Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
I think being in a car is far more dangerous. I feel much more in control with a 16 foot croc, 3,000 pounds jaw pressure trying to have a go at me.
When we lost Steve, it was a real crossroads of deciding if you're just going to curl up in the corner or try to do something even bigger and better.
I still feel immense love and loyalty to Steve. And I've got great kids, I've got a very full life, and while I'm lonely for Steve, I'm not a lonely person.
When we lost Steve, the grief was understandable, but I wasn't prepared for how scary everything became - that fear factor of 'Now I'm doing this on my own.'
Steve worked tirelessly to promote conservation, wildlife, and the environment, and his work enabled the plight of endangered species to reach a whole new audience.
I am someone who tunes into more ethical journalism, and I'm not someone who dwells a lot on the negative, so I think I'd rather focus on the positive and forge ahead.
I'll never leave. I love Australia, and I'm doing my best to be a fair dinkum Aussie sheila and honour all of Steve's work, and yeah, I'll be here the rest of my life.
Steve took my counsel on everything. He appreciated that I loved business and let me do that end of it. We complemented each other and had a natural, fun competitiveness.
I always am astounded at how willing Steve was to share all about himself. And sometimes he got criticized for it. But he was so open and yet so private about some things.
I have great faith that there's a master plan and that even if we don't understand it and even if it's heartbreaking, there's a reason for everything. And I hold on to that.
It's a dynamic of grief within any family, and I found, after we lost Steve, his dad just began distancing himself. And I think it's a coping mechanism. I found it very confusing.
Australia and New Zealand have traditionally shared very close links, yet there are things that set us apart and make us unique - Australia's wildlife experience being one of them.
When I was a kid, they'd say, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" kids would go Wonder Woman, an astronaut. Do you know what I always said? World domination - so we're on our way.
Just like Steve did, Bindi's got that strange communication with wildlife. It's beautiful to watch, and it instills an empathy with all of us about just how important the animal kingdom is.
When you take those vows and say, 'We'll be together as long as we both shall live,' I really don't think I would've married if I hadn't met Steve. And he's very special to me and continues to be.
Crocodiles are an apex predator and crucial to the ecosystem, keeping waterways and wetlands healthy. Crocodiles eradicate the weak, sick, and injured wildlife, leaving only the healthy to prosper.
None of us are immune to grief, and everyone who has suffered loss understands that grief changes, but you never wake up one morning and you've moved on. It stays with you, and, you know, you ebb and flow.
I've always told Bindi, 'If anything ever happened to me, I will always watch over you from Heaven.' But she always understood because, living at a zoo, animals die; she's seen death. She knows what death is.
I went into this little reptile park, and Steve was doing the crocodile show, coincidentally... I was absolutely floored. That was it. This man was a real-life hero. I fell then and there, love at first sight.
Steve said to me how excited he was when Bindi was born. He said, 'Do you think we could have a boy?' And then Robert was born, and they're perfect. They're easy kids. They're wonderful to me; they're such a help.
I found that Steve's passion for wildlife and willingness to lay his life on the line so exciting. What you have in our academic arena is a lot of people who are brilliant at what they do-and boring as the day is long.
Steve had a real sixth sense about so many things. He had an odd connection with wildlife. He was extraordinarily intuitive with people. I found it all very - I don't know if 'eerie' is the word, but remarkable, certainly.
When Bindi and Robert have grown, there will probably be another life for me, and I can't anticipate exactly what that will be, but it will involve continuing Steve's work, conservation, being there for my kids, Australia Zoo.
To me, Steve was my Prince Charming. He was my happily ever after, and we got that. We got 14 years of marriage; we had the best, most fantastic, adventurous, wonderful life that you could imagine. And I was very happy with that.
Bindi's really, you know, got her own goals and aspirations, and if I can nurture what Bindi loves, then I think I'm being a good parent. Because Bindi's got a natural love for wildlife, I think that will be part of what we're nurturing.
It does seem like, in the world today, we've moved further and further away from wildlife. There's that sense of whatever you're scared of, you just want it to go away. Here in Australia Zoo, part of our ongoing plan is that re-connection.
I've grown up with an active outdoor lifestyle. Before I lived in Australia, I ran a construction company in Oregon, U.S.A. I also owned horses and would spend several weeks a year exploring Oregon's beautiful wilderness areas on horseback.
When it comes to managing crocodiles, we are learning that it is actually more important to manage people. Learning how to keep people safe from crocodiles will ultimately protect visitors to croc territory as well as the crocodilians themselves.
I live in Australia Zoo. I have a very private home. We've got three bedrooms, one bathroom... The carpets are rose-coloured, which grossed Steve out, but I love it. He let me do everything the way I wanted. The house is just warm and cozy and small.
I think it's wonderful when people who have lost someone find love again, but I'm not personally looking, and I haven't been on a date in 27 years. In fact, it's been so long, I've had a couple of lovely women ask me out because they figured that's the case.
Crocs are apex predators, and as with all apex predators, they are critical to the environment: if you lose the crocs, you'll lose the barramundi, you'll lose the crabs - a catfish can eat 30,000 barramundi fingerlings, and who do you think eats the catfish? Crocs.
Say my husband had a dangerous job and I wasn't with him, I don't know how you go, 'Oh honey, how was it with the police department today? You got all your fingers and toes today?' It would scare me. I'd have to become a police officer and work with him; I couldn't do it.
I have seen Tasmanian devils battle over a carcass. I have seen lionesses crowding a kill, dingoes on the trail of a feral piglet, and adult croc thrashing its prey to pieces. But never, in all the animal world, have I witnessed anything to match the casual cruelty of the human being.
Grief is never something you get over. You don't wake up one morning and say, 'I've conquered that; now I'm moving on.' It's something that walks beside you every day. And if you can learn how to manage it and honour the person that you miss, you can take something that is incredibly sad and have some form of positivity.
Steve hadn't been to acting school. He had no preconceived notions. His background was exactly what you see on television; he's done that all his life. We thought we'd do one show. What happened was, it did really well, so we did a part two. And from then on, we found that Steve's natural behavior in the wild happens to be fascinating!