Croc hunter just on aussie tv
 

Steve just appeared on tv, and my view has been changed on him. Originally I thought he was an idiot but after what he said I have some more respect for him. He says he doesn't care about his reputation he will keep teaching his kids how to be croc savvy. He lives 20 metres from the crocs and it's his responsibility to get his kids used to them. etc etc Anyway after listening to him you can understand why he did what he did...:glugglug

I agree - living down there I guess you relly need to know about these things and its good to get the kids used to being around them and all that shit. Plus like what he said - its his job, thats what he does and he knows what he is doing.

People just really want to make a fuss over anything they can these days...

If you had to have your child near a crocidile who would you like by your side ? I rest my case.

Anyway, its not at all like Michael, that guy is just a fucking loon. Plus he apologized saying that it was a stupid thing to do (and it was) and Steve instead is defending his actions.

It was a pretty stupid move...the kid isnt gonna remember this so it wont get him "used to" crocks, just a big publicity stunt really why do you think all the cameras and the crowd had to be there? Cant he teach his children about crocks at home

I like Steve Irwin, but I think he did take that stunt a bit too far. Not the smartest thing to do.

Well, to be fair, that zoo is his home. He lives there.

Steve holding his 1 month year old baby in his arm while feeding a 200 pound crocodile doesnt make that 1 month old baby any more "crock savvy". It just makes Steve an idiot.

dude this guy can handle crocs... he has proven he can do it man, why does everybody crack down on him that much for this?

I like crochunter... "woohoo" LOL

Okay but he is doing a show for people and its being recorded

It was the boy's first experience with the crocs so Steve wanted to make a bit of an occasion of it, but in the future he will train his boy away from the cameras..:) I too thought it was just a stupid publicity stunt but now I can see what he was thinking..

Agreed. I don't buy this bullshit reason he gave that kids should be aware of crocs. How many fucking crocs do people have in their backyard? Dude's just willing to pimp the safety of his child for publicity. What a jackass.

I disagree. Although Irwin likes to earn money (most of which he puts into buying habitats back for animals) he doesn't come off as the sort of guy who would do such a thing for publicity. He isn't some Britney Spears media whore, and I doubt he would do something like this purely for TV coverage.

That kid was 1 month old?

Would it be ok to teach a 1 month old kid about cars by holding him out the window of your car while driving down the freeway? :1orglaugh

You obviously did not read the post that you have quoted. :1orglaugh

Umm, he doesn't live in central Sydney. I imagine there are a fair few Crocs in his part of town.

Even though he is a pro, he still makes mistakes. You know how many times he's been bitten by a animal? Stupid to use a baby near a crocodile.

I am surprised the mother didn't slap him. :mad: :mad: :mad:

He's still alive so he's never been bitten by a croc...

His mother and father did the same thing with him when he was a boy. Also his mother was amongst crocs all her life, but was killed in a car accident..Go figure..:( I mean steve's mother..

Hey, maybe Michael was just getting his kid used to balconies and people staring at him:winkwink:

Good point, but more that he was getting his baby used to the day the he commits suicide by jumping off a balcony..Like his dad will do sooner or later.:1orglaugh

Yeah, I remember everything from when I was 1 month old.

I cannot understand all that fuzz. The chance for a baby to die or get into harms way in a car are much higher than beeing eaten by a croc even more in the hands of the probably best expert in croc handling.

Is anyone blaming any parent for having their baby in a car?

If he was to wait until the boy is 2 years old before his croc introduction then the boy would most likely freak. Obviously at 1 month or even 2 years you cant remember (later in life) what happend but by introducing a child at this age he gradually gets used to being around crocs..:)

actually steve irwin has been injured by crocs many times. animal planet, the station that carries his show here, airs an episode of steve's injuries. and i've seen him injured by crocs and snakes periodically when we used to watch the show.

i understand reasons why he did what he did, but even so i have seen him and his wife and his friends all make mistakes - why risk it?

Wouldn't that analagy would be more like putting the baby in the car without a carseat with just the parent to protect them?

i wont agree what he did was right any danger is bad but if the kids gonna be handling them he has gonna need a head start i personally would recommend the kid be able to run first but besides that. Steve Erwin is a show man putting his head in his crocs mouth much like the way a man plays with his pet rotty. He knows the dangers and have made the judgement it is comparable for example only a famous race car Driver eg Michael Schumaker caught speeding a few miles over limit on a family trip.

i will add this time last summer i pulled a 7-8 foot python no exaggeration off (dingo29_99) a gfy member's cat in our front lawn now. It is wise to teach your kids the dangers the only people ever eaten by croc in Australia are the tourists the kids learn at a young age. In some parts of the world it is not unwise to teach your kids the dangers as early as possible.

kids don't learn much at one month old. also you can teach a child to be cautious and respectful of an animal without putting them in the way of that animal.

as far as teaching the dangers, i would think that it gives a message of safety when you trust your child enough to have it that close. and what message are you giving other children and their parents?

i think steve irwin has done wonders as far as giving kids an important message regarding both animals and ecology. i just don't think this was a good idea, either as far as publicity, a message to send out or as a parental choice.

Has anyone besides the media or uneducated croc tamers bashed his actions.

I mean I'm far from a croc tamer myself, but looking at the picture the child is the furthest away from the meat in his hand, and if I'm not mistaken the croc would be first interested in the carcass in his hand well before the thought of eating the child even crossed his mind. Plus how hungry is the croc, is it just a snack or has it been starving for days. How agressive is the croc, just because it's a large croc doesnt mean that it hasnt been in a habitat for a long time and hasnt grown somewhat accustomed to human interaction.

Again if Steve's wife bashed him, or some sort of qualified person who understands the dangers of dealing with crocidiles then I would listen, but otherwise it's uneducated (as far as the way of crocidiles) people bashing him mainly because of their ignorance not because of the facts.

Perhaps at two months old he is going to teach his kid how to play in the road then. :2 cents:

That ******IS****** his home.
He inherited it from his parents (father was also a herpetologist and Steve was raised the same way he's raising his kids), made it into a full zoo, and opened it to the public.

Hence the public being there.

The television crews were there filming something earlier in the day, they were packing up and decided to stick around a little longer to get some extra footage; that's when they got the baby shot.

He was *not* doing it on purpose for the tv's or the crowd. This is how he raises his children to first get them used to the crocodiles (most children would run screaming from a large green reptile with lots of teeth) and then to teach them to be safe around those reptiles.

The number of crocs in the wild in his part of the country could be counted on the fingers of one very mutilated hand.

He lives some way south of us and there are bugger all crocs up here so there are going to be even fewer down there.

That's my point even if he did try to teach his son about cars on the roads he couldn't becuase cars and drivers are unpredictable. Steve knows crocs and knows by their habits and what they are goint to do. No danger no probs...:glugglug

Wake up and look at the footage again Carrie - he was doing it in front of a live audience - he was wearing a microphone so he could talk to the audience - this wasn't some private little learning session for his one month old son.

God some people live in la la land.

He was dealing with a wild animal - wild animals are totally unpredictable - hence the number of wild animal handlers who get mauled every year.

That was no place for a baby.

I heard a wonderful analogy to this on the radio this weekend.
If the Flying Rowandas (a family that lives on high-wires and trapezes) took their baby onto a 50-foot high-wire, would anyone throw a fit?
No, because they're professionals who have been doing this all of their lives and they know what they're doing.

Same thing with Steve.
He is one of the foremost leaders in the world on herpetology.
This was a completely controlled environment.
This was not a wild croc out in the swamp.
This croc is part of Steve's zoo.
Steve knows the last time this croc was fed.
Steve knows this croc's 'personality', whether it tends to be aggressive or more docile.
Steve knows the layout of the habitat - he designed and built the thing and goes in it nearly every day.
Steve has worked with this croc over and over again and can quite accurately predict how the croc will act and react in any given situation; never mind his wealth of experience with thousands of crocs in general over decades of research and interaction.
Had the croc gone against everything that Steve knows about that particular croc and crocodiles in general and had chosen to attack, there is no one in the world who is more experienced with an attacking crocodile than Steve Irwin. PERIOD.

Steve would NOT have taken his child into a pen with a wild, unpredictable croc who was starving for food and likely to attack. He chose that croc because it was the safest croc to interact with with his child in his arms.

He held the child on the *other* side of his body from the croc, putting his own body in between the croc and the child. Look at the pictures, you'll see the child was having to look *around* Steve to see the croc.

And if any of you think for a moment that had that croc attacked, Steve would have simply handed over the child to be eaten, you are seriously disturbed. His first priority would have been to make sure that the crocodile was busy with Steve's body and could not reach the baby.
That man has put himself in harm's way hundreds of times to keep his *staff* (cameramen, handlers, assistants) safe, you think he would do any less for his CHILD??

The baby *will* remember the crocodile, as from now on it will be a daily exposure to the crocs. If it were a one-time thing and didn't happen again for years or even months, no, the baby would not remember it. But just as a baby comes to recognize its siblings through daily interaction, so will this child.

The child was NOT in danger. If there were any chance of that, Steve would not have taken the child in there with him.
It was a controlled environment with a lifelong professional and an animal he was intimately familiar with.

Carrie - I don't care what bullshit you care to dredge up about him - the guy is a flake - public opinion here in Australia says the guy is a flake

The kid was in danger and Irwin had no right putting his child in that sort of danger.

As for that being a controlled environment - for God's sake woman I used to think you had some common sense. If that had been a controlled environment the croc would have been restrained but it wasn't and so there is no way anyone could logically claim that it was a controlled environment.

I love kellogg's korn flakes, they are the shit.

... I live 50km away from his zoo, and thank godness he doesn't want my kids to become croc savvy.

100% about self promotion.

Just goes to show what he thinks of his child.