well, steve irwin has announced that he is opening an australian animal zoo in vegas and will be spending part of his life overthere from now on. i guess he'll be filling the empty void that was left by the departure of sigfried and roy. as just one of millions of fellow australians who find his behaviour somewhat embarrassing, usa jon, YOU GUYS CAN HAVE HIM!!! i do believe he has conservation at heart, but i can't say i find him particuarly knowledgable about animals. most people love his simple, layman's vocabulary - but i'll have david attenborough any day of the week! interestingly, if you whach any of the very early australian-made crocodile hunter doco's - he behaves very seriously and holds back somehwhat on the crikey's. one things for sure though, australia zoo is going to become HUGE! i just hope he realises that nobody really cares if its bindy's birthday, or if baby bob has finally become potty trained!
Steve Irwin as seen by NZers I am not against Steve Irwin per se if he can give the animals decent enclosures to live in , and can carer for them . But every Kiwi that I know of thinks he is the biggest skite this side of the black stump . I am frustrated by the website which is 90% useless , and ther fact that no one there seems to answer any questions via the web . I agree with Patrick that too much effort is spent on trying to idolise his children , and people like us who are interested in zoos and conservation dont give two hoots about the Irwin family per se . I certainly dont . Someone in NZ obtained the photo of him feeding the croc with a chook , and holding his newly born son . They changed it to make it show him feeding the infant boy to the croc and holding on to the chook in his other arm !! And thats how much every Kiwi thinks of Steve Irwin !!! However , if you can look at the zoo , and its potential , and any breeding successes it has had ( try to visit on a day when Mr Skite is not at home , like I did ) I think that you would have a slightly better ( although not by much ) of Australia Zoo . If the shows are interspersed with actual facts , and the animals are not hurt in any way , one can tolerate an animal show , and if it can help Australians to live with and respect reptiles -- even venomous ones -- it is of benefit . Why does many Australians think that snakes should be killed on sight ? And if there are facts given during the show , it can also teach someone like me how to respect them more , and how to observe snakes without putting myself in a position where I could be bitten . I am very interested in snakes , goannas and the like ( they are my preferred animal that I want to see in the zoos and in the wild ,and on my trips overseas ) Many other zoos have animal preformances -- San Diego and Singapore are two large zoos which have these , and even Auckland , and Wellington Zoos have animal talks where the keeper gets the animals to do certain movements -- partly for the delight of visitors , but also for the keepers themselves to observe the animal at close quarters for any sign of illness or injury . Could it be that Steve is doing the same at Australia Zoo ? How else could he get a close observation of a saltie in his care ? When I visited Australia Zoo a few years ago , they had just finished making a large wombat enclosure . People asked the keeper as to why the enclosure was so large for such small animals . The keeper replied " because Steve wants a nice big enclosure for all our animals " As Steve is very much a herpetologist first and foremost , the fact that he got the new enlarged enclosure for wombats , might say something about his heart towards animals -- even if we all wish that his ego will one day be deflated by a dangerous animal that will be a little faster than him ?
With regards to steves shows. When I last visited we went to one of the otter shows, basically a keeper gets in and talks about theotters while feeding them, pretty much what other zoos do. However! It was all scare stuff. "These otters are very vicious!! If I turn my back on them they'll give me an aweful bite!! Almost lost a thumb!! Careful he's coming at me. Where did that one go!! etc etc etc dramatising the whole danger of it all. And I found that many of the shows were like that, or else Steve showing how brave he is (Mr crikey was there the day I went, the day he introduced his son to the crocs - saw it all) The conservation message tends to get lost. Jason
Steve Irwin .... .... it is a pity that the talk is all hype and critical danger . The snake show at Currimbin Sanctuary was very well presented , and I learnt most of my knowledge about snakes from that one show alone . Even the snake display at Healesville was interjected with some schoolkid asking " does it bite " Do other staff at Australia Zoo follow the Irwin style of commentary ? ( I hope not -- they have good potential there , but it is being squashed by Steves style )
yeah, the australia zoo staff all love jumping into the water like steve, boots n' all, for that desired wet khaki look.
letter to Australia Zoo ( a letter ?? CRIKEY!!! ) here is a copy of most of a letter that I have emailed to Australia Zoo . Someone has got to tell Steve and staff that their shows are becoming less and less useful...... I have visited your zoo a few years ago , along with numerous other ones in SE QLD . My favourite part of the whole holiday was to actually hold a real python ( by myself ) and get photographic proof that I actually did it . I have a keen interest in snakes , but as I am from NZ , I get precious little snakes to observe . Can I ask that you ( Australian Zoo ) put in more facts and less of the hype in your website and animal talks ? Or have completely seperate ones for those of us who are interested in learning about animals and conservation ? If you listen to your staff during an animal "show " with the otters ( which , granted , can bite , but are not exactly the worlds most dangerous of animals ) there is a lot of "danger talk " and anything about conservation of these species is given second pecking . Crikey !! He almost bit me !! Those teeth are really sharp ! He almost took my thumb off the other week , Watch out , he' s after me ! I ve gotta be REAL careful !!!! Is Australia Zoo really a zoo , or is it a sideshow with daredevil animal trainers ? OK , you have to be real careful -- the same as most zookkeepers with most animals at the zoo -- they are wild animals and not circus animals after all . But Wellington zoo staff get in with their otters without a continuous hype like a circus lion tamer , and tell the public about otters , and why they dont make good pets , that why they are not as cute as they look , and why the zoo is trying to breed them . How much do you think that I learnt about Australian snakes from your snake talk -- especially what to do if I find myself almost on top of a death adder , or what to do if I am bitten by one ? Remember , I am a NZer . I like snakes , but there is a big chance that if I come across one in the wild in Queensland that I could get too close to it in order to observe it . Your talks tell me that all your snakes are fast and highly venomous , not to mention "CRIKEY !! It almost got me !! " but it is of NO benefit to me . Can I suggest that you go to the snake show at Currimbin Sanctuary and see how a more productive and informative talk can be given along with your "Danger Hype" And can you please put in more useful information about your animals , and conservation into a part of your zoo website for those of us who are interested in that sort of thing . Zookeepers wearing kahki shorts jumping into waterholes and shouting out "Crikey" do not really give you guys much credit to those of us who like zoos ( and hate circuses ) As your animal shows ignore the whole idea about conservation , why do you even bother with them ? Most modern zoos these days are for Conservation first , followed by education , animal welfare and caring , and then breeding .... continuous bragging about the animals potential bite is usually way down on the priority list . Australia Zoo has a lot of good potential , and I think that Steve and the rest of you have the animals well being at heart , hence the huge enclosure that I saw at your zoo .... for wombats Please dont spoil it by being 99% circus --- I am sure that you can educate people as well as amuse them --- Currimbin could easily do it , why cant you ?
off-topic... i think this thread has gotten somewhat off the topic of breeding animals. maybe we should start a thread titled "ten things we hate about steve irwin". actually, make that "twenty things we hate about the irwin's"! even bindy-sue shits me!
The Irwins Firstly , many thanks to Sim for applying my suggestion to move the Irwins to its own thread , and thanks to Patrick for alerting me/us that the original thread was about another subject . Does Steves wife ( her name eludes me at this point of time ) ever do anything in the public view at the zoo ? When we had the TV species " The Crocodile Hunter " she appeared to be suffering from a lot less Crikey!ism and hype than Steve . And being a Canadian , they dont tend to brag as much as many of their Southern neighbours . I know that she is as fond of animals and conservation as Steve , but without the bragging and b*llsh*t Have any of you met her and/or seen her in real life ? What does she do within the zoo ? It is a pity that he has to spoil his own good work , as the place certainly has heaps of potential , and he is not afraid to get his hands dirty and regularly upgrade the enclosures . It is certainly a much better zoo than Alma Park .
Crikey !! Orang Utans !! Paul has recently informed me of another Steve Irwins ideas , which I think is going over the top -- from my understanding , he hopes to have a baby orang utan living in his home !! Can anyone verify this , or provide more information about it ? This goes beyond radical , it is downright foolish in my view . A baby orang utan will soon grow up into something that ( at best ) will wreck his home , or (worse ) could kill any/all members of his family -- potty trained or otherwise . Also , if you take a baby orang utan away from its own kind for any length of time , it will be difficult/impossible to be reintegrated at a later stage into established orang communities . I have seen the effects of this at the Orang Utan sanctuary near Sandakan , Borneo . All of the Orangs that they have accepted have had their lives screwed up due to human interference , and it is a long slow job to train them how to live as orang utans should --- and not all of them make it . I am surprised that Steve lacks the common sense in dealing with these intelligent , yet potentially dangerous mammals . Orangs are very strong when the need arises , and is not the sort of animal that makes good pets
