You make some valid points as the website and zoo is very marketing orientated but judging by your email your no fool so I would imagine that you already know some the answers to your questions. However I'll cover them as you obviously would like to hear some justification. Firstly when doing a show, zoo or anything your success with depend on your approach. As you would be aware Australia Zoo is a private zoo with no government funding. The fact that our wombats for example have a better enclosure and keeper time allocated to them than other zoos including those with government funding doesn't just happen. All the marketing hype you refer to is a means to an end. There has been much accomplished through the zoo with research, conservation, etc because of this. If we were to put on a slide show or lecture in the crocoseum, people like ourselves may be interested but the rest would leave. The idea with large audiences is to entertain and include a few key facts that you want them to remember. The average joe blow will only take in a few points to remember, the rest is lost. If we dribble on about dry bites and every other scenario they won't remember the Pressure Bandage and what not to do with snakes i.e.. kill them. Most of the points you have made about the snake demo are usually covered on a daily basis, it may have been someone new doing the show on the day you were here. Anyway we appreciate that not everyone wants to know what the Irwin's are up to however they are the backbone and owners of the zoo and its continued success. In order for us to go on with habitat acquisition, zoo expansion and many other projects, things like the website need to be as they are. It's not going to please everyone, but since the zoo owns 84,000 acres of Brigalow belt with a dozen species of snake within including endangered species, we are pretty happy. Other sanctuary's can only dream of doing such things. We do understand your angle but unfortunately it won't pay the bills and our animals will be back in small boxes. We can't have our cake and eat it, that's not reality, to function on the level we are at now wouldn't happen without celebrity status driving the zoo. Many zoos are envious of what we've been able to do in a small amount of time. Again this is due to the to the whole Steve thing. Like I mentioned before we understand your points but if we took out all the Steve you would have been visiting a much smaller zoo. In the meantime feel free to ask any questions via email. Kind Regards International Correspondent Australia Zoo Sim -- please feel free to move this thread to a more appropriate section or to another thread as you see fit . for your information ..... This is an unedited letter I recieved from Australia Zoo . I agree with them that Steve Irwin helps make the zoo what it is as far as size and enclosures , but I found the snake show at Currimbin both interesting and informative ( with a little danger hype also thrown in ) But I still feel the danger hype is sometimes distorted at the Australia Zoo , and I am not sure that their snakes are comfortable with the soundwaves booming off their loudspeaker system ..... but I am happy that Steve has acquired all the land for zoo expansions , and with his efforts with endangered animals
Nigel, glad you got a reply from Australia zoo, it sounds about right and as i have said before on this forum, Steve makes the money, Steve spends the money, If he pours so much money into his zoo and only wants to do the best he can then i feel hes on the right track, as we all know its hard to do anything without the funding, I will be following what happens with great interest at his zoo, from what i have heard 65% of overseas visitors head for his place after leaving Brisbane airport, thats not a bad %.
i have alot of respect for what steve irwin is doing. these days, media moguls talk alot of entertainment, dry dribble and ridiculous garbage they feed our youth, mostly from the U.S. most people my age are completely unaware of many environmental issues, so i think steve irwin, with his entertaining and informative apporach is not doing such a bad job. of course i cringe at him, and would much rather watch the engaging david attenborough but anyone these days who can get through the 'ratings war', desperate housewives and o.c with an educatioanl message deserves some sort of positive recognistion
Hey Nigel Congrats on getting a reply from the Aust. Zoo It's interesting what was said and certainly I can't argue with it. It would be nice if just sometimes there was a news aticle about the zoo that was about something else other than Steve Irwin being worth millions of bucks but still living in a house that his Dad built. Overseas tourists love the place and that is GREAT. Let's hope that they will leave with a greater appreciatuon of Australias wildlife. I'm just hoping that it doesn't become TOO much like a circus.
Australia Zoo Thanks for all of your interesting thoughts . I sent them a reply , telling them that I can appreciate what they say about Steves marketing skills are doing good things to provide the many $$s that the zoo requires . I am concerned that it will turn into a circus , as Jai has alluded to . However , I also told them that I was impressed by many other parts of the Australia Zoo , and congradulated them for their real efforts in making decent animal enclosures for elephants etc . All going well , Australia Zoo can join the league of Best Zoos in the world in a few years , providsing that they can keep a good balance . I am also concerned about the possibility of an accident happening to Steve --- he has been very lucky to date , and he is probably Australias authority when it comes to reptiles -- but even the experts are not immune from something going wrong one day . If there is no more Steve , I hope that the Australia Zoo can continue with a reputation for Conservation . I will tell Everyone here that I would NOT want Australia Zoo to close ! A few years ago , I went to visit Jai in Brisbane . Although I went to Australia Zoo by myself , Jai and I went to Alma Park Zoo , Currimbin Sanctuary , and some other place in Brisbane forest (which name eludes me at this point) My high point of the whole trip was being able to manhandle a burmese python -- all by myself -- at Australia Zoo ( or at least try to -- 3 metres of python is a lot of snake ! ) Steve Irwin would probably die in the next --?-- years , as we all will , but Australia Zoo can last for a lot longer than any man can . I wish Alma Park would donate its animals to other zoos , and concentrate on its gardens ( which is what they do best ) They are also a private zoo , but has no obvious marketing strategy . They also appear to be incapable of improving the lot of their animals . The staff might care alot about the animals , but inadequate enclosures are still inadequate enclosures at the end of the day .
