Family of Late ‘Crocodile Hunter’ Makes Major Announcement

The Irwin family is returning to the Animal Planet 11 years after “The Crocodile Hunter” and family patriarch Steve Irwin passed away.

The network revealed on Wednesday that Steve’s widow, Terri, and his children Bindi and Robert will be returning next year. Since his passing, the family has carried on Steve’s conservation work in Australia by running a zoo, a wildlife preserve and supporting various other organizations that save endangered animals.

“It seemed like a really good time, since we do so many things together as a family,” Terri Irwin said in an interview from Australia, according to Yahoo.

At this time, it remains unclear what the Irwin family’s involvement with Animal Planet will look like. The family and network are discussing multiple ideas for TV and digital products according to Animal Planet’s general manager, Patrice Andrews.

“Steve was very much the face of our channel,” Andrews said. “People even today in focus groups bring up the impact of The Crocodile Hunter.”

The Crocodile Hunter aired on Animal Planet from 1996 to 2007. Steve died at age 44 in September 2006 while filming an underwater scene for the series after a stingray’s stinging barbs pierced his heart.

Terri spoke out about how she and her kids have worked to honor Steve by finding “positivity” out of a tragic situation.

“Grief is never something you get over,” she said. “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 honor the person that you miss, you can take something that is incredibly sad and have some form of positivity. That’s kind of what we decided to do with Steve.”

When Steve died, Bindi was 8 and Robert was 3. Both grew up committed to the family business, and like their father, were featured on TV.

Bindi, now 19, participated on ABC’s Dancing With the Stars in 2015 and won the competition. As for Robert, now 14, he has made several appearances on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon to share his love for animals.