The Crocodile Hunter's wife & kids and me

 "Crikey!" —Steve Irwin, aka the Crocodile Hunter

Australian zookeeper, conservationist, television personality, wildlife educator, and environmentalist Steve Irwin obviously did a lot more than just "hunt" crocodiles, but that was what he was most famous for. I personally watched several TV shows, and at least one movie, that featured Irwin's exploits with crocodiles and other animals, and I have to admit, he was incredibly engaging and entertaining. I wish I could say that I had met him in person, but I never did. And it's only because of an agonizingly unfortunate accident that I ever had the pleasure of meeting his lovely family.

In 2006, while Irwin was filming a documentary in Australia's Great Barrier Reef, a stingray flipped its barbed tail at his chest, piercing all the way through his ribcage to his heart.

Steve Irwin was 44 when he passed, leaving behind his wife Terri, eight-year-old daughter Bindi, and two-year-old son Robert.

Steve Irwin

It was just over two years later that I had an opportunity to meet Irwin's widow and kids. They had scheduled a press conference at my workplace, Oregon State University (OSU), to announce a Memorandum of Understanding to donate $1 million to OSU's Marine Mammal Institute (MMI) for humpback whale research.

What did Terri Irwin care about OSU or the MMI, which were about as far away as one can get from Australia and the Australia Zoo? And why humpback whales, which are a far cry from crocodiles?

As I soon learned, Terri Irwin was not a native of Australia but rather of Eugene, Oregon—which was also my home state. Piling one coincidence on top of another, Ms. Irwin and I had a mutual friend: world-renowned whale researcher and MMI Director Bruce Mate. I believe Ms. Irwin mentioned in the preface to her prepared remarks that Bruce was a family friend; I knew him primarily through my job as managing editor for Oregon Sea Grant, where I had edited and laid out his brochure about gray whales, but also through several freelance editing/design projects I had done for him, including an educational curriculum called The Great Whales.

Mate also happened to be a PR aficionado, and he wanted as many people as possible to show up for the event. So he had emailed me a plus-one invitation, and my wife Jules and I both attended the press conference.

We arrived early enough to grab front-row seats, and before long the room was completely filled with OSU officials and members of the local press. I had an aisle seat, and Jules was seated to my right. We were both within a few feet of the Irwin kids, Bindi and Robert, who were seated directly in front of us, facing the audience. Bindi looked alert and engaged; Robert, on the other hand, looked like the proverbial deer in the headlights. But he was only five then, and he likely didn't remember his dad very well, let alone understand what all this hoopla was about.

Shortly, Bruce came down the aisle from behind us, accompanied by Terri Irwin, walking toward the lectern. As I turned to look at them, Ms. Irwin spontaneously touched my shoulder and gazed directly into my eyes, as if she recognized me as an old friend or something. And in that time-stalling moment, I might've believed we were old friends. She exuded an uncommon, almost unnerving warmth, and I wasn't sure what to make of it.

Bindi, Robert, and Terri Irwin

While I was ruminating about what had just transpired between this rather attractive stranger and myself, Jules had been busy making friends with Bindi and Robert, who were seated literally close enough for us to touch—or to secure an autograph, as Jules did with Bindi. Why an autograph? It turns out that 10-year-old Bindi Irwin was the host of her own Discovery Kids documentary series, Bindi the Jungle Girl. Which I suppose makes perfect sense, since she was not only Steve Irwin's offspring but also one of the brightest, most precocious, most gregarious young ladies I had ever met. Robert, on the other hand, was Bindi's polar opposite: quiet, shy, reserved, almost wordless. But both kids were absolutely charming in their own way, and for us, at least, they were the highlight of the press conference.

It occurs to me now that perhaps Ms. Irwin, the kids' mom, was actually checking me out, trying to determine if I was OK since I was so close to her kids. It's as if she was trying to say to me, via her touch and direct eye contact, "I see that you're sitting very close to the two beings in this world who are most precious to me, most dear to my heart, especially now that their dad is gone. Hurt them, and you die." So, yeah…mama bear.

Here's some of what Mama Bear Irwin had to say during her speech:

"I am so proud to be developing a partnership with OSU for important research to conserve whales. Steve was very passionate about whales. They are extraordinary creatures, and it is so important that we do everything we can to save them. Learning about whales is part of a bigger picture. Our oceans are in jeopardy and the more research we gather about whales, the more knowledge we have to help us save, protect and preserve our delicate oceans.

"The Steve Irwin Whale Research Fund is a legacy of Steve's love of whales—and stands as a reminder that one man CAN make a difference. I want it to be known all over the world that these projects prove that it is possible to gather biological research about whales without harming them. It is unacceptable that whale research is still an excuse used to cull whales."

And here's some of what Bruce Mate had to say:

"Television viewers may not be aware that Terri's involvement in conservation efforts goes far beyond Australia, literally spanning the world. She's helping with conservation projects spanning from saving elephants in Southeast Asia and humpback whales in the Pacific Ocean to koalas and Tasmanian devils throughout Australia. 

"This is a little-studied population of humpback whales. Some of the groups of whales in this region are small and not recovering as well as populations in other areas, so it is important to better understand their movements."

According to OSU's press release on the jointly signed Memorandum of Understanding, "The goal of the project is to tag the humpbacks and determine how much they intermingle in the feeding area, and track the timing, route and rate of speed for their migrations back to their respective breeding areas. This study is the first of several planned tagging projects to link the reproductive areas of humpbacks to their feeding areas."

Want to know more about OSU's Marine Mammal Institute and its research? Visit https://mmi.oregonstate.edu/

Oh, and...Crikey!