Chapter 5
Wildlife Warrior
In 1985, Steve Irwin met a boy who would become his best mate for the rest of his life. Steve was home from the bush, helping out at the park, when Wes Mannion stopped by with his family. Wes was fourteen. He was eight years younger than Steve, but that didn’t matter to either of them. Snakes mattered. Crocs mattered. Opossum joeys mattered. Just like Steve, Wes loved animals and wanted to learn. He asked Bob if he could help out after school and on weekends.
The park was bigger now. There was plenty to do. Wes was ready for any kind of work. Cleaning, building, caring for the animals. Anything—as long as he could be around wildlife.
It wasn’t long before Wes was spending almost all his time at the park. Whenever he could, he’d stop what he was doing and join the crowd for one of Bob’s talks. Before long, Wes was a member of the family. Visitors thought he was Steve’s little brother. That was just fine with Steve.
Now it was the three of them—Bob, Steve, and “little brother” Wes—catching freshies. This time, Wes sat in the front of the dinghy, holding the flashlight, looking at head size. Then, finally, he leaped into the dark water and trapped his first croc. Sometimes Wes also went along when Steve and Bob were going to relocate salties.
In 1987, Bob decided they needed more room in the park for saltwater crocodiles that couldn’t be relocated. Every day, he heard of another saltie in danger of being killed. He would build a large area in the park to house these salties. Everybody went to work. Before long the Crocodile Environmental Park was ready.
Wes stayed behind to help with the new salties that Steve brought home. By 1988, Wes was working at the park full-time.
Steve loved going up north with Bob. But the park was growing fast, and Bob was needed at home. Steve decided to stay up in the bush. He loved camping alone beside the rivers and creeks. He loved it all. Locating a rogue saltie. Building a net trap. Wrestling a huge, angry croc into a dinghy. Hoisting it into his truck and into a crate. Moving it to a safer place. Saving its life.
It was awesome. At home, he’d try to explain his experiences, but nobody could really understand. Nobody but Bob and Wes.
Bob decided Steve needed a video camera. Steve began talking to the camera like he was telling a friend all about his life in the wild. Sometimes his little sister, Mandy, came along and became his camerawoman.
Crikey, he’d whisper as he wrapped the jaws of a thrashing saltie.
What a little beauty! he’d say, pointing the camera at a burrowing wombat.
Danger! Danger! Danger! he’d cry as an eastern brown snake happened by.
Steve started thinking about teaching, like Bob. There was so much information to share about all the Australian wildlife he saw in the bush. Dingoes and wild pigs and salties and wallabies.
Sometimes at night, when the mosquitos were bad or the rain was pounding outside his tent, he’d think it might be nice to have a friend. Someone to talk to about all the fantastic things he’d learned that day.
Maybe he could get a dog.
Steve first heard about Sui on December 25, 1988. It was Christmas Day. A new Staffordshire bull terrier had just been born. Steve decided this was the dog he wanted. He would name her Sui.
They would go up into the bush together and sleep under the stars. But first, there were a few things Sui would have to learn—like how to avoid snakes, how to stay back when Steve was busy with a hungry croc, how to avoid being eaten when chasing a wild pig, and how to keep very, very quiet.
Sui arrived at the park six weeks later. Steve started training her right away. When she was ready, Steve led her to the truck. Sui hopped in the front seat and looked up at Steve. That night, they slept in Steve’s sleeping bag together. The next evening, they searched for a rogue saltie. Sui was worried when Steve jumped into the river and crept up behind the enormous croc. But she stayed in the boat. She didn’t bark.
Soon, Sui was helping Steve confuse the crocs. When Steve was about to capture a croc, he would throw a stick. Sui was a great swimmer, and she would race for it. The croc would watch Sui swim toward the stick. That would give Steve time to blindfold the croc and secure its jaws.
Sui loved helping Steve. Every time she saw Steve with his sleeping bag, she’d hop in the front seat of the truck and bark. Soon they would be off. Together. Sui and her best pal, Steve.
Steve thought he’d stay in the bush forever—until he met a man who changed his life.
