The lifelike waxwork took four months dedication to complete and even involved inserting individual strands of hair.
Irwin’s best friend Wes Mannion, who came to Sydney from Australia Zoo in Queensland for the big reveal, said, “It took them over a month just to do his hair, he’d get a kick out of that. Steve was a real larrikin.”
Mannion and the crocodile hunter’s wife, Terri, made the decision to keep Steve’s image at the forefront of what they do at his family’s Australia Zoo, since his death.
“That meant really dealing with his image and getting him out there and we all made a pact before we lost Steve that the zoo would get better and always push the conservation message,” Mannion said.
“When I see his image its positive … I find it really quite empowering.”
