Terri Irwin

Terri: (about her daughter, 8 years old at the time) Bindi is a remarkable little girl. There are times when she astounds me. I understand that if you don't know Bindi, or if you have a child who has stage fright, then it might seem odd that she can walk out in front of a huge crowd and talk so well, but you have to understand, she's been in front of crowds since she was born. Her birth was filmed. She's been comfortable with cameras and filming her whole life. There is nothing abnormal about her life. The tooth fairy brings her money for her teeth when they fall out. We have Christmas like everybody else. She goes to school here at the zoo. We have a teacher, Miss Emma, who goes everywhere with us. Bindi likes Britney Spears, and she loves the pop star Pink. She's a normal kid.

Terri: I think if it had been me who had gone first, then I would want Steve to be there for the kids, and I would want him to hold his head up and continue. I wouldn't want him to fall in a heap. I am still finding out how it all works, but I do know that Steve and I have a bond that will always be there. I'll always be able to tap into that and I'll just do my best to get stronger every day. I need to for my kids. I need to for the wonderful people at this zoo, for Steve's dream, and for the wildlife he wanted to save.

Terri: (a few months after her husband died) I can be watching a toothpaste commercial and start crying. I just have to work through it. But I'll tell you, some days I expect him to walk through that door.

Terri: (receiving the 2007 TV Week Logie Hall Of Fame Award on behalf of Steve) What goes through my mind is that he should be here. There's that natural feeling of unworthiness - that it shouldn't be me up there. Steve's done all the hard work and I really miss him. But Steve's goal was to talk about humanity and the environment and our future. I think he would be very proud, honoured and also surprised.

Terri Irwin (on her daughter, Bindi Sue Irwin): Just like Steve did, Bindi's got that strange communication with wildlife, it's beautiful to watch. It instills a real empathy within all of us. That's a big part of our message.

Terri Irwin (on their first Christmas without Steve): I'll just tell Steve how much we love him and miss him and how much we wish he were here with us, but I'll also let him know that he is still very much a part of our Christmas Day and very much a part of our family. It's very important to me that Bindi and Robert have a wonderful day, that they feel very comforted, very loved and very happy on this most special of days. We know Steve won't be with us this year physically but I'm sure he'll be sharing it with us in spirit.

Terri Irwin (on taking a break from Australia Zoo and official duties before travelling to the US): We're just stepping off the world for a little while, just doing all those wonderful things together a family does. Steve would want us to be happy, he would bless our Christmas joy with all of his big, big heart.

Terri Irwin: Steve always says, "Whatever you do, keep rolling!" I tell him "They aren't going to show it if you die."

Terri Irwin (When asked how it was like feeding a croc for the first time): The first time was about two years after Steve and I were married because I had to drum up enough courage. I had the feeling that I was in front of a loaded cannon that would go off at any time and would have to dodge the cannonball once it went off. It was overwhelmingly exhilarating. They are a camouflage predator and if you are near them at the water's edge they will get you. The first time I did it, I almost wet my pants, to be honest with you.

Terri Irwin (Talking about how they handle being famous): Well, I think our life isn't quite the 'Truman Show'. We do go home and that's where we draw the line. And I think home is really nice with Steve. We love it, we embrace it. We have an evening together and we don't talk about all the problems and dramas and cry on the floor, about, you know, animals that need our help. We just concentrate on being a family.

Terri Irwin (In a 2003 interview): We were very sad three years ago to lose Steve's mother in an automobile accident, and I think, because she was so young, just in her 50s, and I think that was, and still is, the most difficult point for Steve. It's been, um, an insurmountable obstacle.

Terri Irwin (In a 2003 interview): We get a salary out of the zoo, like everybody else has a wage. But what was funny is when we first started filming 'Crocodile Hunter', and Steve and I said: "Everything 'Croc Hunter' goes into conservation" the merchandise, the videos, the shows, the sponsorship, "everything 'Crocodile Hunter' does." It was years before we made any money. Now that we're so successful with the project, it's a point of pride. There are varying degrees of success in our life, but we don't accept failure - there will be no failure.

Terri Irwin (Talking about her first meeting with Steve): My background in America was working with an organisation called Cougar Country, which I founded to work with predatory mammals. And so coming to Australia and discovering this Tarzan, if you will, of a guy, I was a little bit sceptical. So after talking to him and finding out that he absolutely lives for his conservation work, I was really attracted to those ethics. That really drew me in, and I think I fell in love with his spirit before noticing those great shorts. But I did notice the great shorts too.

Terri irwin: I cannot see how a memorial service for Steve would work in any other place other than the Crocoseum, which he built here at the zoo and of which he was so proud.