Following in Her Husband's Footsteps

Nov. 1, 2007— -- It's been just over a year since Steve Irwin was laid to rest, but the Crocodile Hunter's daring exploits live on TV's and DVD's around the world. Irwin, a conservationist, hunted animals to save them, not to kill them, and cheated death repeatedly in the process. So it was a shock when he died at age 44 from the barb of the normally docile stingray.

Some 300 million people watched the memorial service held at his beloved Australia Zoo. But no one mourned more than his wife Terri and their children Bindi and Robert. A distraught Terri broke her silence in an emotional interview with Barbara Walters just 18 days after the tragedy, vowing to carry on Steve's work.

Terri has been working hard to carry on her husband's legacy. When we caught up with her last week, Terri told us she's picked up right where Steve left off -- taking over the croc show at the Australia Zoo, advancing his plans to expand the zoo from 70 acres to more than 500, raising money for their Wildlife Warriors charity to help endangered wildlife, and overseeing huge nature reserves.

Watch Barbara Walters' interview with Terri Irwin Friday on "20/20" at 10 p.m. EDT

She is also organizing the first Steve Irwin Day on November 15th where people can honor Steve's life by holding a backyard campout, donning some khakis or supporting causes to help wildlife. Terri has also written a book, "Steve & Me," to help come to terms with her loss (click here to read an excerpt of the book).

Terri believes that her husband died for a reason. "I think perhaps it won't be until I've passed on from this life that I will understand," she told Walters. "But if I don't believe that I would feel too hopeless."

Terri says that nine-year-old Bindi has coped with the loss of her father better, having learned about the circle of life at the zoo. For three-year-old Robert, it's been much harder, but their father is still a part of their daily lives. The family watches videos of Steve Irwin in action daily. "Some people put photo albums and things away," Terri said. "For me, personally, I have this sense of carrying on as if he were still here. It's never felt strange." She says "the children don't burst into tears --