Terri Irwin funds whale research

Wife of "Crocodile Hunter" funding, accompanying OSU on humpback whale expeditions

By: Tracy Hoagland

Posted: 7/2/08

Last Wednesday Terri Irwin, widow of "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin, signed a Memo of Understanding at the CH2M Hill Alumni Center with the Marine Mammal Institute at OSU.
The agreement will allow Bruce Mate, director of the Marine Mammal Institute, to lead two humpback whale research projects to American Samoa and the Aleutian Islands.
"This is a new step in the global effort to protect endangered whales," said OSU president Ed Ray
The Irwin family, through the Australia Zoo's Wildlife Warriors USA organization, will be funding the two expeditions, the estimated value being around $500,000.
Before his death, Steve Irwin chartered a boat to study whales in Antarctica and research marine life with his family.
"Steve always had a passion for protecting whales," said Irwin. "He built the boat to take on those hurting whales in Antarctica. But of course, he never got the chance to use it."
After Steve's death, Irwin decided to continue with her husband's dream for the boat and found Mate because of their mutual interest in conservation.
"Living in Australia and meeting someone with the last name Mate, you know - g'day mate - I knew it was destiny," Irwin said.
The funds for the research will create the Steve Irwin Whale Research fund.
"The Steve Irwin Whale Research Fund is a legacy of Steve's love of whales - and stands as a reminder that one man can make a difference," Irwin said. "I want it to be known all over the world that these projects prove that it is possible to gather biological research about whales without harming them."
In September, the OSU research team will collaborate with staff from the Australia Zoo on a project to tag up to 25 humpback whales near the Aleutian Island chain.
The goal of the project is to tag the humpbacks and determine how much they intermingle in the feeding area, and to track the timing, route and rate of speed of their migration back to their breeding grounds.
Terri Irwin and her two children, Bindi and Bob, will accompany the expedition to film for Planet Green and "Bindi the Jungle Girl."
"I love whales, they are the most amazing creatures on planet Earth," Bindi Irwin said. "Their families are so close and they are so sweet to their children, kind of like our family."
In October the team will travel to the Southern Hemisphere to tag humpback whales in American Samoa, giving even more valuable information on the whales' migration patterns.
"Thanks to Terri's generosity and enthusiastic interest in protecting threatened wildlife around the world, we'll be able to significantly expand the research capacities of the OSU Marine Mammal Institute," said Mate.
Irwin is originally from Eugene, Oregon and said she thought it was funny she was working so closely with OSU.
"I was a duck from Eugene but Steve always said I had more affinity with the beaver. It is because of Bruce Mate that I decided on OSU. Bruce is to whales what Steve was to crocodiles."