http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/asiapcf/01/02/crocodile.baby.ap/index.html
I don’t know if slapping some child endangerment charges on him would do the trick, but I hope some child welfare people are taking notice of this.
It’s never too late (or too early) to become a candidate for a Darwin Award.
Makes you wonder where ol’ Steve was when Jacko did essentially the same thing… hardly original, now, eh?
So, what exactly is the big fear, here? That he’ll forget which hand the chicken is in and accidentally feed the baby to the crocodile?
I bet Irwan’s father dangled him in front of the croc.
So he is a kinder, gentler father.
I’m a big fan of Steve, but that still seems like a bit of a silly stunt. OTOH, maybe that’s how he got his start, what do I know. 
Who knows? He could slip, the thing could snap at him, etc. The reality is probably nothing will happen, but it seems to be pretty stupid to screw around with a 13 foot gator while you hold your 1 year old in the other hand.
Exactly. Once again, people are overreacting left and right. Steve knows crocs better than any many alive, just about. Plus it’s clear from the video that he was carefully keeping himself between the animal and his baby. I trust him to know what he was doing. If he and his wife are cool with it, then so am I.
And I’m sure Roy knew Tigers pretty damn well. The point is the things are wild, never 100% predictable, and that he took a stupid risk. I suppose MJ was cool with swinging his child over the railing, so you’re fine with that too?
He did the same thing with his daughter, Bindy Sue. Who still accompanies them on their adventures now at the age of 5. The guy may be a bit of a larrikin sometimes, but safety truly is Steve Irwin’s number one priority. He knows exactly what he’s doing.
No, that was a different situation entirely. MJ hadn’t thought it through, he just reacted and did something very stupid and dangerous as a result. I have no doubt, Steve thought this through, studied the croc thoroughly before hand, and made a reasoned decision to bring his kid in with him.
I concur with Q.E.D. - we watch Steve’s show all the time, and it’s clear that he is highly educated in the field of croc behavior.
C’mon, World Eater - would you say a dozen big tigers trained to perform tricks are more or less dangerous than one croc? There’s dozens of educated animal experts in the background of Steve’s shows, waiting for any sign of trouble. Comparing Steve to Michael Jackson? - you must be kidding.
There is no way I will be convinced that feeding a 13 foot croc with one hand while holding your 1 year old child in the other is anything but reckless, no matter what circumstances are in effect, or who is involved.
It’s nothing more then a unnecessary publicity stunt.
[the far side] “Man, that was great. No claws, fur, or nothin’” [tfs]
No I’m not comparing them, I just find the notion that if the stupid activity is “cool” with the parent, then it’s ok.
A parent would never knowingly put their child in danger right?
World Eater, have you followed Steve’s show from inception? If so, you’d know that he, and his wife Terri are dedicated to the conservation of crocodiles. The birth of their children are woven into the show (is it a bad thing to show our children the wonder of the croc, and the importance of conservation of the species we haven’t yet driven to exinction?)
Steve’s father was a naturalist and croc lover, and as such I would imagine that Steve is following in his footsteps. (I seriously doubt this was a publicity stunt, given the backlash.)
You want to talk about “stupid” parents? Let’s discuss all the parents who don’t buckle their children into carseats.
Death by being eaten by a crocodile, snatched out of hands of famous TV croc guy: zero
Death that could have been prevented by use of a car seat: you go look it up.
The baby is a month old, not a year.
I vote fucking stupid. I don’t care how safety conscious Irwin is – there was no need to take that baby into the small enclosure. What was the point of it all? Publicity? Well, he’s getting that in spades this morning and rightly so.
He’s now under investigation by the Department of Families – he’s also bitching that if he had known that the media would latch onto this he would have kicked them out on their arses and trying to justify what he did with the lame claim that he did it with Bindi-Sue and nobody got upset. I also loooooooooove this bit that his kids are going to grow up around crocs and need to learn safety from a young age. Yeah, Steve, I’m sure Bob’s all about croc hunting and safety at the age of one month.
Who knows? I can’t say for certain, but if I had to make a list of “People most likely to know precisely how dangerous it would be to feed a crocodile while holding an infant,” Steve Irwin’s name would be pretty close to the top.
Besides which, this guy’s been working with crocodiles his entire life, and still has all his fingers and toes. This says to me that he doesn’t take unnecessary risks with the big reptiles. If he was out there with a couple of artificial limbs, I’d be more concerned, but the evidence to date seems to indicate that this guy knows what he’s doing.
I don’t have a problem with what he did.
He had his wife (who is also a highly trained naturalist) continue working with crocs while she was 9 months pregnant. The point is that these animals aren’t dangerous if you know what you are doing and take appropriate safety precautions. He said he would be a hypocrite to state this so many times and then ask his wife not to risk herself just because she’s pregnant.
He was making the same point here.
He is the director of a major Australia zoo. The man has been working with crocodiles since earliest childhood. He commonly handles the world’s most venemous snakes barehanded and has never been bitten by one.
He knows what he’s doing.
