Reptile & Amphibian Forums

has anyone seen the latest 'stunt' of steve irwin's w/ his infant son on the news? i always thought him to be 'too loose' and unnecessarily overactive w/ venomous snakes but this takes the cake!

Makes ME wonder if he's working for/with PETA. Crap like that's not going to make reptile owners look good at all.

Thane
Thanes place

Yeah, "How to turn your kid into croc food without really trying." should be the name of that episode.

Why the hell doesn't he carry a hook? He's always looking for some little twig to catch a snake with. "Oh, there's a Black Mamba now! Crikey! He must be 3 meters long! Hold on you little beauty! You're alright! Let me just get him by his tail here and see if I can rest the front part of him on this blade of grass. Oh, you're a naughty one, you are. You tried to bite me!" What a nitwit.

I'll have to admit, though, he's much better at catching snakes than Jeff Corwin. Jeff has to be the worst I've ever seen at catching snakes for a professional Herpetologist. He can find them, he just can't catch them.

And at least he isn't always walking around barefooted looking for Inland Taipans or some such critter.

I know, I can't believe it either but when I see how many kids have been impacted in a positive manner (in terms of conservation and developing a true love for reptiles) I can't help but defend his actions; even if just in the slightest manner.

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. Many people would have probably hung me by a tree if they saw some of these close encounters (but they wouldn't understand nor would they understand that I was in complete control). Thanks to these early childhood encounters, my girls want to grow up to be herpetologists or wildlife biologists (and they are only 10!). 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. I think that was his only mistake; doing it on camera. 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)

wow... that was a well-thought out response. i agree that the media totally blew it out of proportion, as i think they also did with michael jackson. i think they both did it for attention and by both parties it was poor judgment, if for no other reason than the media was all over the place, but also both incidents were or allowed the perception to be a little dangerous. that is why they received so much attention. but, part of being in the spotlight is judging public's response and i think that this time it was misperceived.
unfortunately, this world has very little to do with truth. this world is run on perception and, since it is and always will be, everything must be assessed with the assumtion(?) that truth is not always the goal and in the media's case, it is clearly not. sensationalism is. and, as usual, if their goal is also attention and sales, it continues to work for them.

rob,
sorry for such a late response... i obviously don't get on here much, but you had several good points.
i just wanted to say that!
brian (starleen)

Has anyone of those guys EVER do anything featuring the Eastern Indigo??? Except for that 2 minuite blurb Jeff Corwin did at Hommassa Springs?? Just curious thats all. OR have there been any other documentaries on Eastern Indigos???

As for Mr. Irwin.......... dangah, dangah, dangah...... NOT necessarily for taking the baby in the Croc pen (stupid as that was) BUT doing it in front of cameras & spectators. Jeff Corwin is STILL my fav. regardless of how he catches snakes, Irwin just aggitates the pi$$ outta the poor animals he captures, Mark O'Shea is the more knowledgable / technical of them all but is a tad boring. Sooo Corwin got my vote because he seems to reach audiences at all levels... & Brady Barr comes in second ........ just my 2 cents worth........

hope every has a great New Year

Dean

Here is my ranking (just my opinion) of the "TV Herpetologists":

Good. Mark O'Shea and Jeff Corwin. Mark O'Shea is not as entertaining as Jeff Corwin, but he is certainly knowledgeable and rather professional in his approach to field herping. He is usually sharing some ongoing research with the audience instead of just "snake hunting". Jeff Corwin is also knowledgeable and I'll have to admit his antics are funny sometimes. He is terrible at catching snakes, but he never places himself in danger in front of the cameras either. Maybe erring on the side of caution and taking a little longer to catch a snake isn't a bad thing after all.

Poor. Steve Irwin and Rob Bredl. Both are knowledgeable, but both try too hard for the "gimmick" approach and IMHO send a bad message to the viewing public. Both are using essentially the same gimmick, which is catching and handling dangerously venomous animals without the proper equipment and techniques. Steve Irwin, for whatever reason, chooses never to use any handling equipment at all. To me, catching venomous animals by tailing them and using whatever little twig he can break off the nearest bush is reckless behavios for a host of a TV show like this. I know that there are the disclaimers saying "We are trained professionals, don't try this yourself", but if you are claiming to be a trained professional, why not conduct yourself like one? Rob Bredl's habit of never wearing protective footwear and allowing Brown Snakes and such to crawl across his feet and sitting barefooted on a crocodile's back are pretty much the same thing to me. The way I see it there are two problems with this, the first being the obvious possibility of people trying to emulate that behavior and getting hurt, the second being the public image of professional Herpetologists that is created by this behavior.

We all can agree, can’t we, that this stunt had nothing to do with “introducing” little Bob to the glories of the natural world, as Irwin told the media. Unless you believe that an infant who can barely control his wobbling little head can comprehend what was happening in that spectacle. It was all about self-promotion (look at me-me-me!) and furthering the Irwin money machine.

And lest we think that Steve is always in control, he proudly talks about his many accidents, close calls and broken bones. Anyone remember the incident where the alligator he was feeding or harassing grabbed onto his arm? I’d reckon old Steve-O hadn’t really planned on that. Stewardship of children means forgoing some things that you as an adult are entirely entitled to do to yourself or with other adults.

Let’s see, in the advantage, Michael Jackson column, Jack-O only dangled his kid in the air for 1 or 2 seconds. And he clearly hadn’t been planning it as a publicity stunt for weeks in advance. In the advantage, Steve Irwin column, Steve-O doesn’t make his kids go around with hoods over their heads. Who’s the biggest freak? Well, okay, let me try again. To whom would you trust your infant for a brief visit? Hmm. I give up.

You Know, without any doubt, that Steve and Terri Irwin are going to love that boy silly and that he will receive all the caring and affection that a child would ever need.

With all the child abuse, neglect and broken families that so many children suffer from, when put into the big picture, I think there is WAY too much attention being to this event.

Terri Irwin, the child's MOTHER, didn't seem at all concerned, so I won't be either.

Admit it... you wish your own dads owned zoos and could have taken you into the croc pit for feedings.

I do think that Steve-O should have kept that as a private family moment and not part of a public feeding show... but I suppose that's just 20/20 hindsight.

Doug T