Late "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin, killed in a stingray attack last year, will be honored with a new wildlife reserve in Outback Australia, the government announced yesterday.
A 135,000-hectare chunk of land near Weipa in the far north of Irwin's home state of Queensland will be named after the popular television host and managed by his family, Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull said.
The area to be named the Steve Irwin Wildlife Reserve includes habitats for the endangered northern quoll, a carnivorous marsupial, and the speartooth shark as well as an important gallery of dry vine forests.
Irwin, who spent part of the millions he earned from his television show on animal conservation projects, was killed when a poisonous stingray barb pierced his chest as he swam on the Great Barrier Reef last September.
His family have vowed to continue his conservation work, and 8-year-old daughter Bindi has launched a TV career.
"Steve was in awe of the prolific wildlife of the Wenlock and Ducie rivers bordering the reserve and he would have been proud to see the property protected as a wildlife reserve," Irwin's US-born wife, Terri, said.
Prime Minister John Howard said the new park was an important addition to Australia's national reserve system, "and is a fitting tribute to a passionate environmentalist and a great Australian."
Source: China Daily/agencies
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