Australia Zoo in Trouble » Australia Zoo

03-04-2008

oh get over it!

lets be honest. we all appreciate any contribution to conservation and the irwin's certainly more than did their part, but you either love them or you hate them.

i'm happy to say i hated* them.

always jumping around, shouting, wrestling everything in sight, plastering their heads on billboards. discussing their sex life, crocseums, crike-offs, celebrities, political beliefs that are in start contrast to their environmental preachings, and that frikken by-jingo lingo.

its not a case of me excreting a heavy dose tall poppy syndrome, i just reckon they act like @#$%heads. and that annoyed me. so please, just as any irwin-lover thinks its unfair for us to knock em' - don't tell us we are supposed to admire them either. i find it hard to admire anyone who thinks its fun to kiss a camel.

* i use this world loosely. of course i don't hate them. i don't hate anyone. (except maybe nicole kidman... and will anderson. and meg lees for giving us the GST. and my old housemate. and that tom piotrowski from commsec...)

03-04-2008

Amen to that Patrick!

esp tom piotrowski :P

03-04-2008

Why Nicole Kidman? I like her over Kylie any day.

03-04-2008

This place became known about by people in NZ because of the personality of Steve . Unfortunately he came across as being something of a noisy show off and braggart , continually raving on about how he could be killed any minute by a giant croc or venomous snake , and then pouncing on the said animal !

This is obviously how Steve Irwin and Australia Zoo have been presented to most people , and it is a style that can easily cause annoyance by large numbers of people -- especially if they have never had the chance to see Australia Zoo and balance the perception scales a little .

Some more educational input on the TV programmes and animal shows etc wouldnt have gone amiss -- instead we had to put up with the khaki crikeys !
This is not to say that Irwins were not doing a good job -- it was all this other hype that got in the way and turned Steve into a media idol ( whether he liked it or not )
Now there is no more Steve Irwin ( Crocodile Hunter ) and the zoos perception and marketing and direction has lost direction somewhat .
I bet alot of people just went to zoo to meet Steve in person ( and hoped to get his autograph ) I deliberately visited the zoo when Steve was NOT at home , and many Australians thought I was crazy .
It was a darn sight better than Alma Park , and there was a lot of new construction going on . One of the other visitors to the park asked the keeper why the wombats enclosure was so huge . A keeper told them that Steve wanted them to have alot of room . I dont quite follow the logic in this argument , but I wont complain of generous enclosure sizes at a zoo !!

I personally didnt like his style , and found it abrasive , however , I admire any Australian that tries to protect reptiles in your great country . I give Steve full credit for that .

I am not sure if it is Tall Poppies that are hitting the Irwins , or it is a backlash from the style , and a media paparazzi that hounds them because of the khaki crikey style that was/is thrashed for all it has got .....

Tall Poppy syndrome
03-04-2008

It is interesting when anyone dares to question or "attack" Australia zoo or any if the Irwins they are thought to be mean spirited, jealous, or vindictive. In my opinion for a number of years it was just the opposite. Steve Irwin was forgiven almost without question by the media.

When he took his young son in with one of the crocs he got off far easier than Michael jackson for a similarly moronic act. It still sticks with me the explanation that his kids need to be "croc smart" and that his grandfather fought in WWII for freedom. Don't quite follow the logic.

Now that the media is finally starting to unravel a few things their supporters cry foul. Maybe a little scrutiny is just what the place needs.

04-04-2008

a good point ptig, i was thinking the same myself. australia zoo has had plenty of very supportive media coverage for decades. worth keeping that in mind...

08-04-2008

Australian Story :: Father Of The Man

Video available from the link above - or read the transcript: Australian Story - Father Of The Man - Transcript

Bob Irwin
09-04-2008

As anticipated he did not divulge really anything about the current family issues. This was expected that he would not really slam his daughter-in-law.

All I got is that he is building a house and putting up some fencing. Sounds like a good idea at his age.

11-04-2008

I agree they are show offs.
I was watching a show who said something bad about bindi (who is really annoying) and they said don't be mean to little kids and the person who said it said well if she can take her dads fame and have a show she will have to get used to it.
I always thought that Steve could have let some of those animals alone and actually give us info on them, then he started getting into other animals instead of reptiles and that killed him.
I think that because of his fame they can have any animal they want and when i went there it was more of a theme park than a zoo or wildlife park.
I never minded Steve but the rest of his family and sometimes when he was alive i think they are stupid.

Irwins
12-04-2008

I will certainly give Terri credit for being a good marketing person. She keeps them in the news (good and bad).

Apparently they bought off Bob's silence for 1 million plus 95K a year. Sounds like he could of held out for more.

the future of Australia Zoo
15-04-2008

I reckon that if they want Australia Zoo to live up to its name , they should seriously look at working towards it .
For better or for worse , it has become obvious that Steve Irwin established
"Steve Irwin Zoo and Reptile Park" , whether this was intended or not .

Take the lynch pin away , and you need to have another anchor , or the whole project could easily collapse .
Steve tragically died a couple of years ago ( he was far too young to die in my opinion , even though I wasnt a great fan of his style ) and it could be argued as to how long he will be remembered by growing generations . Although he was probably Australias best known reptile conservation person , he did not have the depth or breadth that someone like Gerald Durrell or David Attenborough .

If Australia Zoo wants to seriously keep that title , they should decide how they are going to do that with a long term plan , that does NOT involve a Steve or a Bindi or someother personality that the media will continually hound for the rest of their lives . Otherwise it may as well be called Irwinpark
The more that the remaining Irwins can concentrate on running the zoo , the better .
They obviously have some potential to do so , I certainly dont want it wasted and being turned into yet another pseudo-attraction on the Sunshine Coast . Greater Brisbane could do with a decent zoo !

15-04-2008

nigel, i think you'll find that since the growth of the zoo was founded on the entertainment industry - continuing as a (bindi) irwin theme park, very much is their future.

what your asking is for australia zoo to not only hypothetically become just another zoo, without the theatrics, but to become a zoo comparable to melbourne or taronga or any other major zoo in the world.

i don't think thats possible with a private enterprise. i don't think just being a zoo is going to be enough for australia zoo to not only sustain itself but be able to continue to grow in the decades to come.

public zoos receive on-going funding by the government for new developments. the gates mostly just cover cover the day-to day running of the place.

if australia zoo gave up on the entertainment element what would happen?

the irwin celebrity would fizzle and with it would disappear the zoos biggest income. their nest egg would have been all spent on investments in gorillas, elephants, lemurs, animal hospitals and african safaris.

eventually renovations and new attractions would be needed to keep the ours zoo up to date. and whilst taronga zoo gets another government cash injection, australia zoo will find themselves struggling to makeup the funds from gate sales alone. as the zoo slowly begins to become more outdated less people visit and slowly its slips into trouble.

see, if australia zoo wants to play with the big guys and "live up to its name" as you put it then its imperative that they do continue up with irwin image and maintain it as more than a zoo.

the whole future of the estate is pinned on bindi not just as a child television host, but eventually she will be marketed as a sex-symbol who's not afraid to get her hands dirty. you wait and see...

15-04-2008

I've said it time and time again, but the potential at Australia Zoo is enormous. With rhinos, lemurs, an african savanna, hotel, etc all due to arrive within the next two years then there should be a huge spike in attendance. They still have long-term plans that have been rumored to involve both gorillas and orangutans, and the 3 aging Asian elephants will eventually have to be replaced by younger stock. Perhaps they can copy Werribee and incorporate rollercoasters and $220 million in renovation funds? Hahaha

15-04-2008

Bindi ?!???

15-04-2008

yeeeeup. thats what'll happen.