Oregon Public Broadcasting

Whales, beavers and crocodiles converged in Corvallis Wednesday, with a million dollar grant to Oregon State University.

The widow of famed ‘crocodile hunter’ Steve Irwin made the gift to OSU to study migration patterns and feeding habits of the world’s largest mammals.

Terri Irwin says the research project will last at least three years. She says it’s meant to look expansively at how to use science to conserve whales, especially humpbacks, native to Oregon.

Terri Irwin: “They are custodians of the ocean. They are really an indicator, when whale numbers deplete and whale health is compromised, that the ocean itself is in trouble. And I think it’s really important that we keep these animals, and study them, and utilize them in a responsible way, like whale-watching.”

Irwin notes scientific and economic reasons to study and protect whales, but says she has an emotional attachment as well. Her preschool-aged son, she says, is obsessed with whales.

Irwin says she chose OSU for the gift out of appreciation for whale researcher, Bruce Mate – and because she’s a native of the Beaver State, though she lives in Australia.