This is their home, their habitat, and I am only a visitor. – Steve Irwin (The Crocodile Hunter: Sidewinders of Arizona).
Steve was always driven to protect the animals, wanting only the best for them, and for everybody to know more about the wonderful creatures that populate the Earth. He respected the habitat the animals lived in and respected the animals even more.
Emulating Steve’s believe, the Australian Zoo does not just protect local animals, but also extent their help globally. From the skies to the seas, the Australian Zoo has partnered up with multiple initiative to help protect the endangered animals. Profits from documentaries featuring any of the Irwin family is always split between the zoo and these various efforts. Additionally, the Australian Zoo also splits its donations and profits between its operation cost and donation to the other initiatives. Supporters of the family can also make donations on their websites. See here for more information.
Furthermore, since Steve was known as The Crocodile Hunter, and his love for the 1,000 pound reptile was what put him under the spotlight, it is also not hard to see why the zoo also spearheads it’s own Crocodile Conservation efforts. Under this initiative, experts and volunteers study in-depth the behaviour, physiology, movement, and diet through the tagging and tracking of the reptile. It is the goal of the programme to manage the co-existent between humans and crocodiles, and possibly adapt the crocodiles’ distinct homing and underwater abilities to modern studies. See here for more information.
Lastly, Steve’s main goal for all the documentaries he had filmed was to bridge the gap between human’s fear towards reptiles and their desire to interact with the creatures with knowledge about the reptile’s behaviour. Believing that experience is the best teacher, Steve has used that approach to teach Bindi and Robert how to respect the animals, and this pedagogy has also been adopted by the Australian Zoo. They have programmes geared towards increasing children’s interaction with wildlife within a safe environment. The public can also sign up to be a zoo keeper for a day, getting a behind-the-scene access to conservation efforts conducted by the zoo. See here for more information.