words

The truth about the last words uttered by Australia’s famed ‘Crocodile Hunter’ have now been laid bare, two decades after the Wildlife Warrior’s untimely death

A close confidant of legendary eco-warrior Steve Irwin has detailed the Aussie icon’s final moments, just as he realised death was moments away.

September 4 marks the anniversarry of Irwin’s untimely death. The passionate animal lover was known around the world for his infectious approach to conservation, capturing hearts with his zoo, TV show, and adoration for all creatures great, small, and even scaly.

It’s been two decades since Irwin’s shock death, and family and friends have paid tribute to a man considered an icon and animal-loving legend Down Under.

ICYMI: Irwin died while doing what he loved; he was out on Australia’s famed Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Cairns, filming a nature documentary about stingrays when he copped a barb to the heart from the very creature he was there to film.

Cameraman Justin had been filming the crocodile hunter at sea when disaster struck. Speaking on 60 Minutes’ Steve Irwin: A Wild Life, Justin revealed the devastating moment Steve realised he was dying, and his final moments.

Justin told the programme: “We zipped around for 10-15 minutes before we found the stingray. And then, it was like, okay, game on. I mean, we’d only filmed with stingrays a hundred times before. They were awesome to film with. So we both slipped over the side of the rubber ducky and, yeah, started filming this amazing massive — it was massive — bull ray.

“Anyway, we chatted about the final shot, which would be the opening shot, because by now, the stingray was calm. It had buried itself in the sand. I said, ‘We’ll start this thing. I’ll just be close in front of this stingray. I’ll be a couple of metres from it. You go round behind it and swim up behind it.'”

Justin went on: “He swims up, swims over the top of it. It doesn’t move. But as he’s directly over the top of it, of course, it thought he was a tiger shark and started stabbing madly towards him with its tail. The water just boiled. I couldn’t see anything that was going on. Bubbles and thrashing.

“And then, all of a sudden, it stopped. The stingray swam away, the water calmed, so I just panned with the stingray. And as I let it go out of shot, as I panned back to Steve, he came jumping up out of the water, screaming, and the water around him is now full of blood.

“And he screamed out, ‘It’s punctured my lung!’ I threw the camera into one of the rubber duckies, dragged Steve into the boat. His khaki shirt is open, and he’s just got blood pouring out of a gash like that in his chest, right over his heart. But he’s conscious, and he says to me, looks me right in the eye, and he says, ‘I’m dying’.”

Bindi was just eight years old when her father died, and she shared a video of him as he recounted “the most incredible wildlife encounter of my life” – the birth of his daughter. Bindi said: “Twenty years ago, today, the world lost the most passionate and dedicated wildlife conservationist. Our family lost our superhero. My mum lost the love of her life; my brother and I lost the greatest dad.

“Grief never truly leaves us; we walk alongside it every day. Where there is enormous grief, there is even greater love.I always thought that my dad’s legacy is wildlife conservation; it turns out, his legacy is love. For our planet and for each other.”

Bindi added that her five-year-old daughter watches her grandfather’s documentaries every morning and feels “utterly loved by her ‘grandpa crocodile’, despite never meeting him. She went on “My dad left a lasting impact so poignant that it will ripple out for generations to come. I believe with my whole heart that his love will live on forever.

“Dad, I love you with my whole heart. Thank you for being our guardian angel. And most of all, thank you for watching over my daughter now, too. She loves you so much. We all do.”

Robert also shared a snap of him and his father with the caption: “Your legacy is forever.” Terri, also remembered her final few weeks with her husband, saying “grief still walks with me like my shadow”. She said: “With the passing of time I have gained more perspective and understanding. We were together as a family, on our crocodile research expedition, for what was to be our final six weeks together.

“Ours was to be a long and sweet goodbye. Steve spent time with Bindi and Robert building swings and climbing trees. We all slowed down. Time slowed down. I believe that all of us, every one of us, gets to say goodbye.

“We just may not know that we’re saying it. Hold every moment dear with the ones you love. Until we meet again.”

At the top of Gloria Steinem’s “Famous Last Words” interview on Netflix, Brad Falchuk describes the writer and activist as “the face of the feminist movement” for the last 50-plus years — and Steinem says she hopes that isn’t true.

“I hope I wasn’t the face of the feminist movement,” Steinem says during the intimate conversation released Thursday on the streamer after her death at age 92. “Because it’s not right. … It’s a diverse movement, and, actually, on the issues, in public opinion polls, women of color are more likely to support the issues than white women.”

According to a Netflix news release, Steinem sat down with Falchuk in February 2025 for the interview she knew would not be released until after her death. In “Famous Last Words: Gloria Steinem,” the celebrated feminist reflects on her life and legacy in terms of her political activism, as well as her family and upbringing, relationships with other feminist figures and her hopes for the future.

Steinem maintained her hopes, even in a post-Roe vs. Wade world. When the landmark decision was overturned by the Supreme Court in 2022, it meant states could again outlaw abortion.

“I get angry or disappointed and so on [thinking about it], but I don’t lose all hope in the future,” Steinem said, before sharing observations about previously living near an abortion clinic.

Women are “still struggling,” she said. “There’s still religious restrictions that many people feel. There’s, I’m sorry to say, race and class restrictions.

“We have, right as we speak, Trump in the White House. So we have no shortage of things we need to do in order to be compassionate toward each other.”

One of the most recognizable feminist figures of our times, Steinem was known for her role in launching Ms. magazine as well as organizations such as the National Women’s Political Caucus and the Women’s Action Alliance. When asked by Falchuk to reflect on her “feminist awakening,” she mentions that her time in India studying Gandhi was when she “realized that patriarchy was made up. Racism was made up.”

But the interview has its lighter moments. For instance, Steinem reveals she finds joy in reality TV, including “Dance Moms.”

“It’s shows in which you see real people being who they are and disclosing their own stories,” Steinem said. “Those are more fun.”

And although she seems hesitant about contemplating her own “nonexistence,” she does share how she wants to be remembered: As “this person who tried to make the world a little more equal, compassionate, joyful, funny than it was when I showed up.”

“I just hope that I have, however accidentally, left behind some words or actions or stories or something that is useful to the people — and pleasurable, hopefully — to the people who are going to continue long after you and me,” she said.

Falchuk, also an executive producer of the “Famous Last Words” series, described Steinem in a news release as “the steady heartbeat of a revolution, but in this room, she was a woman reflecting on the simple, profound beauty of human connection.”

“She spoke about the intersection of race, gender, and peace with a wisdom that only comes from a lifetime on the front lines. Even in her final moments, she was organizing us, challenging us to keep moving forward. It is an extraordinary privilege to share her final thoughts with the world.”

After her conversation with Falchuk, Steinem was given the opportunity to share her final words alone, directly addressing the audience through the camera. Read her full message below.

“Hello, all you unique individuals out there. I’m so glad to be meeting you through the magic of the media. I wish I could meet each one of you in person. But in a way, this is what allows us now to see each other’s lives, to influence each other’s lives, to respect each other, and to, therefore, perpetuate what we hope is a global democracy.

“Please feel free to respond in any way you can. And please tell your own story. This is the most important thing we can do for each other — to know each other through stories. And I hope so much that whoever you are, listening right now, you are able to do what you love [and] to be … the unique person you are.”