's being forced to pay the company's legal fees as well.
09:34 What they don't tell you when you lose someone is that you're afraid.
09:40 And you expect to be sad.
09:48 But it's a bit scary too.
09:49 Tackling things on my own.
09:52 And not having my best friend.
09:56 It's hard now. I'm really trying.
10:03 I know and I appreciate it.
10:04 But I've lost my prince.
10:06 I've lost my prince.
10:10 The opposition's hard and it keeps coming.
10:13 But I ain't stopping until my kids can run it up for me.
10:16 My daddy was my hero.
10:19 He was always there for me when I needed him.
10:22 I know that daddy had an important job.
10:24 He was working to change the world so everyone would love wildlife like he did.
10:29 He built a hospital to help animals and he bought a farm.
10:33 He was a great dad.
10:35 He was a great dad.
10:36 He was a great dad. He was a great dad.
10:40 He was a great dad. He was a great dad.
10:43 I don't want daddy's passion to ever end.
10:45 I want to help endangered wildlife just like he did.
10:49 Daddy made this place his whole life.
10:52 Now it's our turn to help daddy.
10:54 If we do nothing, we're in trouble.
10:58 And he did more than anybody.
11:01 So I think we can all do something.
11:03 We will be wildlife warriors.
11:06 Like Steve Irwin.
11:08 As miners prepare to move in on Steve Irwin's land,
11:13 his young children are joining the fight.
11:15 To get to the bauxite, which is what the mining company wants,
11:19 first they'll take away all of the trees, grasses and other plants.
11:23 And then they'll take away all of the topsoil.
11:26 And then finally they can reach the bauxite.
11:30 There's nothing left.
11:33 There are frogs, crustaceans and fish that live in this water
11:37 and rainforests that are fed by this water.
11:40 So all of that would die.
11:42 We're talking about complex issues and I think it's inappropriate to use
11:46 a 10-year-old child in a public political debate of this nature.
11:49 No one made it more poignant that one person could make a difference than Steve.
11:55 If you've gotten a message and something important to say
11:58 and you have the opportunity to reach a greater audience,
12:02 I think it's important.
12:03 An online petition has been created hoping to get public support
12:08 to help save Steve's place.
12:10 The mining company going against the Irwins is pushing back against
12:13 their online petition claiming that it is emotional manipulation.
12:17 I know I can win. I'm very confident.
12:19 I don't want to look back on this in 20 years and say,
12:22 "What an embarrassment that we let this go."
12:25 I want this to be a global triumph.
12:28 It's cool to actually carry on where our dad left off.
12:33 To keep his memory alive and protect the Steve Irwin Wildlife Reserve
12:37 for future generations to come.
12:39 After an emotional six-year battle with millions of dollars
12:42 spent on petitions and campaigns,
12:44 the Irwin family's fight has finally come to an end.
12:48 In a shocking turn of events,
12:50 the Queensland government announced that mining will be banned
12:53 on the Steve Irwin Wildlife Reserve,
12:56 giving the reserve more protection than the Great Barrier Reef.
12:59 This incredible wilderness area is the size of the city of Chicago and New York,
13:07 combined 335,000 acres of government protected land.
13:23 I cannot tell you how much just respect and admiration I have for my mum.
13:29 She could see this legacy that he started and she said,
13:33 "You know what? I'm making sure that this is going to continue and grow
13:37 and get bigger and better every single year."
13:39 G'day and welcome to Australia Zoo.
13:42 G'day and welcome to Australia Zoo.
13:45 My mum and dad built the zoo from a tiny little reptile park to what it is today.
13:50 Isn't it incredible?
13:51 (MUSIC)
13:57 We've expanded our conservation properties.
14:01 We've got a wildlife hospital now that's treated over 76,000 animals.
14:05 I'm very proud of being part of something
14:10 that is now even bigger than when Steve was here.
14:13 And, you know, everyone saw dad as this larger than life character,
14:18 which he was in real life.
14:20 120% every single day.
14:22 But, you know, mum's the one who's kept it going.
14:24 Pretty special.
14:26 We want to make sure that everything that dad lived and died for
14:33 continues on forever.
14:34 And we work every single day with our conservation.
14:37 That's my mission.
14:38 I want to really continue his work
14:41 and make sure that his memory and his message is kept alive.
14:45 It's never really been what we do, it's just who we are.
14:48 I know he'd be very proud of his kids today
14:51 and what they are achieving in their lives.
14:54 When they're ready to run up our mission,
14:57 I will gladly step aside.
15:00 Then, and only then, will I know that I have achieved my ultimate goal.
15:07 [Music]
15:19 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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