Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I was just curious to those who watch the show here? I mean some of us dream of having a job where we can travel around the world and examine the reptiles living in it....some might do it a different way than the croc hunter tho.

I've always liked Steve Irwin for his knowledge and especially his enthusiasm. I don't know what his educational background is, but it seems that a lot of his knowledge has come from experience. No doubt he goes overboard at times, like when he forced an African spitting cobra to regurge while he was "mucking" with it. And his stock really dropped when the video became public of him dangling his infant son within feet of a large croc. My sense is that a lot of it is show, and while he'll always have dedicated fans amongst the public, he doesn't garner as much respect from the scientific or educational communities. I could be wrong, tho.
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MichaelB

>>I've always liked Steve Irwin for his knowledge and especially his enthusiasm. I don't know what his educational background is, but it seems that a lot of his knowledge has come from experience.

I watch Irwin's shows as well as the other snake guys on TV. The problem with Stever Irwin is his "knowledge". He does have a lot of expertise in handling animals (although he is irresponsible on TV).

But his knowledge of wildlife/conservation outside of his narrow field of experience is pathetic. Many times on his shows he simply misidentifies animals and when he starts talking about habitat or conservation he sounds like a bumbling idiot. I'm surprised that he hasn't taken the time to at least learn how to use simple terms like habitat, ecosystem, conservation, etc. correctly.

Steve's show is about one thing - himself. He goes out of his way to make himself look great, often at the expense of the animals he is dealing with. He also handles snakes in irresponsible ways. In spite of his half-hearted warnings ("I'm an expert, you shouldn't do this" he is modeling bad behavior and one day a young kid is going to be killed or seriously injured emulating his behavior. As an adult educator, such behavior is irresponsible.
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Chris Harrison

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Jeff is a smart, well educated host who foolishly pins venomous snakes. Other than his clumsy carelessness around hot snakes, his show is infinitely better than anything Stevo has ever put together.
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Chris Harrison

I think him being irresponsible is part of the show.... we're always waiting for him to be bitten. It's an act to keep us on the edge of our seats. Steve Irwin is a Crocodile Hunter... Jeff Corwin is a Herpetologist... huge difference between the two. Steves show is all about excitement that tries to put in knowledge Jeffs is all about knowledge that tries to add excitement.

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Check Out My Albums

1.0 Ball Python "Aragorn"
1.0 Kenyan Sand Boa "Gimli"
1.0 Saharan Sand Boa "Frodo"
0.1 Rough-Scale Sand Boa "Arwen"
0.1 California Kingsnake "Gentoo"
1.0 Mexican Black Kingsnake "Indigo"
1.0 Snow Corn snake "Chile"

0.1 Australian Cattle Dog/Pointer
"Kira"

I have watched the crocodile hunter for years. I think that his show is a good show. As for him having his son in with the croc people are talking with out all the facts. I think if your going to talk about someone you should know all the facts. As for his show and how he acts he gives a lot of info. He is doing what most people would not do to help people understand about snakes crocs and lizards. He has more knolage than most of the people who are saying that he dose a bad job. So i think that if you do not do what he dose then you should just keep your mouth shut. And let the man do his job all you have to do is watch him and you can see that he loves his job and what he is doing how meney people can say that.

i generally like the croc hunter. you just have to understand that he is on TV for entertainment. He appeals to a wide audience that is not geared for the herp obsessed or the scientists. Some of my friends watch the show and have little or know interest in snakes or crocs etc. You can say you like other more scientific people better, like o'shea, but no one has done more to bring a larger audience towards herp than the croc hunter, and you shouldn't expect the show to be geared towards an audience like you'll find on this site. And for my money's worth, i like Brady barr the best. entertaining and a pHD. tough to beat that, although he is more crocs than snakes.

hmmm, i personally like most of his shows, but the main thing i dont like about him, is that all his tours through the wild are somewhat faked. its well known that he pais people to catch reptiles, cool them, and put them in those hideouts just before he "discovers" them.
its so damn obvious sometimes ... *sigh* sure, him and his wife happen to find this croc clutch just in the moment the first crocs hatch ... cmon ...

imho jeff and specially o'shea are much more fun to watch.