Steve Irwin

The only animals I'm not comfortable with are parrots, but I'm learning as I go. I'm getting better and better at 'em. I really am.

I've probably saved thousands of peoples' lives with my educational message on snake bites, how to get in around venomous anything.

My field is with apex predators, hence your crocodiles, your snakes, your spiders.

We've evolved from sitting back on our tripods and shooting wildlife films like they have been shot historically, which doesn't work for us.

So now what happens is the cameras follow me around and capture exactly what I've been doing since I was a boy. Only now we have a team of, you know, like 73 of us, and it's gone beyond that.

My dad taught me from my youngest childhood memories through these connections with Aboriginal and tribal people that you must always protect people's sacred status, regardless of the past.

No matter where you go and what you do in America, you turn the tele on and you're confronted with violence.

Because when they strike it can be that quick that if they're within range, you're dead, you're dead in your tracks. And his head weighs more than my body so it's WHACK!

Yeah, for some reason parrots have to bite me. That's their job. I don't know why that is. They've nearly torn my nose off. I've had some really bad parrot bites.

I believe our biggest issue is the same biggest issue that the whole world is facing, and that's habitat destruction.

I sincerely believe that there's room for cutting down trees for forestry and grazing, so as we all get to eat. Everyone has to compromise.

So, my tactic with conservation of apex predators is to get people excited and take them to where they live.

Herein lies our problem. If we level that much land to grow rice and whatever, then no other animal could live there except for some insect pest species. Which is very unfortunate.

You know, I'm Australian, and we have got the worst sense of humor. We are cruel to each other.

I am optimistic globally. So many scientists are working frantically on the reparation of our planet.

Take the crocodile, for example, my favorite animal. There are 23 species. Seventeen of those species are rare or endangered. They're on the way out, no matter what anyone does or says, you know.

Every cent we earn from Crocodile Hunter goes straight back into conservation. Every single cent.

The first crocodile I ever caught was at nine years of age, and it was a rescue.

There's a lot of research behind the scenes that you don't get to see, but I have an instinct that my dad nurtured from when I was born. I was very lucky then.

You know, you can touch a stick of dynamite, but if you touch a venomous snake it'll turn around and bite you and kill you so fast it's not even funny.