Sydney, Oct 2 : Australia Zoo director Terri Irwin has been honoured with the Business Woman of the Year award.

The widow of the late Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin accepted the award at a ceremony in Brisbane.

Holly Kramer, from sponsor Telstra, said that the judges were impressed Terri’s
strong business expertise.

"The judges said Terri Irwin demonstrated strong business acumen across all criteria and commended her on her entrepreneurial achievements which she pursued from a young age," News.com.au quoted Kramer, as saying.

"Terri's passion for conservation and the environment has seen her become a great spokesperson and ambassador for a number of causes both nationally and internationally, and has ensured she has remained true to her goals,” she added.

Under Terri’s supervision, the Australia zoo, based at Beerwah on the Sunshine Coast, has grown from a mere 30 employees and 200,000 visitors a year in 1997, to 550 staff and more than one million visitors a year in 2007. (With inputs from ANI)