In 2004, Steve and Terri Irwin Transformed an Avocado Shed into an Animal Hospital that Has Helped Over 136,000 Animals
Steve and Terri Irwin on Sept. 9, 2002 in Sydney, Australia.Credit: Newspix/Getty
Steve and Terri Irwin found a small avocado packing shed in 2004 and turned it into Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital over four years
Since opening in 2008, the facility has treated up to 10,000 injured animals each year
The hospital was created to fulfill Lyn Irwin’s dream of opening a wildlife refuge
Steve and Terri Irwin started the Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital after they found a small avocado packing shed and decided to transform it into a wildlife conservation facility in memory of Steve’s late mother, Lyn Irwin.
The hospital began after the death of Steve’s mother, a wildlife care and rehabilitation activist, who expressed her desire to create a place for wildlife to find refuge in times of need and receive treatment. The wildlife rehabilitator died in 2000, and Steve and Terri discovered the shed in 2004.
Notably, Lyn and Robert Eric “Bob” Irwin founded the Beerwah Reptile Park in 1970. The two-acre wildlife park later became the Australia Zoo, according to its site. The park was home to lace monitors, tiger snakes, freshwater crocodiles, magpie geese and kangaroos. Lyn treated injured and orphaned animals until they recovered, then released them back into the wild.
Over the next decade, the park expanded to four acres and rebranded as Queensland Reptile and Fauna Park. Steve began working with the Queensland Government, capturing nuisance crocodiles and relocating them or housing them in the family’s park.
Steve and Terri Irwin at Australia Zoo in Queensland in 1993.Credit: Newspix/Getty
In 1991, Steve took over the park’s management and in 1992 created The Crocodile Hunter series. The popular TV show provided income for the Irwin family to continue their conservation efforts and led to the purchase of the shed in 2004.
After discovering it in Beerwah, Queensland, Australia, the Irwins worked to make it the Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital. After four years of building and planning, it opened its doors on November 15, 2008, now known as Steve Irwin Day in Australia.
Terri and Steve Irwin in Las Vegas, Nevada in 2002Credit: Denise Truscello/WireImage
In the nearly 20 years since, the hospital has advanced, providing ailing animals with access to a surgical theatre, an X-ray room, intensive care units and a pathology lab. The facility treats between 9,000 and 10,000 animals each year and has helped over 136,000 critters since opening. It has become one of the world’s largest and busiest wildlife hospitals.
No injury or ailment is turned away. “Whether it’s a kangaroo hit by a car, a koala joey that has lost its mum, or a sea turtle that has ingested plastic, the team has the tools and know-how to get them back into the wild,” the hospital’s site said. “No matter how small the patient, a life is worth all the time and effort we can give.”
Source: Nature
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