IRWINS BOMBSHELL IS AUSTRALIA ZOO FOR SALE?!

Rumours of an offer from Disney are circulating

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When Steve Irwin tragically died on September 4, 2006, Terri Irwin was left with two devastated children, as well as hundreds of staff and animals to consider.

“Everything was reinvested into conservation work. I was in debt... and Steve's life insurance, I think, was the sum total of $200,000, which didn't even cover half of one week's payroll,” she told the Australian Financial Review in 2024.

BUILDING THEIR FUTURE

But Terri, 61, did have two elements on her side. Steve had an “ironclad will”, which stopped any distant relatives from trying to sweep in to “try to take everything” and the pair had worked out a 10-year business plan, which gave the newly widowed Terri a framework on which to work from.

Now, after years of hard slog building the family brand through clever business and TV deals, Terri says she's “debt-free” and Australia Zoo's turnover is estimated to be at least $38 million - an appealing prospect for any potential buyer.

“Robert's impeccable timing to appear on the American Dancing With The Stars is a stroke of genius - whoever his minders are these days, this has to be one of the most significant moves the Irwins have made in years,” a source tells Woman's Day.