Stamp, biography mark year since Steve Irwin's death
More than a year after his death from a stingray barb, Australian TV star and environmentalist Steve Irwin still commands a high profile in his home country.
The man known as the Crocodile Hunter is commemorated on a stamp issued Monday, and Steve Irwin Day will be celebrated Nov. 15.
Steve Irwin loved all animals and had an special soft spot for reptiles. His family is carrying on his zoo and his environmental organization.
His wife Terri Irwin has written a book about him that she says will tell the world what he was like when the cameras weren't rolling.
Called My Steve in Australia, it is to come out on Steve Irwin Day, the day the state of Queensland has set aside to honour him.
It is being published in North America under the title Steve and Me.
"I felt kind of compelled to do something so that people could sit down and understand Steve better, and where he came from and what we stood for and what we tried to achieve," Terri Irwin said.
The 43-year-old mother of two is still grieving.
"I spent months on end crying, and crying and crying; remembering the hard times was hard and remembering the good times was hard," she said, adding that writing the book was extremely painful.
Irwin died Sept. 4, 2006, while filming a wildlife documentary on Australia's Great Barrier Reef.
The stamp, a reproduction from the cover of New Idea magazine, pictures Irwin with his daughter Bindi, son Bob and a snake.
Meanwhile, Bindi carries on the Irwin TV presence with the documentary series Bindi the Jungle Girl.
She also has her own clothing label, Bindi Wear, a fitness DVD called Bindi
Kidfitness and is a representative for the Australian tourism industry.
Meanwhile, the Irwins' Australia Zoo, which grew from a small family operation to a huge enterprise attracting 800,000 to 900,000 while his Crocodile Hunter TV series was on the air, has continued to prosper.
The government recently approved an expansion at the zoo from 28 hectares to 400 hectares, and staff could increase to 2,000.
In the past year, Wildlife Warriors, the environmental group the Irwins founded in Australia, has branched into the U.S.
Bindi Irwin to carry on father's legacy
Crocodile Hunter Irwin remembered at public memorial