What? Nobody is talking about what an idiot the Crocodile Hunter is?

[Ted Striker]

that's simply untrue

take the explosive speed of an alligator/croc

compare that with the explosive speed of a human

the overgrown lizard will win every single time

it's not even a contest

[General Ludd]

Originally posted by Ted Striker

the overgrown lizard will win every single time

Well, Steve Irwin's made it this long without dying, or even losing a limb. How can you account for that?

[Ted Striker]

yeah and one of the Siegfried and Roy guys almost DID die

The accounting for that is OBVIOUS

[General Ludd]

Originally posted by Ted Striker
yeah and one of the Siegfried and Roy guys almost DID die

But this isn't about siegfried and Roy, is it?

I don't think you'll ever have to worry about one of them bringing their baby to work.

[Ted Striker]

the POINT is genius that they are wild animals meaning:

1) They are WILD which means they are unpredictable
2) They are 10 times stronger and faster than humans so they can easily kick our asses

Oh and by the way there are several well documented incidencts of other crocodile "handlers" getting maimed or killed by them

Then we have the inevitable circus elephants running out of control rampaging and killing people every couple of years

[Boris Godunov]

I don't care how experienced Irwin is, doing what he did was a stupid risk of a baby's life and he shouldn't have done it, period. All it takes is for one thing to go wrong and the kid could have been croc meat. Irwin and his wife (who had approved of it) should both be slapped with child endangerment charges.

[General Ludd]

Originally posted by Ted Striker
the POINT is genius that they are wild animals meaning:

1) They are WILD which means they are unpredictable
2) They are 10 times stronger and faster than humans so they can easily kick our asses

The point is that the crocodile's strength lies in ambush or attacking unsuspecting or unprepared prey. This guy has been doing this for ages and has survived being attacked, chased, and bitten by crocodiles. I think he understands them pretty well - even if it is just an understanding that they are unpredictable and you have to be prepared for anything.

[chequita guevara]

There is a difference between Erwin and Roy. Crocs are never tame, therefore you are always on your guard. Roy got lazy and sloppy around a "tamed" wild animal. Regardless of the fact that it was raised by humans and that S&R treat the cats like their babies, they are still, deep down, wild animals, and will, if push comes to shove, react like wild animals.

When Roy got attacked, it was a dominance play on the cats part. He was not being dragged off stage to be protected like a kitten, but because the tiger was taking him someplace more private to finish the job. Big cats (lions excepted) don't like to eat out in the open where they are vulnerable. S&R were just making something up to try and save the tiger. No other animal expert agreed with their lame story.

[Alexander's Horse]

Originally posted by Urban Ranger


Do note that crocs only move fast when coming out of the water, not when wallowing on land.

Sorry, wrong again - a saltwater croc can outrun anything in a short burst on land. They are ambush predators. Consider this chilling little factoid.

CNN news anchor Kyra Phillips, at the end of presenting a story about the Croc Hunter incident, offered this fact 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."

As for Irwin and his shows, tricks are used to make the croc docile enough to approach. Two common ones are to the feed the animal up before the show or put it in cold water. Crocodiles are cold blooded and become sluggish when cold. The same tricks are widely used for snake shows. Put the cobra in a refrigerator for a few minutes and its not going to bite anyone.

[Paddy]

Originally posted by Urban Ranger
Crocs generally don't lunge forward. If it did, it'd gnaw on his leg first. It's not a wise move, but he probably knows more about crocs than you know about beer.

Well said, and you should see what his daughter gets up to....

Bloody media can go get a lump of wood and bash themselves repea...

[Ted Striker]

Originally posted by Osweld


The point is that the crocodile's strength lies in ambush or attacking unsuspecting or unprepared prey. This guy has been doing this for ages and has survived being attacked, chased, and bitten by crocodiles. I think he understands them pretty well - even if it is just an understanding that they are unpredictable and you have to be prepared for anything.

Like they say with stocks, past performance is no guarantee of future success. There are numerous accounts of trained "professionals" getting their asses kicked by wild animals, including crocodiles. It doesn't matter HOW good you think he is.

He had another person's life with him. A defenseless little baby. That baby had no choice in the matter.

That's it. PERIOD

Look at a place like Malawi where 2 people die A DAY from crocodiles.

[General Ludd]

Originally posted by Ted Striker

He had another person's life with him. A defenseless little baby. That baby had no choice in the matter.

Babies have no choice about anything, and people put them at risk everyday. The smoking example from before, for instance. Or, hell, what about taking them in a car? Statistically speaking, that's probably one of the more riskier things you could do with a baby.

[Ted Striker]

of course they don't have choice that's the whole point!

so I'd hardly say holding them in front of a damn crocodile is a smart thing to do!

Secondly there are necessary and unneccessary risks. Sometimes people have no choice but to put the baby in the car since in most places a car is a necessity.

But putting them in front of an alligator!!!

[Boris Godunov]

Crocodile.

[Sikander]

Originally posted by Osweld


Babies have no choice about anything, and people put them at risk everyday. The smoking example from before, for instance. Or, hell, what about taking them in a car? Statistically speaking, that's probably one of the more riskier things you could do with a baby.

Not really. The reason that automobile accidents rate so highly in causing infant deaths is that many infants often ride in cars, perhaps several times a day. I doubt that enough infants are used in publicity stunts involving live crocodiles for a statistically valid sample to be gathered.