Quote:
Originally Posted by Miss Vicky
You can't coreograph what wild animals are going to do.
The only thing that surprised me about his death was that it was caused by a stingray. I would've thought for sure that his demise would have been the result of a venomous snake (which he had the habit of grabbing with his bare hands and I've seen him get bit by snakes on his show on many occasions) or by a crocodile (I've seen him get bit by these as well).
Also, in the beginning, when the show was just 'The Crocodile Hunter' most of the program was shot out in the Australian bush, not at his zoo. The focus only switched to the zoo when it became 'Crocodile Hunter Diaries' but even then he still shot a lot of programming out in the animals' native habitat. He also seemed to travel more in the later episodes and began filming in places like Africa and South America.
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Of course you cannot cooreograph what a wild animal will do but you can cooreograph what HE was going to do and utilize all safety precautions possible. He did that. His crock shows were pretty similar everyday, he had six or seven people around the enclosure and I believe he was well trained and knew what he was doing. He took as many precautions as possible in his line of work. He was educated and had years of experience but of course, these things happen. Look how many lion/tiger trainers end up getting mauled by cats they have handled since birth. He definately took risks, I am not saying that he didn't...especially when he was out in the bush or Africa etc. I saw him get bit by a snake too...although he never struck me as quite as crazy with the snakes as that other blonde, Aussie guy on Animal Planet. That guy is a photographer, I think, and he is just nuts.
I am also surprised he was killed in such a freakish way, considering some of the other animals he worked with. Animals like sharks, crocks etc. When they said he got killed by a stingray on the news, I was like "whaaaaaa?". I feel so bad for his wife and children and I really hope they continue his legacy. No matter what you thought of him, his work with education, research, conservation, relocation, etc will be sorely missed.