'Croc Hunter' defiant in face of world outrage

"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 my stomach to be compared in that way."

SNIP

The Sunday Telegraph also reported that after the crocodile feeding, Irwin and his American wife Terri told their five-year-old daughter Bindi to splash around in a pool near a crocodile pen to encourage the reptiles to swim out.

"Now flail around and look helpless, that's the girl, good girl," Terri Irwin was quoted as saying. "That's my girl, Bindi Irwin, the other white meat."

Full article : http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1073234785758_192/?hub=Entertainment

crocs would eat ole Steve...

to quote my friend .."he's a bloody idiot"...

He's too rotten for their taste...

freakin kook!

n/t

i.e. babies = America's future generations, croc = war on terror & deficit spending.

Makes a GREAT political cartoon that way.

people are simply looking for something to focus on, but this is all quite stupid

to look like a smart ass? Isn't it?

I saw the video and that child was no more in danger than he ever is

Also, I don't think his wife would be right there to defend him if she thought the baby was in danger.

It's reactionary nonsense to demonize this man, and really isn't worth the story it generated.

that man is downright creepy, and so is his wife

He's a jerk.

do you think he would want his child killed? or is that your interprtation of events?

think that....But the man OBVIOUSLY HAS ATROCIOUS JUDGMENT!!!!!

and others who are ready to judge anyone who they don't agree with

a crocodile....That's irresponsible to say the least...What if he had slipped or tripped and fallen?....I can't think of any responsible parent who would have done what he did!....Sorry, I just think he's a nut to do such a thing!!!

so, do you think the state should take his child from him?

it?....I'm not saying they should take his baby from him...I just hope all the outrage has made him think a little harder before he does anymore foolhardy stunts like that....

we should keep people from having children then :eyes:

Look, I'm not saying this was the best thing to do, but I won't sit in judgement. This guy has had decades to work with these animals. If there was a threat, then he was a bad parent for allowing the babyto get close, but he obviously didn't agree that there was a threat.

you.....Your responses are not reasonable...You JUST DON'T GET IT!....

P.S....I don't care if Irwin worked with wild animals all his life....I have OFTEN heard animal behaviour experts say that you can NEVER trust a wild animal to behave in a certain way ....They are unpredictable and we must always keep that in mind....

Parents dropping babies isn't the issue. Dropping them into a croc's mouth that you baited to come toward you is. Good grief. How hard is that?

I could speak more slowly...

up in the air, as is so commonly done? What if the baby isn't caught on the way back down?

can't catch baby-- very similar to the question as to what if Irwin had tripped or slipped.

I withdraw from this discussion...It's getting inane!

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situation than yours....And your sarcasm is as unnecessary as you're calling my reasons for alarm at this silly man's antics, "hysterics!"
And now adieu....

you don't believe in a woman's right to choose, do you?

Croc antics to baby tossing to woman's right to choose.
This is incredible.

I Know,I Know......... dad eats the baby. er, no let's see,that would be the crocodile.... hmmmm??? oh damn it!

I feel this is a whole lot about not much going on here.

The man is a professional who was brought up his whole like amongst these animals -- his own father did just about the same thing with him.

Some of us are raised with dogs, cats, or reptiles like iguanas. Our families feed us at the breast or dinner table with these animals nearby. I've seen toddlers eating at the family dog's food bowl with Fido. But because we think these animals are "domesticated", we don't think too much about the fact that these animal can be just as "dangerous" to a child as we think that that big ol' croc is.

People who work professionally with animals -- be they domestics or exotics -- tend to involve their families in ways that could be shocking to outsiders.

On edit: I should add that he and his wife did the exact same thing with their daughter Bindi at the same age, but I guess it wasn't newsworthy back then.

their being dangerous is ludicrous!....If you can't see that...well...I feel rather sorry for you!

nt

common dog/child accidents is when a small toddler tries taking food from a family dog's bowl. Check out how many kids are mauled in this manner each year. It's no joke. And there are folks who won't let a pet cat anywhere near a baby for fear of the diseases that cat may carry and the possibility of the cat lashing out and injuring the baby. There was a thread right here recently about that.

And that is the very point I am making. The difference between a well-fed croc in a wildpark setting and a domestic pet is pretty much only one of perception. They can both be dangerous, they can both do serious harm, and if you're letting your kids mess with them you better know damn well what you are doing.

:)...No offence....but really!....

http://www.nbc10.com/news/2618305/detail.html

Baby Attacked By Family Rottweiler
Doctors Trying To Reattach Part Of Child's Scalp

WEST POTTSGROVE, Pa. -- A baby got too close to the food bowl of the family dog Thursday and ended up in the hospital.

Zachary Moore, 11 months, was badly mauled by the Rottweiler and flown to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. He was rushed into surgery so doctors could try to replace part of his scalp.

The attack happened around 10:30 a.m. at a home in West Pottsgrove, Pa. The boy was home with his grandmother when he either startled the dog when it was eating, or got too close to its food. That is when the dog grabbed the baby's head.


http://www.racs.edu.au/surgical_news/vol3_no5/vigilance.html

Geelong plastic surgeon Mr Peter Callan used his presentation at the Annual Scientific Congress to launch an awareness campaign to help reduce the incidence of dog bites to young children.

Mr Callan said that an increasing number of dog attacks on young children was not the result of so-called "killer dogs" but simply due to a lack of appropriate parental supervision.

He said two-thirds of dog bites occurred in the home, indicating that many parents were not aware of the risks and the need for greater vigilance.


http://www.cnn.com/HEALTH/9706/06/nfm.dogbites/

ATLANTA (CNN) -- The arrival of warm weather brings with it its own kind of health hazards, from allergy-inducing pollen and mold to stinging bees, biting insects and burning sun.

There is one hazard, however, that is often overlooked, perhaps because it is often thought of as man's best friend: the biting dog.

Every 40 seconds in the United States, government health officials say, someone goes to the doctor for treatment of a dog bite.

Indeed, says Dr. Jeffrey Sacks of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, "Between 1979 and 1996, 306 people died from dog attacks."

Sacks says the children are most often the victims of dog bites, and for obvious reasons.

"First of all, they're at face level with the dog, so they're not seen as a dominant figure to a dog," he says. "And often children's behavior -- need I tell parents? -- is unpredictable."


http://www.redtailboa.net/news_index421.html

Reported in Pet Product News, March Issue, 2002

The mother of an 8-year old Pennsylvania girl killed by the family's pet Burmese python has pleaded guilty to one count of child endangerment and reportedly plans to testify against her estranged husband, Pittsburg police said.

According to the police, March Mountain will be placed on probation for two years in exchange for her testimony against Robert Mountain, 31,Amber Mountains father.

Police said Robert is mainly responsible for the girl's death. He had said he only taped the top of the snake's aquarium shut before leaving for work on the day of the incident in August.

He has been charged with involuntary manslaughter, endangering the welfare of children and recklessly endangering the welfare of a child. Robert Mountain's attorney says the child's mother is also to blame for her death, because she neglected to watch the child in Robert's absence. The 11 foot long, 26.5 pound snake escaped from its cage and asphyxiated the child in the kitchen of the family's duplex in Irwin, Pa. on August 22, police said.


The Irwin kids probably have a better chance at getting attacked by their pet pooch.

:hi:

did a doggy hurt you when you wuz a baybee?

yer post was wacked out considering the story is about crocodiles


?

I was raking the leaves in my neighbor's yard when their friendly, "domesticated" pet dog, out of the blue, attacked their 3 year old son. The dog jumped on him, knocking him down and chewed up his face really badly before any of us could get there to pull the dog off. The reason? We're not entirely sure, but we believe it was because the boy picked up one of the dogs chew toys.

The point is that it is silly to go nuts over holding a baby near a wild animal and not think anything of letting a baby play with a 'domesticated' animal. Personally, I think that they are equally stupid.

Mr. Irwin knows more about crocs than I do and most here I would reckon. All these hystrionics are amusing yet ultimately tiresome. It certainly speaks to people's "reptile brains". They seem to have projected every fear of nature, wildness, and animality onto this story and in the process seem ready to cast Irwin as beyond the pale, uncivilised, a wild man!....See, I can be full of it too.

"When I put him back in the pram he had big eyes and he was smiling
and it was a wonderful sensory experience for him. He dug it," she
said."


Steve Irwin rescues his child from a Child Protection Caseworker!

The picture we're gonna see over and over again.
http://www.
heraldsun.news.com.au/common/imagedata/0,1658,312128,00.jpg

TWO ARTICLES

Direct link
http://www.
heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,8307894%255E662,00.html


:eyes:

I fixed your links LibertyChick. :)

Croc Shock

http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/imagedata/0,1658,312128,00.jpg

:-)

He dug it," she said."

Is she aware that a one month old is only able to focus its eyes to a distance a foot or two at best? The little baby would only have seen a blur while being thrashed about with its head unsupported during the feeding. As the father of a nearly four month old, I couldn't have told you what the little guy was thinking at one month.

This is grotesquely irresponsible. The Roy guy with the tiger thought he knew what he was doing. So did Timothy Treadwell and Amie Huguenard in Alaska when they were killed and eaten by bears (treadwell was a bear expert). Wild animals are just that: wild. And this croc was hungry. I wouldn't let my baby near my mother's incredibly gentle cocker spaniel. With children that small, even domestic animals can react very oddly.

If Michael Schumacher held a baby on his lap and went for a drive he'd be in big legal trouble, regardless of arguments like "I knew what I was doing and I know cars!". What's the difference with this reckless croc clown?

Case in point, the woman who was arrested for breastfeeding her baby while driving.

When I heard him say "it is my duty to teach my children about these animals...We live among them"...(not exact quote...close enough).....I was floored that the reporter didn't ask him how you teach a 1 month old baby about crocodiles?.....I've always thought he is an exhibitionistic show-off and never watched his shows, but this stunt with his baby proves he's also a reckless moron!

a child. He acts no different now than he did when he was a kid in the family's home movies. He's outrageous according to our standards, but he has always been just like he is now.

stupid viewer, who knows NOTHING about these wild reptiles? Does he not think some of THEM might emulate? THAT alone makes the act (no matter how "in-control" he may have been) IRRESPONSIBLE!


I have to agree: they are both idiots and I think that the fame has taken hold of his (and her) common sense.

that's a dangerous precedent to set

His shows are expressly meant to teach. No, if your or I had done it, it would have been a personal issue. However, I don't believe that either of us are in the business of producing educational programs about wildlife on tv. While I agree with you that the whole issue has been blown out of proportion, your argument that he does not have a responsibility to be concerned with the example he sets for the watching tv masses, does not wash, imho.

he and his wife, being experts, didn't think their child was in danger

I'll defer to their judgement.

As for it being a huge publicity stsunt...so what else is new?

get so upset about! No, THEY are the experts and have a responsibility to be concerned about how their audience could perceive/misperceive what they are doing. Joe Blow Australian may decide that since Steve said it was his "responsibility" to teach his kids about wildlife, that he, Joe Blow needs to get the toddler out there to learn about crocs and snakes, and so forth. That's all I am saying.

But, I hope you won't continue to be so upset about those who disagree. Life is too short! It's Sunday. Go enjoy!

and lets talk about who's actually upset here...it was your post that decried Irwin's horrible actions

Dear Terwilliger:
I think the point some of us are trying get across here is any sane person with common sense is not going to put their child in harms way by even letting them get within striking distance of such a creature. Have you never seen these animals move quickly when they are agitated or are feeding? This is a pretty irresponsible action by most peoples standards. Tell me if you would do the same and if so, let me know what state you live in so I can contact Children and Family services.

YOU are not the expert...yet YOU are the one to judge...I'll give ya a hint...this is why many many many folks don't like Democrats...they feel superior to everybody else and they decide when someone is right or wrong

A little testy today aren't we? I doubt I'm the face of any party just some one who can look at situation and say "man that's really stupid".

Irwin is an expert...you're not.

Since there is a high chance of being in a car accident every time you go out, is it irresponsible to take your children with you?

But driving is a necessary evil Crocodiles are not. I'm guessing here, but, I'll wager you wouldn't hand your kid over to this guy and say here go feed the "croc"? Would you?

Marlin Perkins,an expert zoologist(Chicago Zoo?) took a chance and came near death by handling and being bit by a deadly Gabon Viper. There have been countless examples of similar experiences.
Disgusting that this guy would expose his child for benefit of a thrill seeking audience and that goes for anyone who exploits a child for notoriety, fame or whatever.

Did you also see the episode whee a Boa wrapped him up and several people had to tear it off him? Really old program.

is that your opinion?

You might be interested in the experiences of professional alligator wrestlers among the Miccosukee tribe of South Florida, all who consider themselves to be expert at predicting alligator behavior.:

"It happens so fast, you usually don't know you've been bitten until it's almost over with. You don't even believe it at first. Once they get ahold of you, depending on the gator, he can do pretty much what he wants to you."
— Greg Long, alligator wrestler

"Most gators, once they bite you, they'll shake about four or five times. As long as you don't put up any resistance, they'll usually let you go."

You hope never to hear Greg Long say that his job is eating him alive. Because it could happen.

Before this gator gig, Long had wrestled the animals full- or part-time for 10 years, getting bitten twice.

"It happens so fast, you usually don't know you've been bitten until it's almost over with. You don't even believe it at first. Once they get ahold of you, depending on the gator, he can do pretty much what he wants to you. You can't really open up the jaws once he clamps on you. If he decides to spin on you, you can really get mangled up pretty good."

In October, a Seminole Everglades guide known as Swamp Owl had a hand crushed when a 10-foot, one-eyed gator named Bubbles chomped down on it. Owl, also known as Paul Morrison, had extensive reconstructive surgery following the mishap, which occurred during an exhibition at a private function.

In February, Seminole Chief James Billie lost a finger wrestling a gator in front of about 100 tourists. Perhaps the chief was a bit rusty -- it had been a decade since he'd tussled with one of the beady-eyed brutes.

And three years ago, a wrestler named Kenny Cypress got too up-close-and-personal with one of the scaly critters when his head became jammed between its jaws. Two men and a crowbar were needed to free Cypress, who suffered a fractured jaw and other injuries.

more--
http://www.cnn.com/2000/CAREER/trends/12/11/gatorman/

I said Irwin and his wife are capable of making decisions for themselves and their family.

Accidents happen even to the best of experts taking the utmost care when dealing with danger. As to your question I will try to answer it. Anyone working with dangerous animals or in a dangerous occupation of any description is taking a chance that accidents may happen with unfavorable results. My question, like many others, is why expose a child, who has no choice in the matter, to the possibility of harm coming to that child. If Corwin wants to play around with crocs, that's his decision and he is taking his own chances.

or is that something you want to legislate (I know...he's from Australia)

or, should we keep anyone who ISN'T an expert from being allowed to have children?

Irwin is a croc expert and he made decisions about his child.

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

sense is feeling superior and turns people off, I'm all for it.

of patented outrage.

this is a pointless media diversion to keep your eyes off the real news... which is Bush's policies.

IMHO, this would only be real news if he had actually dropped the baby and the crocodlile ate it. And that would still be exploitative tabloid trash news.

Could've, might've ain't real news. It's just speculation.

But it does sound a lot like Bush's bullsh*t justification for invasion of Iraq.


I sure wish we could segregate celebrity gossip news back to Entertainment Tonight where it belongs and keep it away from the alleged "News" networks, et al.

Thanx for bringing us back to the important issues.

Really, I don't. I really don't see what the big deal is.

To say that Steve Irwin would willingly put his own baby at any risk of danger is just ludicrous and deeply insulting. There's at least a thousand times bigger chance of that kid dying in a car accident than be eaten by a crocodile, yet nobody cries havoc when mothers drive around with their babies, do they? And virtually none of those are professional race car drivers, as Irwin is a professional croc-farm-feeder-thingy. :)

I don't care what reasons people might have for disliking him, I've never really heard any reasonable arguments either, but this is just lame. That baby was safer than 99% of all other babies in the world at that time.

time."....I'm astounded....Are you serious?....The man was trotting around on grass next to a pool...with a hungry crocodile nearby....WHAT IF HE HAD SLIPPED ON THE GRASS AND FELL?....Do you still think the baby was not potentially in great danger?....It boggles my mind to think a parent would do what he did!!!

I've posted several postings on this subject because it really bothered me when I say the idiot doing his stunt...I won't say any more, but I honestly can't understand how anyone could condone what he did!

"The man was trotting around on grass next to a pool...with a hungry crocodile nearby....WHAT IF HE HAD SLIPPED ON THE GRASS AND FELL?....Do you still think the baby was not potentially in great danger?....It boggles my mind to think a parent would do what he did!!!"

What if any parent in the world left their baby alone with a very small dog and the dog jumped up and stood on their babys chest? The baby would suffocate. But for some reason, having babies around dogs is not enough to be called "an idiot" or doing "a stunt".

What if your car suddenly skids out of control and hits another car? What if a meteor suddenly hits you in the head? What if a tree suddenly falls over you? What if? What if? What if?

Do I think the baby was in potentially great danger? Sure I do. I'm also sure that Steve Irwin is in potentially great danger every second of the day he works with poisonous snakes, crocodiles, rhinos, whatever. He's still alive and statistically, that baby was safer a few feet away from that crocodile than any baby is, while driving around in a car.

Babies have carseats, Bob (I believe the childs name is) has Steve Irwin.

There is something lame here.

as to whether to expose a child to a crocodile or one of Princess Anne's terriers.

Good one, Kathy!!!

:hi:

:hi: Hi, Cat!

Seriously though, with all the children that are dying horribly in Iraq and Afghanistan with NO global outrage, maybe a bit of perspective could be in order? This particular baby is unhurt, happy and healthy. And you can bet that it won't happen again.

My mother has pictures of me sitting on a big horse by myself at the age of 6 months. It probably was very dangerous in retrospect, even the most well trained horse can bolt, and could you just imagine what would happen to a baby who is flung off a panicked horse... My parents could in no stretch of the imagination be classed as child abusers or endangerers. Alot of parents introduce their children to whatever they are expert at doing at an early age.

And his wife should get the blame too, unless she didn't know anything about it.

because he KNEW what abuse Jackson took for his stupid mistake. Jackson was in complete control of keeping hold of his baby, the croc hunter had no control over what the croc might do, REALLY stupid.

Behind the barricade?

I guess that we should then condemn just as fervently and soundly the thousands of American families that put their children at risk by their reckless behavior behind the wheel of a SUV.

For the comparison of risk sake, I wonder just how many animal handlers have had their children eaten by crocs, compared to the number of children killed in SUV's?

many crocodiles drive Ford Explorers?

by crocs, because I would be willing to bet NO OTHER animal handlers would have done this dumb stunt to begin with...

Not good Steve, not good at all.

A picture is worth a thousand words ,or in this case one "asinine"
If he's looking for free publicity, he's got it!

Maybe these were driven by animal handlers? :shrug:
Regardless, no one should try a stunt like driving an Explorer to begin with, especially with a child in it.

Except that they are BOTH reckless.....????....I'm sorry but this is getting pretty silly..

The guy is a loon. He is more popular over there than he is here. He is the only person I have seen get a wombat to attack him.

This sucker is no higher than your knee. They are one of the most docile animals in Australia!

... one which I caught just this morning, Irwin goes on and on about how the vast majority of people in the world don't live where he lives so they don't understand the pressing need to dangle their kids in front of crocs to teach them a lesson. He carried on if there were a hungry croc in the driveway of every Aussie home just waiting to gobble up any toddler playing their back yard.

Well, Steve, you got one thing right --most people in the world live in areas where there are LOT more carnivorous predators about than the occasional croc. Bears, wolves, coyotes, lions, tigers, cougars and all manner of big cats, alligators AND crocs. I've had rattlers and copperheads in my driveway, a rabid skunk who tried to claw his way through our back door, a bear who circled our house every night for a winter and foxes who snack on the neighborhood pets -- and that's in what most folks, including myself, would consider the comfortable and populous Eastern U.S.

Methinks its time for Steve to overcome his Tarzan-envy. Little wonder he's so cozy with the neocons -- he's obviously got issues with his masculinity so the terra alert level must be constantly maintained somehow -- if it's not Saddam, I guess the crocs will do.

I'm not qualified to offer an opinion on the Crocodile stunt. I have frequent nightmares about them. But, I do know about what holding a newborn's head. What kind of parent holds their child and doesn't support the head? That child's head is dangling with no support and that is wrong.

It would be one thing if he were holding the baby securely and went near a crocodile as an introduction (though a one month old can barely see, let alone take in a lot of nuances of how to be 'croc-savvy'). But to have him in one arm with his head flopping, and the other arm holding food/bait is ridiculous. What if Steve had to step back quickly if the croc lunged? That little neck can't take that.

I really don't see anything he did wrong....

All he did was introduce his kid to a crocodile...since they live in that place anyways...

No freaking different from parents who take their kids to an amusement park and let them run off to go on rides they really have no business doing, or those parents who blame "society" when they let thier kids stay out all night and get high..

Give me a break...

No-one got hurt, the baby wasn't in any immediate danger in the opinion of his father and mother, both of whom are experts on crocs and therefore far be it for me or anyone else to second guess Mr. Irwin.

It's only a story to busy-bodies who like to denigrate those who do or say things they don't agree with.

Babies are quite tasty, with the right seasoning.

While I do not have a fixed opinion on the present case -I can see both sides of the story-I regard Steve Irwin in the same light that some here on DU regard Charlie Daniels or Dennis Miller. He was the one who termed our neo-con Prime Minister "the greatest leader in the whole world" and as a result got a free invite to a lunch with Bush when he was in Australia. Since then my perception of him has been decidedly negative. His blatant sucking up to the neo cons has done him no favor in my eyes

I saw him being interviewed by one of the Australian networks tonight. He did not come off well from that interview.

It's a pity because I used to like Steve Irwin before I found that he was a neo-con appeaser

Thank God Siegfried & Roy can't have children!

was that he was protecting a woman with "large" hair then they changed it to he had a stroke and the tiger was trying to help him.
HMMMMM.

I use to work part time in a DOG kennel. My 10 year old daughter would come with me because she loved to look at the doggies. I wouldn't allow her near any of the dogs unless I was right next to her. Even the friendly lab when placed in a kennel can become very fearful and fear is what can cause many dogs to bite. She knew if she didn't listen to me then she couldn't go back. However I didn't allow any risk to be taken with my child and didn't tell her go, feed the chow or pit bull or other breeds that can be aggressive.
If I did and she was injured then not only has a failed as a parent then I should be charged with neglect.

A wild animal is a wild animal. I'm sure the people watching this stupidity paid a ticket price to get in. I hope they got their moneys worth. I would have been sick.

he used bad judgment and let it go at that. I don't understand why no one will ever admit anymore that they shouldn't have done what they did, what an era of non-responsibility that we are living in. :argh:

The kid watches, and I have to see what she watches. Just so you know that's the only reason.
The man is barking mad, undoubtedly. He's way too used to touching crocs and snakes and little woogly things. He no longer thinks like the rest of us, doesn't realize he's often thisclose to fatal mishap, and has no remaining clue that his masterful air of confidence is only useful for jiving the crocodile.
He meant no harm. That's the usual formula.

speaks volumes about a POV which demonizes any critter not cute & fuzzy. As I just said on another thread, his showbiz antics may be over the top but there is no doubt in my mind that this guy has a Gift for working with wildlife.

How many times has he had close calls?


Both cases... Too many times!!!

You can't argue with this guy's experience. It may not be safe for you or I to do the things that he does, but, if he was my dad, I'd trust him totally.

I hope that this is not the last topic I post that get this attention...

Next time I will try to fins something more "newsworthy"

Oh, and by the way, Irwin is a creep....

drinking pepsi, and playing video games for hours on end...

but The Crocodile Hunter gets the grief about "child abuse" and neglectfulness...???

anyone see any irony here?

He's been dealing with crocs for years and years. He knows exactly what he is doing. And this is HIS child. Anyone could see from the video that he was holding the baby AWAY from the crocodile, IN A PROTECTIVE MANNER, so why not give the guy, as a father and a professional, the benefit of the doubt? He has the experience, and you have no reason to doubt his love for his children.

Everybody needs to mind their own goddamned business. This is STUPID.

Doesn't mean you can do what you want with them.... geee

is that he loves the child more than you or I do- so the chances are pretty good that he knows the kid isn't going to get hurt.

The question is the the love he has for his kid. The question is the unnecessary risk he took FOR HIM ONLY (since the kid had NO IDEA of what was going on). He was showing off for the crowd just to be sure to make an effect. He did! It snapped back in is face.

"Hell is paved with good intentions"

Between his knowledge of crocodiles from YEARS of experience, his love for the child as its father, and the video showing him holding the baby AWAY from the crocodile, I have total faith in the fact that the baby was in no true danger.

I was driving home last night and heard Laura Ingraham on the radio, she was defending Irwin as a great father and said this was way overblown. Irwin has been on her show, and thus she thinks he is great.

Whatever the boundaries of good and decent parental behavior are - this stunt was outside the boundaries. The concern here seems focused on whether we may judge Irwin's behavior - or whether it is up to him to decide what is right and safe for his child. Of course, all parents have that right -withint the boundaries of good and decent parental behavior. The point is - this goes beyond the boundaries.

It is inherently dangerous. Look at Roy Black. Look at the couple who was recently mauled to death by bears in Alaska

You can't ever predict the behavior of wild animals. Sure, you have to watch out for dogs and cats too - but that doesn't mean that wild animals are less dangerous.