Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin has once again escaped from the jaws of the law.

The hyperactive Aussie animal lover was facing possible charges for getting too up close and personal with native wildlife in Antarctica.

While taping Ice Breaker, a documentary that aired in June on Animal Planet, Irwin is shown harassing all sorts of critters. There he is sliding down an ice hill with penguins and snuggling up to an endangered leopard seal. He was also suspected of trying to reach out and touch humpback whales while swimming with them.

Upon watching the footage, Australian government officials launched an investigation into whether Irwin violated any of the tough environmental laws concerning wildlife in the Aussie-controlled part of Antarctica.

For his part, Irwin adamantly denied any wrongdoing, telling a local TV network that "big enemies" were behind the hubbub. He downplayed the purported incident as "just a storm in a tea cup."

Now, after further review, the authorities Down Under agreed and decided to let the Croc Hunter off the hook.

Australian Prime Minister John Howard told Sky News television that the Environment Department conducted a monthlong inquiry and cleared Irwin. "I have been told that after proper examination, a decision has been taken that no action of any kind is necessary," Howard said.

That's good news for Irwin, who was facing a maximum penalty of up to $720,000 in fines and two years in the slammer. (Officials say Irwin would have received a much lighter sentence if he had been guilty of seal stalking, whale whacking or penguin perturbing.)

This is the second time this year that Irwin has gotten heat for his bizarre interactions with animals.

In January, he was cleared on child endangerment charges for feeding a hungry crocodile while holding his month-old infant son. The whole incident was shown oncamera and sparked comparison to Michael Jackson's baby-dangling episode.

At the time, Irwin denied ever putting his kid in harm's way, saying the child was safe from the hungry croc's bone-crushing jaws.

"To hear people say that it was a publicity stunt, that I'm just like Michael Jackson, well, it just tears me up. It makes me sick to my stomach to be compared in that way," the 41-year-old said at the time. "I would never, ever put [my son] in any danger, not in a million years."