Grief is never something you get over. You don't wake up one morning and say, 'I've conquered that; now I'm moving on.' It's something that walks beside you every day. And if you can learn how to manage it and honour the person that you miss, you can take something that is incredibly sad and have some form of positivity.
Terri Irwin
Your grief path is yours alone, and no one else can walk it, and no one else can understand it.
If you can reach out and touch and love and be with wildlife, you will forever be changed, and you will want to make the world a better place.
I've already had my happily ever after.
I have tremendous faith in God that all things happen for a reason, even if we don't understand.
Crocs are apex predators, and as with all apex predators, they are critical to the environment: if you lose the crocs, you'll lose the barramundi, you'll lose the crabs - a catfish can eat 30,000 barramundi fingerlings, and who do you think eats the catfish? Crocs.
After losing Steve, it does kind of feel like I'm free-falling.
Steve had a broad, easy smile and the biggest hands I had ever seen. I could tell by his stature and stride that he was accustomed to hard work.
Living with Steve was like standing in a cyclone. Then we lost him. It was like the wind stopped.
I couldn't hold a candle to how adventurous Steve was. He found life intoxicating, and he was just in awe of every living creature.
When we lost Steve, the grief was understandable, but I wasn't prepared for how scary everything became - that fear factor of 'Now I'm doing this on my own.'
She's born and raised with wildlife, living with a zoo. What would be strange for Bindi is if she were in an apartment in suburbia with a goldfish.
None of us are immune to grief, and everyone who has suffered loss understands that grief changes, but you never wake up one morning and you've moved on. It stays with you, and, you know, you ebb and flow.
To me, Steve was my Prince Charming. He was my happily ever after, and we got that. We got 14 years of marriage; we had the best, most fantastic, adventurous, wonderful life that you could imagine. And I was very happy with that.
When I first met Steve, as an American tourist coming into the zoo, I fell desperately in love with him and married him immediately.
Steve was every woman's fantasy: macho but not a jerk, sensitive but not a wuss.
The thing is, Steve's a great role model, and he won't sit there and tell you that.
I think that kids who grow up in an environment where they are constantly told that they're wonderful... that is going to change you.
Steve worked tirelessly to promote conservation, wildlife, and the environment, and his work enabled the plight of endangered species to reach a whole new audience.
I live in Australia Zoo. I have a very private home. We've got three bedrooms, one bathroom... The carpets are rose-coloured, which grossed Steve out, but I love it. He let me do everything the way I wanted. The house is just warm and cozy and small.
I found that Steve's passion for wildlife and willingness to lay his life on the line so exciting.
I think it's wonderful when people who have lost someone find love again, but I'm not personally looking, and I haven't been on a date in 27 years. In fact, it's been so long, I've had a couple of lovely women ask me out because they figured that's the case.
Never walk past a problem with an animal - fix it.
Steve hadn't been to acting school. He had no preconceived notions. His background was exactly what you see on television; he's done that all his life. We thought we'd do one show. What happened was, it did really well, so we did a part two. And from then on, we found that Steve's natural behavior in the wild happens to be fascinating!
Steve was such an immense person in so many ways. I never realized how much I depended on him until he was gone.
Steve was such an example as one man doing what he could to change the world.
Steve was so wonderful to bring wildlife into our living rooms and let us see that animals we used to be afraid of are so important.
When it comes to managing crocodiles, we are learning that it is actually more important to manage people. Learning how to keep people safe from crocodiles will ultimately protect visitors to croc territory as well as the crocodilians themselves.
I haven't dated anyone in the ten years since we lost Steve just because I feel a connection still with Steve.
I'm Mrs. Steve Irwin. I've got a lot to live up to.
Steve took my counsel on everything. He appreciated that I loved business and let me do that end of it. We complemented each other and had a natural, fun competitiveness.
Crocodiles are an apex predator and crucial to the ecosystem, keeping waterways and wetlands healthy. Crocodiles eradicate the weak, sick, and injured wildlife, leaving only the healthy to prosper.
It pays to be in the best shape possible when you're wrangling the largest reptiles on Earth!
I am someone who tunes into more ethical journalism, and I'm not someone who dwells a lot on the negative, so I think I'd rather focus on the positive and forge ahead.
I went into this little reptile park, and Steve was doing the crocodile show, coincidentally... I was absolutely floored. That was it. This man was a real-life hero. I fell then and there, love at first sight.
Steve had a real sixth sense about so many things. He had an odd connection with wildlife. He was extraordinarily intuitive with people. I found it all very - I don't know if 'eerie' is the word, but remarkable, certainly.
Bindi's really, you know, got her own goals and aspirations, and if I can nurture what Bindi loves, then I think I'm being a good parent. Because Bindi's got a natural love for wildlife, I think that will be part of what we're nurturing.
I don't know a single surfer who would say, 'Gee, I wish there were no sharks in the ocean.'
Bindi's been filming with us since she first hatched.
For us, conservation work isn't just what we do. It's who we are. It's really defined us that this is what we've dedicated our lives to.
Parenthood is a great equalizer. It doesn't matter how famous you are - once you become a parent, you are just like everyone else.
No matter the circumstances are that you lose someone, nobody's truly prepared. Steve's accident was so unexpected - it was extremely challenging.
I'll never leave. I love Australia, and I'm doing my best to be a fair dinkum Aussie sheila and honour all of Steve's work, and yeah, I'll be here the rest of my life.
I've grown up with an active outdoor lifestyle. Before I lived in Australia, I ran a construction company in Oregon, U.S.A. I also owned horses and would spend several weeks a year exploring Oregon's beautiful wilderness areas on horseback.
Good nutrition and regular exercise definitely help you cope with life's dramas.
The determination I have to try to continue Steve's work and make the world a better place is so important.
Just like Steve did, Bindi's got that strange communication with wildlife. It's beautiful to watch, and it instills an empathy with all of us about just how important the animal kingdom is.
I think being in a car is far more dangerous. I feel much more in control with a 16 foot croc, 3,000 pounds jaw pressure trying to have a go at me.
For me, it was two years before I fed a big croc when I came to Australia.
It's a dynamic of grief within any family, and I found, after we lost Steve, his dad just began distancing himself. And I think it's a coping mechanism. I found it very confusing.
