Today marks 19 years since The Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin died.

It was September 4 2006 when the Australian wildlife conservationist, zookeeper and beloved TV personality died. He was just 44 years old, leaving behind his wife Terri of 14 years and their children, Bindi and Robert, who were just aged eight and two at the time.

Irwin rose to international fame in the late 1990s for his TV series The Crocodile Hunter, wildlife documentary series that he co-hosted with his wife. The show was broadcast around the world and made him a household name, and also earned him his nickname.

Grief was therefore felt worldwide when the news broke almost two decades ago that he had not only died, but had been killed doing what he loved – working with animals. Since his untimely death, the Irwin family have continued with Steve’s mission to protect all wildlife. They have expanded the Australia Zoo, which was founded by Irwin’s parents and managed by him, through conservation projects, animal research and educational programs and saved thousands of animals.

But, what happened to Steve, and who are his children Bindi and Robert? Keep reading on to find out all you need to know.

Steve Irwin poses with his family at Australia Zoo in 2006 | Getty Images

What happened to Steve Irwin?

Steve died after an unprovoked attack by a stingray while filming in the Batt Reef off the coast of Australia in Queensland. He was taking part in the production of the documentary series called Ocean’s Deadliest. The stinger penetrated his thoracic wall, causing massive trauma, and the fatal incident was caught on camera.

While snorkeling in shallow waters alongside thr stingray, the typically calm sea creature suddenly attacked and “started stabbing wildly with its tail,” Irwin’s cameraman Justin Lyons later explained. He added that the stingray “propped on its front” and made “hundreds of strikes in a few seconds.”

“It probably thought that Steve’s shadow was a tiger shark, which feeds on them very regularly. I panned with the camera as the stingray swam away, I didn’t even know it had caused any damage. It wasn’t until I panned the camera back, that Steve was standing in a huge pool of blood, that I realized something had gone wrong,” he said on Australian morning show Studio 10 back in 2014.

Lyons added the “jagged, sharp barb” created a two-inch-wide injury over Irwin’s chest, having punctured his heart and lungs. Following the attack, the cameraman and crew helped pull Irwin from the water and back into their inflatable boat. Once there, they began performing CPR on him. The group performed continuous CPR between them for over an hour until they were able to meet medical personnel on Low Isles, one of the closest land masses to the reef. Sadly, Steve could not be saved and he was pronounced dead on the scene.

“We worked hard for several hours to try and resuscitate him, but the wound was too grievous into his heart from the stingray barb,” Ocena’s Deadliest co-host Philippe Cousteau Jr told WUFT in April 2017. “Steve was a great guy, and he died doing what he loved.”

A private funeral service for Steve took place days later, on September 9 2006. Irwin was then buried in a private ceremony at Australia Zoo later that same day. A public memorial service was held in Australia Zoo’s 5,500-seat Crocoseum on September 30 2006. The service was broadcast live and it is estimated to have been seen by over 300 million viewers.

Steve Irwin’s son Robert Irwin will be on Dancing with The Stars this year. Photo: bondsaus/Instagram | Photo: bondsaus/Instagram

Who is Steve Irwin’s daughter Bindi?

Bindi, who is now aged 27, has followed in his famous dad’s footsteps and is a television personality, conservationist, zookeeper and actress. Away from her work with animals, she’s well-known for winning season 21 of Dancing with the Stars in 2015.

In June 2008, at the age of nine, she became the youngest performer ever to win a Daytime Emmy Award when she won the award for Outstanding Performer in a Children’s Series. Then, on October 2014, she was awarded Young Conservationist of the Year by the Australian Geographic Society.

She has been married to Chandler Powell, an American professional wakeboarder from Florida, since March 2020. On their one year wedding anniversary, on March 25 2021 she gave birth to their daughter Grace Warrior Irwin Powell.

Who is Steve Irwin’s son Robert?

Robert, now aged 21, is also a conservationist, television presenter, zookeeper, wildlife photographer and actor. He currently co-hosts Australia’s version of I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here, and has previously hosted the Discovery Kids Channel television series Wild But True, as well as co-creating a book series called Robert Irwin: Dinosaur Hunter.

In April this year it was announced that he would follow in his elder sisters footsteps and will be competitor on the upcoming season 34 of the American reality television series Dancing with the Stars.