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I guess he's making the news in Australia again. Didn't know he had another kid.

Croc man puts his son at risk
By Jamie Berry
January 3, 2004

Crocodile hunter Steve Irwin potentially put his baby son's life at risk yesterday when he took him into a reptile enclosure where a ravenous crocodile was waiting to be fed.

As a shocked, yet bemused, crowd looked on, Irwin cradled one-month-old Bob in his left arm while dangling a slab of meat from his right hand during a feeding display at his Australia Zoo on Queensland's Sunshine Coast.

The crocodile, which appeared to be about three-and-half-metres long, lunged at Irwin as its jaws snatched the meat.

Irwin took a couple of steps back, with Bob draped over his arm.

Then, as the crocodile retreated slightly, the television star put his baby on the ground and "walked" him to the edge of the animal's pond.

Irwin's American wife, Terri, was also inside the enclosure and could be seen giggling at her husband's actions.

The stunt drew comparisons with Michael Jackson's dangling of his baby son, Prince Michael II, over a fourth-floor hotel balcony in Berlin in November 2002.

While Jackson admitted to making a "terrible mistake", Irwin, 41, held Bob up in the air after the stunt like a trophy, to the applause of some in the audience.

Irwin responded by saying: "You beauty!"

Then he said of Bob's future: "He will be helping his dad feed Murray, who's probably not the croc I would have preferred him to go out with, but . . ."

The Irwins, who also have a five-year-old daughter, Bindi Sue, live on the eight-hectare site that they have developed into Australia Zoo.

When he is not travelling for film reasons, Irwin often feeds the zoo's crocodiles himself.

It was during one of these regular feeding displays that Irwin decided to introduce his baby to a crowd of onlookers.

At least one visitor recorded the incident and alerted media.

Irwin, who is enjoying worldwide success as a result of his danger-fuelled wildlife documentaries, has admitted to having been injured "more times than you can poke a stick at".

His feature film, Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course, released in December 2002, was a huge success in Australia and overseas, particularly in the United States.

Bob, born on December 1, was named Robert Clarence Irwin in honour of Steve's father Bob and Terri's father Clarence.

Croc man puts his son at risk

I think Steve Irwin might know a little bit about crocodiles and I doubt that he thought for any moment that the crocodile would go after his son.

I think it was bad move on his part to have his son that close dearing feed, but it is his kid. If something when wrong and his son was hurt or killed, he would have a lot to lose.

all it would have taken was a little trip & he could have taken a nice bite on his"ego"& lost his son.

Heh...I admit this is my first time on this forum and the reason was because I wanted to read reactions over Steve Irwin's whole baby ordeal while feeding crocs. Surprised there hasn't been that many posts on the subject yet...on AOL forums, it's swarming with people left and right condemning and defending him as well as bringing the race card into it, if that even sounds possible. Hahah a lotta people slightly "off" on those forums.

I admire Steve and Terry's expertise and skill, but I think the whole act was done a bit irresponsibly and they should have thought of the consequences of media attention. They're not just knowledgeable animal handlers, they're also entertainers and if this was a publicity stunt, it was not the wisest one in my opinion.

Johnny

Obviously there is going to be mixed emotions about this,however i think,he should have thought about the media exposure,and what this world of gosipers would and do react.I also think its his child,and he should be able to show his son up close, and at a early age, how feeding crocs is done.I also think this is another HIT, in the repitle keepers keeping rights.AS all us herpers know about HSUS,and PETA,we know the live to seee things like this,and we all know there going to give there 2 cents about it.......All in all i think steve,was fine with his child,but who am i,im just another reptile keeper that no one gives 2 craps about......

First, it is not my place to judge another parent. I have two young daughters who have been hanging out at my wildlife center (featuring giant constrictors, venomous species, crocs, large monitors, birds of prey, mammals, etc.) since they were infants....they had many close encounters in a completely safe environment. They have accompanied me in the field on many of my research efforts (and sometimes in fairly perilous conditions). But at no time did I ever feel I was taking unecessary risks nor did I ever feel I was putting my girls in harms way. There's no doubt that Steve has 100% confidence in what he is doing and knowing how passionate he is about his own children (much less the animals he works with) I think that the conditions were far safer than what everyone is chastizing him for. I think he may have gotten caught up in the moment, in his excitement in introducing his kid to the world of crocs, and didn't realize that the media would take this story and run with it (all over the world)...or, maybe it was simply for the "oh wow" effect...once again, not my place to judge. Would I have done that? PRobably not, but once again, it isn't my child and I have several friends who know STeve quite well (on a personal level) and they have told me that he is a sincerely loving and passionate father.

For those of us who are parents, I think we can all look back and find circumstances that proved to be somewhat dangerous for our kids. Yes, Steve could have slipped and launched the baby into the croc pool. Yes, something unexpected could have happened. Same goes when we are hanging out with our own kids (when we leave our kids in the car while we run inside the store because were are too lazy to park the stupid vehicle....I have never done that but many people do...a deliberate act of negligence and probably the same people blasting Steve for his behavior).

Does this behavior give our profession/hobby a black eye? I doubt it. Unfortunately, the media is to blame but I am sure Steve wised up and learned something from it. Hopefully, it won't be more than a slap on the wrist or a stern reprimand....I don't think I would have done this on a television show or in a public setting but that's just me.

Rob Carmichael, Director/Curator
The Wildlife Discovery Center at Elawa Farm
City of Lake Forest Parks & Recreation (IL)

Too bad the newspapers didn't get a quote from you...well said...
You should read my other reply in this thread about the person they did get a quote from...

I usually don't browse the croc forum but I have posted on the other forums and this one is the most responsive.

I guess the media just needed a break from reporting on another person or soldier dying in Iraq.
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I read ABCNEWS.com's story about this, which is pretty much the same as the one posted BUT it also had the following quote (I cut and pasted it):

"I think he's a bloody idiot, he's addicted to the attention," crocodile farm owner Keith Cook told The Courier-Mail newspaper.

I thought, how terrible for a fellow herper to jump on the media bandwagon and speak bad about fellow herpers. I'm sure people working with dangerous herps make mistakes BUT if everyone was quick to speak out against these mistakes, no one would be able to keep such animals. ANYWAY, MY QUESTION is...who is this guy, Keith Cook? I did a google search and found that he owns a crocodile farm called Aust.Croc.Traders....OK...but this is what it said about it...

Australian Crocodile Traders is Australia’s largest producer of crocodile meat, skins and hides and crocodile leather products – handbags, wallets and belts.

IF this is true...be careful about who you read quotes from because it sounds like this guy would have conflicts of interest with anyone or anything related to conservation. JUST MY 2CENTS.
Can anyone verify if this is the correct info?

Here is the ABC news version of the Story:
http://abcnews.go.com/wire/Entertainment/ap20040103_536.html

You make a very good point. The media is only going to interview people who will be very outspoken on the issue. It will make people watch! Steve Irwin knows exactly what he is doing whether people like him or not. His son was never in danger in my eyes. Steve Irwin would have sacrificed himself before he would let ANYONE get hurt let alone his SON. I personally love Steve Irwin and think he does a great job on teaching conservation. One little incident shouldn't make people think bad of him.

As far as conflict of interest goes, the reason crocs came back from the brink of extinction is something called "sustainable use"
So in fact the skin and meat trade was incaluable in the conservation of this group of animals.
Steve doesn't know how to work with the animals, he is an actor, nothing more nothing less. I'm sure he wouldn't do anything to endanger his children, he just doesn't know any better.
I'm glad he's gettin whats comin to him!

Lol, I love how everyone is suddenly an expert on the issue and how we think our opinions are so important. Steve deffinately has experience when it comes to crocodilians. He's been working with crocs from a young age, being a herper (and croc keeper) myself I would say he is indeed experienced. That being said it does not excuse his actions whether we feel he should be condemned or whether we feel it should be overlooked who cares about opinions anyway? All that matters is how many people buy news papers or tune into the news station. Then everyone knows better than everyone else and feels thier viewpoint is so important. The bottom line is the child is safe. The underlying point is no human has ANY right under ANY circumstance to judge any other human.Yet for whatever reason we feel compelled to judge and point the finger whenever it makes us feel good about ourselves,but in doing so we only serve to distract ourselves from our own short comings and focus on someone elses problems which honestly are none of our buisness. Gotta love human nature.

I don't think many of us croc hunter fans will turn on him(some will but most won't), but steve will here about it for the rest of his life.
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Justin