What does a kid whose hobby is raising reptiles do when he grows up? If your first pet at age five was a very large snake, and you began "jumping crocs" at 12, as an adult you might become a world-renowned "herp". That's short for herpetologist, or "reptile expert," which is what became of Steve Irwin, Australia's most celebrated "Crocodile Hunter".

Besides all of that, Steve and Terri travel around Australia and move "rogue" crocodiles to safer environments. These are "problem crocs" that inhabit popular fishing and swimming spots where the tourists like to go or threaten livestock and children on Australian farms. Steve is known as one of the biggest "crocodile removers" on Australia's east coast, and let's face it, probably the world. Already well-known in his own country, Steve and Terri made Australian television history when their ten hour series "The Crocodile Hunter" was seen by a record audience in 1991. Since then, Steve has become something of a legend at home in Australia and may soon become a household word in other parts of the world as well.

How do you wrestle a crocodile? Steve explains: "Go out into a dinghy at night with a spotlight and locate your croc. Don't try this yourself, but jump in the water and call it a half-Nelson or just a decent wallow in a muddy creek with a croc, that's what its all about." What's all in a night's work to Steve is something you should never try at home.

In addition to his croc handling , Steve and Terri have recently been on an expedition in search of sea snake venom. The world supply of anti-toxin is running low, and it's up to a hands-on herpetologist to harvest more of the stuff. Like such fictional jungle dwellers of old as Tarzan and Jane, almost no animal is too wild for Steve and Terri. Steve does the snake milking and Terri does the shooting... of documentary films, that is.

Steve's wildlife encounters are more than just fun with crocs. They also include handling poisonous red snakes or rampaging feral pigs in the rugged wilds of the Australian outback. On a typical day though, he might just be pouring cement in one of the crocodile "runs" at his own Reptile Park, as he was when I called him for an interview. He explained that he had someone watching the croc for him while he did the pouring just in case the big guy started to make a move. That would be the signal for Steve to double time out of the way.

Q: Tell us about your adventure with the sea snakes.

"Sure, I was asked by the Australian Reptile Park in York and the Commonwealth Serum Laboratory to collect some big sea snakes. The world supply of anti-serum is running low, and a heck of a lot of people die every year of sea snake bites especially in Asian waters . We did very well. We got 11 in the first week, which was really very successful. I had Terri up at the front of the boat scooping them with the net, and then I would wrangle them from there."

Q: What do mean wrangle? Do you pick them up by their neck?

"No, definitely not! I never restrain a snake by the neck as a lot of people do, and when they milk the snake they must seize it by the head to get it down by the beaker. For me, what I'll do is tail them, simply pick them up off the ground and then quickly put them into a bucket. We recently finished a documentary on the ten most venomous snakes in the world, and when I wrangle snakes, whether I'm catching them out of people's backyards or schools or whatever, I simply grab them by the tail and put them in a catch bag. Its a little dangerous, but I've been doing it all my life. The same with the crocodiles. When we're up catching sea snakes we're in the really remote peninsula, and the crocodiles were as thick as the sea snakes. So it was a really good, healthy eco-system. Unfortunately, though, in those northern waters a lot of them get shot and dealt with in a rather harsh manner, because they've got the reputation of eating people.

What we're seeing now here, not so much just here, but globally, is a typical reaction to a large predatory animal. Saltwater crocodiles are the largest crocodiles on the planet, and the largest reptile in the world. Through our educational programs, animals that seem dangerous are being seen with a new respect. Australians and other people in countries that do have crocodiles and alligators should be very, very proud of them. We don't have lions or tigers or bears here in Australia; but we do have crocodiles and what we do have is a heck of a lot of pride in that. Crocodiles should be seen as the king of all Australian animals."

Q: How did you learn to "jump crocs"?

"First, my Dad set up the Queensland Reptile and Fauna Park. He's always had a burning passion for reptiles and Australian fauna. As you know its unique. Our claim to fame is not just the kangaroo, because Australia is really the land of reptiles. We've got the most venomous snakes in the world, and we've got the biggest 24 of the 25 goanna species.

I grew up here at the park, and starting at the age of nine, I used to accompany my Dad on all the field expeditions. I'd just refuse to go to school. If it looked like I wasn't going to go on a field trip, I'd roll around on the ground and wave me arms in the air. At the ripe old age of nine, Dad had me catching fresh water crocodiles, which are considered harmless; but they were found in areas that were being developed with explosions up the river to make dams. So at a very young age, I was right in there.

To catch these "freshies" what you do is go out at night and flood the river system with your spotlight. Once you catch their eyeshine-their eyes are just like little red reflectors- I'd be in the front of the boat and Dad would idle it right in the direction of the croc. Once we'd get in around 20 feet, we'd be able to tell how big the croc was by it's head length or width across the eyes. I'd give him the signal for "yeah, it's a go and I can take it". When I was a young boy, that would be for any crocodile less than five feet. I'd put my spotlight down as Dad would pick his up simultaneously, and when we got within six to ten feet, I'd just dive straight out of the boat, grab it by the scruff of the neck, and secure its tail in between my legs. You tuck it in tight to your body, and that takes the sting out of its thrashing around. Then Dad would just scoot me and the crocodile into the boat. This was initiation to jumping on crocs.

By the 1980's, Dad was starting to get disappointed with the public attitude towards our saltwater crocodiles. They have been a protected species since 1974, but, unfortunately, they were continuing to be shot because people just thought of them as evil, ugly monsters that inhabit tropical waters just waiting for tourists and visitors to go there so that they could eat them. Dad was a little cranky about this and he wanted to be in there actively helping the crocs, so we joined the East Coast Crocodile Management Program run by the Department of Environment and Heritage and the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Services. They had designated certain crocodiles as 'rogues'."

Pacific Mythology Excerpts © 1992 Jan Knappert - All Rights Reserved
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