Google marks Australian 'Crocodile Hunter' Steve Irwin's birth anniversary with doodle

Google on Friday marked the birth anniversary of 'Crocodile Hunter' Steve Irwin with a doodle. The animated picture album created by the tech giant shows various aspects of the Australian wildlife conservationist's life, from holding a crocodile to hanging out with his wife Terri and kids Bindi and Robert.

Irwin was born on February 22, 1962 in Upper Fern Tree Gully, Victoria, Australia, but his family soon moved to Beerwah on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, and opened a wildlife park called the Beerwah Reptile Park - now known as the Australia Zoo. Years spent monitoring, studying and relocating crocodiles living too close to populated areas, lead to his love and respect for the predators.

Irwin's efforts to protect the wildlife went on to be recognised as the most extensive of any conservationist. In 2001, he was awarded the Centenary Medal for his services to global conservation. He was also nominated for the Australian of the Year in 2004.

In 1991, Irwin met Terri Raines while she was visiting Australia. It was love at first sight for the couple who went on to tie the knot the next year at her my grandmother’s church in Eugene, Oregon. Instead of a honeymoon, the couple, with their shared love for wildlife, went to save a crocodile in North Queensland, and took a film crew along. This gave birth to the popular show 'The Crocodile Hunter', that aired from 1996 to 2004, wrapping up two years before Irwin’s death.

A tragic accident in 2006, when a stingray barb went through his chest at the Great Barrier Reef - where he was filming a documentary, cost Steve his life. Such was the love that the Australian conservationist and TV personality received that 'The Guardian' compared his sudden demise to the passing of Princess Diana, with thousands around the world mourning the loss.

As a tribute to Irwin, a khaki-coloured treesnail was named Crikey in the conservationist's memory. Irwin was posthumously honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame, last year.

In a blogpost on Google, Terri said that she along with their two children continue the wildlife conservation work that Steve began, with the Australia Zoo growing with more than 1,200 animals. The family even runs a Wildlife Hospital that has treated over 82,000 sick, injured, and orphaned wildlife, solely to return them back to the wild.