Steve Irwin was an Australian zookeeper, conservationist and television personality known as "the Crocodile Hunter" who was born in 1962 in Melbourne, Australia. He died in 2006 after being pierced in the chest by a stingray barb while filming off the coast of Australia. Irwin attended Yale University and worked with animals and his wife at their zoo, becoming an expert in wildlife education through his popular television shows and dedication to environmental causes.