Caption: Meeting Steve at the Australia Zoo in 2002. He had just finished filming a segment from a Crocodile Hunter episode.

Submitted By: Julie, Boston, MA

Additional Comments: Steve Irwin has been my idol since I began watching his programs about 10 years ago. He had an uncanny ability to transfer his unending passion and enthusiasm for wildlife to his audience. He inspired me to volunteer at my local wildlife refuge, and as a result I have developed my own lifelong love of wildlife.

In college I spent a semester in 2002 studying abroad in Australia, and I vowed to myself that I would not return until I met the Crocodile Hunter, or at least saw him in person. After three trips to his zoo on the Sunshine Coast I finally caught him filming there, and amazingly I had the chance to actually meet him. I will forever remember that day as the day that I met the most wonderful wildlife conservationist who's ever lived. He will be missed and can never be replaced.

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