Australia’s legendary crocodile hunter Steve Irwin died in 2006 by a stingray that pierced his chest with its tail. One of his biggest wishes was to open an elephant hospital in Indonesia. Now, his family has announced that they made that dream come true.
Terri Irwin, Steve’s wife, confirmed that the zoo in Sumatra, Indonesia, has just officially finished the work on an elephant hospital. Since Steve’s tragic death, his family has continued his legacy, working at the Australia Zoo, caring for all types of wildlife around the world, and spreading his conservationist message.
Terri announced:
We just finished one of his greatest goals, which was to open an elephant hospital in Indonesia. In Sumatra, when elephants step on a landmine, or they get caught in a snare, there was no hospital to treat them, and we now have just opened an elephant hospital, so it’s pretty special.
The Australia Zoo in Queensland was helpful in the construction of the elephant hospital in Sumatra, including accommodation for staff to assist the program there. Their main goal is to help the critically endangered Sumatran elephants.
In 2012, the species was changed from an endangered animal to critically endangered. Estimations show that there are as little as 2400-2800 Sumatran elephants left. According to the World Wildlife Fund, the Sumatran’s population has declined by up to 80% in the past 25 years, mainly due to poaching, deforestation, and human retaliation.
Luke Reavley, an employee at the Australia Zoo, said:
Steve dreamed of opening an elephant hospital after witnessing first-hand the issues they were facing in the wild.
Terri and their two children, Bindi and Robert Irwin work hard on continuing Steve’s legacy through their animal conservation efforts, some of which can be viewed on Animal Planet. The Irwin family has a TV series called “Crikey! It’s the Irwins.”
Steve’s daughter, Bindi Irwin, said:
We have projects all over the planet about that he was so passionate about that we’ve continued. Helping rhinos and cheetahs in Africa, tigers in Sumatra — it’s so important for us to continue Dad’s legacy and what he loved the most, which was wildlife conservation.
In July 2019, Bindi announced her engagement to Chandler Powell, an American pro wakeboarder. The couple plan to have their wedding at the Australia Zoo and will broadcast it on their reality show.
