I heard that the Crocodile Hunter, Steve something-or-other, had been injured. What happend to him?
According to his web site, he impaled his hand on some spikes from a tree that turned out to have poisonous sap, and he started to develop gangrene.
All is well, apparently, and he’ll be back out wrestling crocs in short order.
There were rumors that he had died. Steve Irwin did get injured, but he’s alive and doing well.
See his official website, http://www.crocodilehunter.com for more details.
Blasted simulposts.
It is a surprise that the guy didn’t die. He is always a leading contender for the title of “Worlds Dumbest Human”.
He’s got my vote. If I read somewhere that this guy was eaten after trying to kiss a great white shark, I won’t be a bit suprised.
Ever since learning that Disney murdered dozens of lemmings for a nature documentary, I’ve been skeptical of nature shows. (Marlin Perkins faked a lot of footage on “Wild Kingdom” too.)
I sort of enjoy Steve Irwin’s antics, but I suspect he’s USUALLY not in great danger. A TV show generally has to create some excitement and a feeling of danger even if it isn’t really there. Call it a hunch “The Croc Hunter” makes a lot of Steve’s activities seem more death-defying than they really are.
No way! Steve Irwin kicks ass! He’s also a trained professional, and he’s obviously having a great time. What’s so dumb about that? As a bonus, he’s no doubt grabbing and keeping kids’ interest in zoology. The Crocodile Hunter (and the show for the younger kids, Croc Files) are shows where you can accidentally learn something while watching.
I’m just glad I’m not his wife…“Steve, PUT DOWN THE RATTLER!”
Heh, his wife Terri used to handle mountain lions, so I don’t think she’d be one to talk.
Yes, Steve’s delivery is sometimes a bit over the top. But I think it’s especially effective with the younger crowd, and I’m all for anything that’ll grab kids’ attention and get them interested in the natural world.
Some of the sense of danger he invokes is for “entertainment purposes,” as it were, or perhaps to drive home the point that not every Joe Blow should attempt the things he does (very good idea). But I don’t think it’s exactly safe work; we probably just don’t get to see most of the footage in which he has a real problem. One of the few things I’ve ever seen was an occasion when he found himself, quite by accident, squatting over a bunch of eastern diamondbacks - the look on his face couldn’t have said “OH, SHIT” more clearly, as he quickly demonstrated the best way to get out of a rattlesnake’s range. 
You know, I saw something about Australia and it said that they don’t show Irwin’s show on TV there. They said it was because he does things that are reckless and dangerous, and they don’t want people to try some of his stunts.
Oh, and even though I’ve voiced the opinion that many of the seemingly dangerous stunts on “Croc Hunter” are faked, I should also note that Irwin takes chances almost exclusively with reptiles- the animals he knows best. He doesn’t take risks around animals he doesn’t consider himself an expert on.
Example: when he did a set of shows in Africa, he tangled with crocs (of course) but stayed far away from the hippos. As he explained, “I know crocs, I know their body language, I know how they’ll react. But I don’t know hippos, so it’s best to leave them be.”
Point being, a snake/croc expert can tell by the animal’s behavior if he’s aggressive and/or ready to strike, and can act accordingly. Even Irwin probably wouldn’t walk up to a cobra and grab him by the tail without sizing up its demeanor and body language, and making an expert judgment as to what “mood” it was in.
The guy obviously loves what he’s doing and he’s making a decent living. We should all be so dumb.
I respect him for the sole reason that he hasn’t said, “You call that a rattlesnake? THIS is a rattlesnake,” yet. I’m sure the temptation is strong.
I’d be angry if Steve dies from anything other then natural causes or the sharp maw of a giant salt water croc. Don’t go impaling your hands anymore Steve, you scared me for awhile. Doesn’t he have a young kid now, boy or girl?
“…and as soon as I’ve got him pinned down, I’m going to jam my thumb right up 'is ass. That’ll realy piss 'im off and should be sumptin to watch”
Steves visit on South Park
I question that. I’ve met quite a few Aussies (btw- to make points with an Aussie when you meet them, its pronounced ‘Auzzies’, and if you know that Canberra is the capital, not Sydney, they might just buy you a beer)(well, maybe) and they are pretty livin life to the fullest (or in this case ‘foolest’) kinda people. My friend Natasha was a journalist in Sydney and she interviewed him. Nice guy, really smart, crazy as hell. He does do all of that stuff, and has been his whole life (his dad’s a croc researcher too, I think, so he grew up with it). Now they don’t show him waiting in the bush for 8 hours for something to show up, but my friend said that they do tend to keep the camera’s rolling a lot when he is just walking around, so when something does happen, they get it on film.
I would say that your further remarks about knowing crocs but not hippo’s is quite true. He might be dumb sometimes, but he ain’t stupid. I was in South Africa a few months ago and saw my first wild hippo- they are big and mean. Surf the net for a pic of a yawning hippo and enlarge the image on their teeth. Suckers are 6 inches long and come to a 30 degree angle of sharpness (an axe is ground to 30 degrees too). I hear they kill more people in Africa every year than all the other wild animals combined(tried to find the exact stats on this, but couldn’t, so…take it for what its worth).
I love Steve Irwin and his wife! My daughter and I watch his show every weekend. They recently did a show that dealt with his life growing up. His father apparently owned a crocodile farm, which is where Steve learned his trade. Yes, he has a daughter who I believe is about 1 years old now. I think they named her Bindy Sue or something like that. Part of her name they got from their dog Suie…
Diceman
National Geographic had a neat little documentary on great white sharks (both in magazine and on tv). One particularly interesting bit was the guy who discovered that you “hypnotize” sharks (these sharks at least) by grabbing their snout. Much like that trick with chickens, they drift around for a while before recovering. So maybe it would be possible to kiss a great white shark…
This is going to be the newest craze in adventure travel, Great White Shark Kissing. For $10,000 you get airfare to your choice of shark locales and 1 weeks worth of diving. Plus, one special dive where you can go out and pucker up with all the sharks you can handle. I’m calling my travel agent now.