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Steve Irwin "The Crocodile Hunter"
The
most successful crocodile hunter of all time
Steve
Irwin
1964
- 2006
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News search for "Steve
Irwin"
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Profile
Steve
Irwin
Crocodile
Hunter Scandal Blows Up - Steve Irwin VS Crocodile
Mick Pitman
As
reported by ABC, The Courier Mail, 2UE and Current
Affairs programmes
PETITION
Crocodile
Hunter Petition - Click here to vote for who the Real
Crocodile Hunter Is!
Press
Release - Crocodile Hunter Bites The Hand That Feeds
Him Again! Crocodile Mick Accused Of Intending To
Blow Up Australia Zoo Out Of The Water - Mediaman
Article:
Croc hunter Irwin in trade mark row - 31st October
2003
Interview:
Crocodile Mick Pitman, Crocodile Hunter - 9th September
2004
Article:
'Real' crocodile hunter denies zoo plot - 10th September
2004
Profile:
Crocodile Mick Pitman
Press
Release - Australian Public to vote for who is the
real Crocodile Hunter! Pitman Vs Irwin!
News
leak - Crocodile Mick Pitman to appear on Australian
TV current affairs programme
News
leak - Australian newspapers to report on Irwin VS
Pitman - SMH, Courier Mail...
Steve
Irwin and the baby stunt! (not a good idea to follow
the Michael Jackson path Stevo!)
Newsflash
Steve
Irwin could be in hot water over baby stunt at crocodile
feeding - CJAD 800
Steve's
'Jacko act' not a croc
Croc
man puts his son at risk
Irwin
Takes Baby to Crocodile Feeding
Australian
entertainer probed after feeding crocodile while holding
baby
Crocodile
hunter stirs scandal with baby stunt
Crocodile
and baby stunt sparks fury
Anger
over Australia crocodile hunter's baby stunt
Irwin
apologises for croc stunt
Irwin
defends feeding croc with baby
Crocodile
hunter escapes charges
Irwin
Snaps
Irwin
faces US backlash
Irwin
under international fire for croc stunt
Stunt
embroils Irwin in political row
Croc
hunter Steve Irwin lies low
Croc
hunter bites back (including video and interview)
Croc
Hunter Irwin Flees Media Frenzy
Steve
Irwin Crocodile Hunter fact file
Took
baby too close to crocodile
Paid
over $100,000 for ads to promote Australia
Broke
character in radio interview when asked about crocodile
attack
Publicly
said that "John Howard was the "greatest
leader ever"
Irwin's
Zoo often will not comment on Steve Irwin activities!
Truth, liberty and
an Akubra (credit)
Being
Steve Irwin
Actually,
that could just as well read "hating Steve Irwin",
which appears to be the latest fad among Labor, the
cultural Lefties, and the Arts chatterati. Miranda
Devine has an article on the fallout from Irwin's
declaration that John Howard was the "greatest
leader ever" and the "greatest leader in
the entire world". Of course, you can't say that
if you're an actor or on television, so the usual
suspects are now doing their best to ruin Irwin.
Suddenly
Irwin the likeable, outback ocker became Irwin the
greedy "millionaire" Howard-lover. For some
people, this was unforgivable.
The
letters pages of newspapers exploded with venom and
journalists sharpened their poison quills.
"After
his public comment to the effect that John Howard
is the greatest prime minister this country has ever
had, I no longer take him seriously as an apolitical
or intelligent wildlife advocate," A. Bass of
Sutherland wrote to The Daily Telegraph yesterday.
A
reporter from The Age in Melbourne questioned why
Irwin had turned down an invitation to Bill Clinton's
presidential farewell dinner. "Does it tell us
more about Steve Irwin than he might want us to know?"
he wrote. Irwin had "thick skin", the article
went on to say. "There's no getting through to
the heart or the soul. And let's not make the mistake
of going for the head."
There
were snide stories about Irwin's invitation to the
Lodge for a fancy "partisan barbecue" Howard
hosted for visiting US President George Bush, complete
with snaky references to the $25,000 cost.
There
were stories attacking Irwin's character. "For
crocodile hunter Steve Irwin charity really does begin
at home, with the millionaire 'donating' $175,000
to himself," began one story in The Courier-Mail
in Brisbane. This $364 a minute of taxpayers' money
was supposedly for "one day's work" shooting
a quarantine awareness TV ad. The Federal Opposition
and ABC Radio tried to whip up a crocodile-cash-for-comment
scandal, linking the payment to Irwin's praise of
the Prime Minister.
Finally,
last week, Irwin was forced to defend himself, issuing
a statement explaining the money was for a whole year's
work on the quarantine campaign, not one day, and
that he had given every cent to a new koala hospital
at his Queensland zoo.
Paying
Bill Hunter $250,000 for advertising the Keating Government's
"Working Nation" was apparently not as bad
in the eyes of the cultural establishment, or even
worth mentioning.
Irwin
snaps
January 4, 2004
Credit: The Sunday Telegraph
CROCODILE
hunter Steve Irwin has said that he is considering
withdrawing from public life after international criticism
of a stunt at his zoo involving his one-month-old
baby.
Irwin
told The Sunday Telegraph last night his son had been
perfectly safe when he held him on Friday while feeding
a chicken to a four-metre crocodile.
Speaking
from his home in Queensland, Irwin said the worldwide
fallout from taking his baby Bob into a crocodile
enclosure with him had left his family "absolutely
devastated".
Friday's
incident is being investigated by the Department of
Families which has requested an unedited video tape.
Commentators
across the US – where Irwin has achieved a cult-like
status through his TV show – compared the incident
to the Michael Jackson stunt, when the singer dangled
his newborn baby from a high-rise balcony.
But
a visibly upset Irwin said he was simply carrying
on his family tradition and doing what his own father
had done for him.
"I
am not a bad parent. I am not an irresponsible parent.
I am not a bad father," Irwin said.
"If
you knew how much I loved my kids . . . you would
know that I would never, ever, put them in any danger,
not in a million years.
"I
would lay down my life for Bindi and Bob, so to hear
people say that it was a publicity stunt, that I'm
just like Michael Jackson well, it just tears me up.
"It
makes me sick to the pit of my stomach to be compared
in that way."
The
Queensland Families Department confirmed it had requested
unedited copies of videotape of the incident.
But
Irwin and wife Terri were undeterred, holding a media
conference where they defended teaching their children
to be "croc savvy", shortly after ordering
five-year-old daughter Bindi into a crocodile enclosure
during a live show for the public.
Bindi
Irwin was told by her parents to get in the new enclosure,
which adjoins a crocodile pen, and splash around to
encourage the reptiles to swim out.
Mum
Terri then said: "Now flail around and look helpless.
That's the girl – good girl.
"The
problem is if the crocodile comes in too quickly then
I have to buy new floaties because they always pop."
"That's
my girl – Bindi Irwin, the other white meat."
Bindi
was then left to lie in shallow water as three large
elephants stamped and trumpeted 1m away. A zoo official
said a gate connecting the pool to the croc pen was
shut during the show.
But
patrons were less than impressed with the spectacle.
"It's
disgraceful," said mother-of-two Melanie Secoudis,
who visited the tourist attraction yesterday.
Irwin
said while he understood people were distressed, he
urged them to understand that his family was not "a
normal family living with a normal backyard".
"You
have to understand the sort of upbringing I had, the
sort of upbringing my kids are going to have,"
he said. "My parents raised me among crocs and
snakes and some of the most dangerous creatures in
the world, right here at Australia Zoo.
"They
exposed me to them from a very early age, not because
they were irresponsible, but because they loved me.
"Now
my kids are just like me, growing up at the zoo. We
have Alice the alligator living 20m from our house,
we have a croc enclosure 30m from our house.
"We
have to expose our kids to the dangers at an early
age, teach them the rules, the ways of the animal
kingdom.
"I
know people looking at me and Bob in the enclosure
might look at that and think, 'That's weird', but
if they came and lived with us for a month they'd
look at it and say, 'That's necessary'."
Police
and Families Department officers said yesterday they
received dozens of complaints about the incident,
dubbed "Bob's Croc Feeding Debut".
The
National Association for Prevention of Child Abuse
and Neglect slammed Irwin's actions, saying baby Bob
could have been killed, and questioned Irwin's ability
as a father.
"People
in his position have a responsibility to set an example
for the community," Queensland president Teresa
Scott said. "Dangling a baby in front of a crocodile
as some sort of publicity stunt is hardly responsible."
Crocodile
expert Grahame Webb, a professor at Charles Darwin
Uni who also farms crocodiles, said the Irwins had
ignored regulations governing the industry.
"The
key to understanding crocodiles is that they are very
much an opportunistic predator," Professor Webb
said yesterday.
The
Sunday Telegraph
Irwin
faces US backlash
From Peter Mitchell in Los Angeles
04Jan04
THE
fury over Steve Irwin's crocodile stunt with his newborn
son Bob spread across the US today, with American
newspapers and a Miami animal expert condemning the
Crocodile Hunter.
The
New York Daily News newspaper carried a front page
photo of Irwin with the headline: "Steve Irwin
- Australian for stupid."
The
New York Post headline read: "Crocodile Shock.
Irwin's Sick Baby Stunt."
The
Post began its story with the question: "Has
Steve Irwin gone off his croc-er?"
TV
stations across the US showed footage of Irwin feeding
a dead chicken to a four metre crocodile while holding
one-month-old Bob during their news bulletins.
"The
video seemingly tells it all," TV reporter Candy
Crowley said during her story aired on Los Angeles
TV station KTLA.
"Steve
Irwin the famous, or infamous depending on one's opinion,
Croc Hunter pulling another stunt. But no-one can
know how Irwin's one-month-old son Bob feels as dad
teases and then feeds Murray the crocodile just a
short distance away.
"And
for good measure, takes Bob on a waterside stroll
to the crowd's delight."
The
KTLA story included an interview with Miami Metrozoo
herpetologist Ron Magill who branded Irwin's stunt
"ludicrous".
"This
is just the ultimate," Magill said on US television.
"To
take an infant, your own infant, and put him in that
type of dangerous situation was just ludicrous."
On
24 hour news channel CNN, viewers were repeatedly
shown footage of Irwin feeding the croc while holding
his baby son.
CNN
news anchor Kyra Phillips, at the end of presenting
a story about the Croc Hunter incident, offered details
about the speed and danger posed by crocodiles.
"Chew
on this fact," Phillips told her audience.
"A
crocodilian biology database says these reptiles can
lunge at a rate of 39 feet per second, for a quarter
of a second. That's fast enough to capture prey standing
within one body length before it even has time to
react."
The
incident happened on Friday at Irwin's Australia Zoo
in Queensland.
Most
US newspaper and TV reports compared the Irwin incident
with pop star Michael Jackson's infamous balcony baby
dangling controversy in Germany in 2002.
CNN
said Irwin's "risky business has ignited a swarm
of criticism not seen since Michael Jackson"
dangled his baby.
The
respected Los Angeles Times newspaper ran a story
and a photo of Irwin's controversial feeding stunt
on page seven of today's edition, while the Los Angeles
Daily News, had a story on page two with a large photo
taken from TV footage shot by Australia's Seven Network.
Irwin
is a huge star in the US.
In
the past week his television documentary shows aired
23 times on the highly-watched US cable TV channel
Animal Planet. That included 15 back-to-back episodes
of his Crocodile Hunter show last Wednesday from 9am
to midnight.
Animal
Planet issued a statement saying:: "Animal Planet
does not support any activity that intentionally places
a child in harm's way. Based on the footage we have
seen, we believe a mistake was made.
"That
said, we know from the many years we have worked with
Steve, that his family is the most important thing
in his life and he takes his role as a father very
seriously."
This
report appears on NEWS.com.au.
Stunt
embroils Irwin in political row
By Jamie Walker and Ashleigh Wilson
January 5, 2004
STEVE
Irwin's nomination for Australian of the Year is in
jeopardy after a member of the judging panel questioned
his decision to dangle his month-old son before the
jaws of a 4m crocodile.
Describing
the self-styled Crocodile Hunter's behaviour as strange
and "quite worrying", National Australia
Day Council director Marjorie Turbayne said she would
today ask the organisation's national director to
consult other board members about Irwin's fitness
to be considered for 2004 Australian of the Year.
Irwin
is shortlisted for the honour, having been named by
the Queensland Government as that state's official
nominee.
He
went to ground yesterday, abandoning his zoo on the
Sunshine Coast in the face of intensifying controversy
over the publicity stunt he pulled last Friday with
his baby son, Bob.
Irwin
was filmed cradling the infant in one arm while feeding
the huge reptile raw meat from the other. At one point,
he "walked" Bob alongside the pool in which
the saltwater crocodile was lurking, drawing condemnation
from wildlife experts and family groups for endangering
his son.
Ms
Turbayne said yesterday that while Irwin might have
thought the situation was under control, "I don't
know if you can ever be 100 per cent certain with
wild animals".
"Personally,
I found it a very strange thing to do," she told
The Australian.
"Not
even considering him as the Australian nominee, just
as a person ... I find that quite worrying."
As
a director of the National Australia Day Council,
Ms Turbayne is one of eight judges who will recommend
to John Howard the Australian of the Year from a field
of state finalists. She said she would today raise
Irwin's conduct with National Australia Day Council
national director Warren Pearson, suggesting that
he "ring around" other judges to determine
their views.
Asked
if the episode could affect Irwin's candidature for
Australian of the Year, Ms Turbayne said: "I
think it could." She stressed, however, that
it was her private opinion.
Irwin's
spokeswoman said yesterday that he had "had enough"
of the controversy and retreated with his family -
wife Terri, daughter Bindi, 5, and baby Bob - to one
of their conservation properties in western Queensland.
Far
from contrite, the Irwins were yesterday reported
to have involved Bindi in another live show on Saturday
with crocodiles. Brisbane's Sunday Mail said Terri
had described the little girl as "white meat"
after calling on her to enter an enclosure adjoining
the reptiles' pen.
Federal
Children and Youth Affairs Minister Larry Anthony
said yesterday he hoped Irwin would learn that children
should not be placed in dangerous situations.
"It
wasn't wise for him to do that, and I think he has
probably reflected on it quite seriously," Mr
Anthony said.
Other
state finalists for the award include Test cricket
captain Steve Waugh from NSW, and West Australian
burns treatment expert Fiona Wood.
A
spokeswoman for Queensland Families Minister Judy
Spence said yesterday Irwin would be counselled this
week by a child protection official.
Premier
Peter Beattie's office was insisting yesterday that
the furore would not affect Irwin's nomination for
Australian of the Year.
Ghan
ready to dump Irwin
By the Northern Territory News's Paul Dyer
CROCODILE
hunter Steve Irwin may have his name stripped from
the Northern Territory's Ghan passenger train after
he dangled his newborn son in front of a 4m saltwater
crocodile at feeding time.
Outrage
spread at home and abroad yesterday, with some officials
saying the stunt could damage tourism to the Territory
and Australia.
Great
Southern Railway (GSR) marketing manager Anthony Kirchner
last night would not rule out a name change.
"Obviously
we are keeping an eye on the situation - time will
tell," he said.
In
September, GSR announced the locomotive for the inaugural
Adelaide to Darwin rail journey would be called Steve
Irwin. The decision to overlook historical figures
and national icons for the train's moniker divided
Territorians.
Irwin
is also the train's ambassador.
Territory
Federal MP David Tollner, an outspoken critic of the
name, said last night that Friday's stunt was just
another reason to change it.
He
called on the NT Government to urge GSR to dump the
name.
"He
is an unsuitable personality to be the name of our
first locomotive," he said.
The
stunt occurred in front of Friday's feeding time crowd
at Irwin's Australia Zoo on the Sunshine Coast.
Territory
croc expert and owner of Darwin's Crocodylus Park
Professor Grahame Webb has joined the chorus of criticism
of Irwin.
He
said Irwin had ignored the rules and regulations governing
the industry.
"There's
a lot of risk involved in handling crocodiles, even
for those who think they know what they are doing,"
he said.
"Anything
could have happened - all it would have taken was
one slip and tragedy could have occurred.
"The
key to understanding crocodiles is that they are a
water-edge predator and very much an opportunistic
predator.
"When
opportunities present themselves, they take them.
Crocodiles are unpredictable - just because they are
well-fed does not mean they won't attack."
NT
Acting Chief Minister Syd Stirling said the Government
had no input into the naming of the train.
"While
the Territory Government believes Mr Irwin's actions
were inappropriate, it is entirely up to Great Southern
Rail - a privately-owned company - to decide whether
to continue using his image on one of their locomotives,"
he said.
Mr
Kirchner said it was unlikely a change would be made
at this stage.
"Steve
Irwin has been a great launching vehicle for us in
our key international markets," he said.
Irwin
has defended his actions, saying one-month-old baby
Bob was safe and it was important to teach children
about danger.
He
claimed he was hurt by the allegations of child neglect
and said he could scale down his public activities
with the media.
The
Australian
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