By KYLE ODEGARD
Gazette-Times reporter | Posted: Friday, January 4, 2008 12:00 am
'Crocodile Hunter' Steve Irwin's widow, Terri, funds endangered whale study
Terri Irwin, the widow of "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin, is giving Oregon State University more than $1 million to tag, track and research endangered whales through new studies scheduled to begin this year.
"We're still in the midst of negotiating the specific species and locations," said Bruce Mate, director of OSU's Marine Mammal Institute and an internationally recognized expert in whale migration and behavior.
"This is a huge gift directed specifically at active research," said Scott Baker, associate director of the institute. "I think it's an indication of the growing reputation of the institute."
The research will span several oceans in both the northern and southern hemisphere, and should continue into 2009, Mate said. Researchers will identify the migratory routes, range and critical habitat of humpback whales and blue whales, which will be the primary species studied.
The grant is the fruit of months of contact with Terri Irwin, who was raised in Eugene and whose family operated a cougar rescue. Her husband, the late Steve Irwin, is one of the founders of the Australia Zoo. A self-proclaimed "wildlife warrior," he became an international celebrity through his syndicated program "The Crocodile Hunter," which aired on Animal Planet to the time of his death in September 2006.
Steve Irwin was diving off the coast of Australia during filming when he accidentally startled a giant sting ray, which raised its spike, piercing Irwin's chest.
Months before his death, Irwin had chartered a vessel as part of preparation for filming a special in the Antarctic. Terri Irwin gave the use of that charter to OSU.
"It was (worth) probably $80,000 or more … We got to go tag humpback whales off the Antarctic Peninsula in February. We named a whale after Steve," Mate said. The "Steve" humpback ended up traveling farther than any other humpback whale tracked.
"That was really neat because of Steve's reputation as a gung-ho outdoors person, with a lot of energy," Mate said.
And when Terri Irwin was presented with an "adopt-a-whale" certificate given to donors, Mate learned that the date the whale was tagged was Steve Irwin's birthday. "That was pretty eerie," Mate said.
Terri Irwin first announced the OSU research plans to Australian journalists last week, timed to coincide with Japan's controversial whale hunt, ostensibly to gather scientific data.
The Japanese had planned to kill up to 50 endangered humpback whales this year, but backed off amid an international outcry. They still plan to kill nearly 950 minke whales and 50 fin whales. Meat from the hunt is sold to markets and restaurants, which funds the research, Mate said.
"A lot of people feel that's a pretty strong conflict of interest. It's not just science. It's got the consumptive values rolled into it, and the science is part of the justification," he said.
The OSU research work funded by the Irwins is likely to focus on humpback whales in the southern hemisphere, but may also collect data on humpback whales that migrate through Oregon waters. The study won't occur off the coast of Oregon because more pressing problems are happening elsewhere, Mate said.
For example, OSU is looking into how wave energy buoys will impact gray whales off the state's shore.
The Marine Mammal Institute receives about half of its funding from private donations.
The institute is allocated for $12 million in the Campaign for OSU, and half of that is designated to create a new building at the Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport. The university likely will ask the Legislature for another $6 million for construction, Mate said. The number of faculty and students educated also will increase with campaign funding.
"It's exciting. I've been at OSU since 1973. I'm eligible to retire. But this is an exciting period of growth for us," Mate said.
Kyle Odegard covers Oregon State University. He can be contacted at kyle.odegard@lee.net or 758-9523.