Celebrity c onservation: Interpreting the Irwins

Interactions between celebrity and conservation are proliferating. This paper reviews theories of celebrity, explores different perspectives on the role of celebrity in conservation and outlines a typology of celebrity involvement. It then examines the work of the late Steve Irwin and his daughter Bindi, and public responses to them, using these cases to illustrate how and why conservation and celebrity are becoming interwoven. Finally, it considers the long-term implications of celebrity conservation and the dangers of promoting conservation through para-social relations with nature.