Steve Irwin gets bitten by snake on live TV and tells cameraman to zoom in instead of panicking

Over the years Steve Irwin delighted millions thanks to his work with animals, though some of the animals he encountered weren't always as friendly as he was. You can watch how he kept his cool during the terrifying moment a snake bit him on live TV below:

Irwin was so beloved that Australians recently launched a petition to get his face on their next $5 note, arguing that it would help 'honour a true Aussie hero'.

Dearly missed by his family, who have since followed in his footsteps over his work protecting wildlife, Steve was always willing to get up close and personal with the many wonderful creatures of this world.

Working so closely with crocodiles always carries a bit of a risk, while he was also once chased up a tree by a komodo dragon.

One thing he never did around animals was panic, and one of the best ever examples of that was when he was on TV with a snake around his neck as it decided to start biting him, and he still didn't lose his cool.

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On camera with the large snake coiled around his neck and shoulders, Irwin was taking about the serpent he'd brought with him when it struck.

He said: "This one's a python, as you see he won't bite because he can't eat me and he doesn't feel scared, I don't scare him.

"He won't bite and he hasn't got venom, and that's a python but it's very difficult from a distance to tell a python from a... ahh."

Viewers might have been wondering why Irwin suddenly stopped talking, but he soon explained that it was because the snake was 'biting my neck'.

Despite just telling everyone that the python wouldn't bite, the snake seemed intent on showing Steve up, though it did little to throw the Crocodile Hunter off his stride.

While many people would have panicked at the prospect of a snake coiled around their neck and sinking its fangs into their flesh, Steve instead told the cameraman to zoom in so everyone could get better look.

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Even more than that, he checked the footage on the monitors so he could better show off the snake currently biting him.

Positioning himself so the camera could zoom in and get the best available shot, he said: "If I watch the telly, I should be able to... can you get close in on this?"

The cameraman dutifully obeyed, zooming in on the serpent currently clamped around Irwin's neck, though the snake seemed to get a bit camera shy at this point and decided to let go.

Ever the class act, as soon as the snake had stopped biting him Irwin said 'sorry about that' to his co-presenter.

The snake did not offer any sort of apology.