Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Croc Hunter: Rememberance
Back in 1996, or perhaps it was '97, I was watching the Discovery Channel as I so often did back then, when I saw a show that changed nature shows for me forever. The show was called something to the effect of "The World's Deadliest Snakes"; it featured an excitable Aussie on a quest to find the ten deadliest snakes in the world. All of which coincidentally enough were located in Australia. But nonetheless I loved the documentary. It wasn't just the snakes, which even then were creatures that fascinated me; it was the more the host.
At that time almost all nature shows were narrated, not hosted. This immediately set this show apart. But more than that the host was exciting and, at the time at least, seemed a little suicidal or at least reckless. He would spot a snake, then give chase, and then pick it up. In the past I had only seen snakes handled with those long snake catching sticks with the hook on the end or by pinning the head and then securely holding it. The host explained that he didn't do this because he didn't want to hurt the snake or put any undo stress on it. Seemed wild at the time, but I really admire that now. He simply held the snake by the end of its tail, not securing those deadly heads at all. When they would strike at him he would simply dance out of the way. The top of this Australian's list of deadly snakes was the Fear snake. A snake whose bite is so deadly that unless antivenin is administered within the hour it is almost always fatal. The energetic Aussie lay down on the ground in front of the snake's hole and while he was talking it slithered out and face to face with the man. The man stilled and became quiet instantly. The snake stuck around for a moment even crawling part of the way in the man's shirt, then left and went about its business. To me, at the time, the man seemed to escape death by the merest breath. This exciting new TV personality seemed one ill timed twitch away from having his new career snuffed out.
A few months later a friend of mine I had watched the documentary with told me that the man had gotten his own TV show on Animal Planet. This at the time was such a young network that no cable company carried it. I thought this was great and hoped I would get to see it. We will never know for sure, but it could be argued that the only reason that Animal Planet survived those first couple of years was because of Steve Irwin, The Crocodile Hunter.
When Animal Planet finally came to me, I drank in every episode of his show eagerly. Even watching them repeatedly in rerun. I was an instant and huge fan. I had always had a special place in my heart for the less cuddly creatures and the enthusiasm Steve had for these animals mirrored my own feelings. It is hard for me to express in words how greatly and deeply his passion affected me. The best I can do is to tell you that I briefly considered both herpetology and wildlife biology as majors when I returned to school, only letting go of these ideas when I realized they would not present the best means of supporting my family. But the seeds of this dream were planted and nurtured by Steve Irwin. Those closest to me probably have some idea of how highly I held the Croc Hunter. One year I received a gift of a toy Crocodile Hunter with one of his crocs, Agro if youre interested. You could press a button on his chest that was disguised as shirt pocket and he would say, "Crikey! What a rippah!". One year there was a contest on Animal Planet to win a trip to Australia to work alongside Steve Irwin in his zoo. I don't usually pay attention to contests, but I entered that one, and dreamed of winning.
I was a fan not just because he was fun to watch, but because of what he stood for. The animals he stood up for were not monsters; they were beautiful in their own way and had as much right to live as the fluffy, cuddly animals. The crocodile is a creature of great awe, an animal so perfectly designed it has existed unchanged since the age of the dinosaur. We shouldn't let fear destroy these animals.
Steve Irwin's popularity amazed me or at least the depth of it anyway. He became so popular that one had to merely utter the word, "Crikey" and you were doing a Croc Hunter impression. He was spoofed on a great variety of shows from South Park to Whose Line Is It Anyway. If mockery is truly the highest form of flattery, then Steve Irwin is most assuredly a loved legend. In the late nineties through the early two-thousands there was an explosion of nature shows. The hosted kind and one can not deny that this was ushered in by The Crocodile Hunter. At one time Steve himself had three different regular shows on the air; The Crocodile Hunter, The Crocodile Hunter Diaries, and Croc Files. And suddenly Animal Planet was full of lots of new faces doing their best to be the Croc Hunter, Jeff Corwin, Mark Oshea, Steve Austin, and many more with varying degrees of success. I dont doubt their passion and authenticity, but none of them were the Croc Hunter. And I have to wonder how many of them would have ever been given a chance if Steve Irwin had not opened the door for them. None of them seemed to have the same air about them as Steve, nor that aura of invincibility. Most of them you just knew that any second they would be bitten by their quarry, with Steve after a few episodes you no longer expected him to be bitten and it was almost a surprise on the few occasions when he was. When watching Steve do his thing you knew he had been doing this his whole life, more than that, you knew he was born to do it.
What have we lost in the wake of Steve Irwins tragic death? We have lost a great individual who stood for a noble cause. A man who tried to educate us, as well as entertain us, on the unrecognized beauty so that we didnt continue to destroy in blind terror. Although our loss can not even begin to compare to that of his family and friends, we still will feel the sting of loss. We will feel it in absence. In the absence of the exciting, respected voice that will no longer be there to speak for those that can't speak for themselves. It saddens my heart to know that I will never get to see The Crocodile Hunter jump on the back of a twenty foot croc or hold a venomous Black Mamba by the tail. He seemed so immortal and invincible, but now the truth comes home. And in this case the truth is a terrible thing and bitter pill to swallow.
At that time almost all nature shows were narrated, not hosted. This immediately set this show apart. But more than that the host was exciting and, at the time at least, seemed a little suicidal or at least reckless. He would spot a snake, then give chase, and then pick it up. In the past I had only seen snakes handled with those long snake catching sticks with the hook on the end or by pinning the head and then securely holding it. The host explained that he didn't do this because he didn't want to hurt the snake or put any undo stress on it. Seemed wild at the time, but I really admire that now. He simply held the snake by the end of its tail, not securing those deadly heads at all. When they would strike at him he would simply dance out of the way. The top of this Australian's list of deadly snakes was the Fear snake. A snake whose bite is so deadly that unless antivenin is administered within the hour it is almost always fatal. The energetic Aussie lay down on the ground in front of the snake's hole and while he was talking it slithered out and face to face with the man. The man stilled and became quiet instantly. The snake stuck around for a moment even crawling part of the way in the man's shirt, then left and went about its business. To me, at the time, the man seemed to escape death by the merest breath. This exciting new TV personality seemed one ill timed twitch away from having his new career snuffed out.
A few months later a friend of mine I had watched the documentary with told me that the man had gotten his own TV show on Animal Planet. This at the time was such a young network that no cable company carried it. I thought this was great and hoped I would get to see it. We will never know for sure, but it could be argued that the only reason that Animal Planet survived those first couple of years was because of Steve Irwin, The Crocodile Hunter.
When Animal Planet finally came to me, I drank in every episode of his show eagerly. Even watching them repeatedly in rerun. I was an instant and huge fan. I had always had a special place in my heart for the less cuddly creatures and the enthusiasm Steve had for these animals mirrored my own feelings. It is hard for me to express in words how greatly and deeply his passion affected me. The best I can do is to tell you that I briefly considered both herpetology and wildlife biology as majors when I returned to school, only letting go of these ideas when I realized they would not present the best means of supporting my family. But the seeds of this dream were planted and nurtured by Steve Irwin. Those closest to me probably have some idea of how highly I held the Croc Hunter. One year I received a gift of a toy Crocodile Hunter with one of his crocs, Agro if youre interested. You could press a button on his chest that was disguised as shirt pocket and he would say, "Crikey! What a rippah!". One year there was a contest on Animal Planet to win a trip to Australia to work alongside Steve Irwin in his zoo. I don't usually pay attention to contests, but I entered that one, and dreamed of winning.
I was a fan not just because he was fun to watch, but because of what he stood for. The animals he stood up for were not monsters; they were beautiful in their own way and had as much right to live as the fluffy, cuddly animals. The crocodile is a creature of great awe, an animal so perfectly designed it has existed unchanged since the age of the dinosaur. We shouldn't let fear destroy these animals.
Steve Irwin's popularity amazed me or at least the depth of it anyway. He became so popular that one had to merely utter the word, "Crikey" and you were doing a Croc Hunter impression. He was spoofed on a great variety of shows from South Park to Whose Line Is It Anyway. If mockery is truly the highest form of flattery, then Steve Irwin is most assuredly a loved legend. In the late nineties through the early two-thousands there was an explosion of nature shows. The hosted kind and one can not deny that this was ushered in by The Crocodile Hunter. At one time Steve himself had three different regular shows on the air; The Crocodile Hunter, The Crocodile Hunter Diaries, and Croc Files. And suddenly Animal Planet was full of lots of new faces doing their best to be the Croc Hunter, Jeff Corwin, Mark Oshea, Steve Austin, and many more with varying degrees of success. I dont doubt their passion and authenticity, but none of them were the Croc Hunter. And I have to wonder how many of them would have ever been given a chance if Steve Irwin had not opened the door for them. None of them seemed to have the same air about them as Steve, nor that aura of invincibility. Most of them you just knew that any second they would be bitten by their quarry, with Steve after a few episodes you no longer expected him to be bitten and it was almost a surprise on the few occasions when he was. When watching Steve do his thing you knew he had been doing this his whole life, more than that, you knew he was born to do it.
What have we lost in the wake of Steve Irwins tragic death? We have lost a great individual who stood for a noble cause. A man who tried to educate us, as well as entertain us, on the unrecognized beauty so that we didnt continue to destroy in blind terror. Although our loss can not even begin to compare to that of his family and friends, we still will feel the sting of loss. We will feel it in absence. In the absence of the exciting, respected voice that will no longer be there to speak for those that can't speak for themselves. It saddens my heart to know that I will never get to see The Crocodile Hunter jump on the back of a twenty foot croc or hold a venomous Black Mamba by the tail. He seemed so immortal and invincible, but now the truth comes home. And in this case the truth is a terrible thing and bitter pill to swallow.
