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Najakcharmer -> RE: Steve Irwin did not take much risk! (9/5/2006 1:11:26 PM)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: WhipTheHip
Maybe this croc had just been fed? Maybe, Steve knew its
temperment. Maybe, this croc was semi-tame.
Even if all those things were true, which they mostly were, it is still possible for a feeding response to be provoked in such an animal. Feeding response is completely different from defensive behavior. A completely tame crocodilian may still evince a feeding response and mistake a human hand for a food item if it is improperly presented. Avery well fed crocodilian may do the same thing, though it may abandon the prey once it is secured. Crocs like their food, and even a lazy, well fed one is going to be potentially quite interested in what its handler is carrying.
quote:
It is wrong to judge without knowing all the particulars.
I've been working with crocodilians for a long time, and I did know the particulars in this case. Croc research is a pretty small field, and we have global meetings. The overwhelming consensus of professional opinion in this field on the subject of baby plus croc is that it was a very unwise and unprofessional act no matter how experienced the handler is and how tame/placid the croc is.
One of the messages I've tried to convey in my educational efforts is that television does it wrong. Animal handlers are *not* Superman or Jungle Jane. We are professionals with a specific skill set that includes safety protocols and a deep understanding of animal behavior and body language that lets us do our work at close quarters because we have to. Anyone can learn this skill set. The image that handlers like to hype of themselves is that they are special people for having "mastery" of these animals. The reality is that it isn't even that exciting. Behavioral management of crocodilians is a science as much as an art, and any zookeeper can learn it. In fact any zookeeper had better learn it, because croc cages need cleaning and it's completely impractical to physically move them on a regular basis.
The problems happen when animal handlers start believing their own hype. Sure, we can do stuff with wild animals that makes the crowd gasp. Big whoopee. That doesn't make us superpowered beings who are immune to getting hurt, or worse, to getting other people hurt, if something goes wrong and an animal does something unexpected, perhaps in response to stimuli you don't know about or an environmental factor that isn't under your control. Shit happens. Overconfidence equals injury and death in this profession, and that's an equation you can count on.
I've been in situations where I've been handling some critter or other that could kill me, or standing as backup to another handler, and shit happened. In one case it was an unexpected thunderclap that set some male gators off. In a few more cases it was mechanical noises or vibrations caused by a car wreck outside or heavy machinery being started up that upset the animals. I've had the power fail and leave me in pitch darkness with a rattlesnake in my hands. I've seen long term captive animals go bugfuck nuts on their handlers for no apparent reason. Sometimes you can identify the stimulus that triggered the behaviior, especially when it's obvious (like the car crash outside) and sometimes you just don't know. Sometimes you find out on vet exam or on necropsy that the animal was in pain from a condition that wasn't initially obvious. An animal that you sincerely believe will remain placid and calm around you may not always do so if something happens to trigger another aspect of its behavior.
Professionals who respect safety protocol understand clearly that no matter what you are doing with an animal, sometimes shit happens. If you are doing something stupid at the time that shit happens and the animal reacts to something you didn't expect, or in a way that is behaviorally uncharacteristic for the species but well within its physical capability, somebody's going to get hurt. There's just no way around that.
We have the right to risk ourselves. But we don't have the right to put other people at risk. Especially very little people who can't make those decisions for themselves.
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