Never Smile at a Crocodile

"By getting in their enclosures with them, and letting them put on those huge strikes from the water's edge, they get to use all of their predatory instincts and they just love it!"

So spoke Robert Irwin, son of the famous late "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin, after an especially harrowing experience at his family's Australia Zoo.  Irwin was filming a TV episode featuring "Casper," a 12-foot saltwater crocodile, when the croc lunged at him.  No surprise there - an Irwin being lunged at by a saltwater crocodile is kind of par for the course.  This time, though, the croc pressed its advantage, eventually chasing the young conservationist clear out of the enclosure, with Irwin shouting, "Bail, bail!" as he directed everyone to get out of the animal's path.

It makes good TV, I won't lie.  I grew up watching The Crocodile Hunter.  And, to be fair, these things to happen.  I've worked with five species of crocodilian over my career and, unlike the big cats and bears I've worked with, I've gone into the enclosure with each one.  Sometimes, they are not happy to see you and let you know.  Sometimes, they seem a little too happy to see you, and then they really let you know.  I won't say that I've ever run out of an enclosure before... but there definitely have been times when I've walked quickly.  Like I said, these things happen.

I'm sure that the Irwin's crocs get plenty of exercise by running their keepers out on a regular basis.  I do wonder sometimes if it's too much (not the exercise - the entire shebang).  I get it, they need to attract visitors, and a little showmanship doesn't hurt.  A lot, however, can kill you.  Or someone else, for that matter - I've always worried about members of the public getting themselves injured trying to imitate Steve Irwin.  (Full disclosure - the first bite I ever received as a zookeeper occurred while I was doing a Steve Irwin impression, bad Aussie accent and all.  To be fair, it involved a 12-inch baby carpet python which barely broke the skin, so it's not something that really stayed with me).  Secondly, even the best slip up sometimes.  All it takes is a loose shoelace, an unexpectedly wet patch of grass, or a hidden branch to trip young Robert up and then he tumbles long enough to be grabbed, seriously hurt... or worse.

The Irwin family has done more to promote crocodiles and their conservation to the general public than almost anyone I can think of.  The flip side of that, however, is that if one of them were to be hurt or killed by a croc, we could expect a vicious backlash against those animals (after Steve's tragic death, I'd heard that there was a spate of stingrays being found killed, presumably out of some sense of revenge, which I'm sure Irwin would have been appalled by).

So please, Robert (and Bindi and Terri), I know the shows are a part of the legacy, but be careful. The consequences of a mistake would be disastrous for you.  They could be just as bad for crocodiles.