Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin’s widow denies zoo is facing closure due to debt

The zoo run by the late Steve Irwin is not facing closure despite claims it is crippled by debt, his widow has stressed.

Irwin took over the running of the Australia Zoo in Queensland from his parents and managed the zoo with his wife Terri while rising to global fame as a risk-taking wildlife expert.

It was claimed this week that just five years after the Crocodile Hunter’s death at the hands of a sting ray, the zoo was on the brink of being closed down due to financial problems but Terri Irwin has insisted the tourist attraction is comfortable.

Animal lovers: Steve and Terri Irwin ran the zoo after he inherited the centre from his parents

In trouble? Former employees have said Australia Zoo has massive debt but Steve Irwin's widow claims the attraction's future is secure

Ihave absolutely no intention of closing Australia Zoo,’ she told Australian broadcaster ABC.

‘Again, our wildlife hospital is running, our wildlife experiences are continuing, and we fund our conservation projects with people who come into Australia Zoo. Nothing has closed. Nothing will close.’

She said that while 22 staff had been made redundant last month due to falling visitor numbers, the zoo’s future was secure.

Her comments came after two former employees said the zoo was in mountains of debt and would be unlikely to survive the year.

Former receptionist Amy-Lee Hines told New Idea: ‘A lot of people are scared to tell the truth but the truth needs to be told.

‘If things don't turn around, [Australia Zoo] will go down.’

The zoo’s former curator Bruce Murdock, meanwhile, said its management team had struggled to market the zoo after the death of Irwin in 2006.

‘They have blown millions on poor planning and poor execution,’ said former curator Bruce Murdock.

‘Steve had a lot of dreams but they were massive dreams that only he could fund. They are trying to do it on the back of [Steve’s daughter] Bindi and Terri but I don't think they can support it.’

Steve Irwin died aged 44 in September 2006 after he was struck in the chest by a stingray barb while snorkelling in the Great Barrier Reef.

Fans' fury as comedian jokes Croc Hunter Steve Irwin's 'creepy' daughter Bindi 'needs a slap in the face'

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Huge fan base: Bindi, 11, playing around with a crocodile toy on tour in the US.Popular: Bindi is in Washington promoting her new movie with mother Terri and brother Robert.Daddy's girl: Bindi with father Steve Irwin, 'The Crocodile Hunter' and mother Terri.Under fire: comedian Fiona O'Loughlin

Bindi Irwin, the 11-year-old daughter of the late adventurer Steve Irwin, has been described as 'a bit creepy' by a female comedian - to a chorus of outrage.

With a gesture to the audience of a TV music quiz show, Australian Fiona O'Loughlin also suggested that Bindi needed a slap in the face.

Adding to the insults, Miss O'Loughlin then performed an exaggerated impersonation of the child star's voice.
Bindi and her mother Terri have come in for criticism by those who say the youngster has been groomed too quickly for showbusiness and is missing out on the fun that other children enjoy.

The claims have been denied by Mrs Irwin, whose husband died in 2006 when he was stabbed in the heart by a stingray barb off the Queensland coast, and by Bindi herself.

But Bindi, who has starred in her own TV show and sings and dances in Australia and the United States, also has a large fan base and her admirers have pounced on Miss O'Loughlin.
TV viewers swamped the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's switchboard after the show, describing her as 'tasteless', 'un-Australian' and 'a bully'.

Miss O'Loughlin defended her comments, saying she did not know what all the fuss was about.

'It was part of some banter on a comedy panel show,' she said.

'I'm a comedian and comedians make fun of people we know. I've said worse about myself.'

But her outburst stunned other panelists, among them Chris Durling, a former member of Bindi's singing and dancing group Bindi's Crocmen.

He said Bindi was 'gorgeous' and down to earth, adding, 'what you see is what you get'.

It was then that Miss O'Loughlin cut in with: 'Yeah, a freak show'.

Bindi and her mother are in America to promote Bindi's new film, Free Willy 4, and have not commented on the comedian's outburst.

Newspaper readers were quick to add their criticism, one commentator in Sydney's Daily Telegraph describing Miss O'Loughlin as being 'no better than a school yard bully.'

The world's most dangerous job? Crocodile wrestlers who put their head on the line

Playtime's not over yet! Somphop wrestles with the crocodile

Let's not get snappy here: Somphop gives the camera a little smirk as he puts his head in between the jaws of death

Staring into the abyss: Crocodile wrestler Somphop, 22, risks not seeing his 23rd birthday as he puts his head into the crocodile's mouth at Samphran Elephant Ground and Zoo

The daily grind at the office may not seem so bad after viewing these startling images.

For, no matter how grumpy your boss may be this morning, at least you aren't actually risking life and limb by sticking your head in his jaws.

But that is exactly what the crocodile wrestlers at a Thai zoo do on a daily basis.
This astonishing series of photographs shows the men at the Samphran Elephant Ground and Zoo performing what may well be the world's most dangerous job.

The wranglers have been performing the stunts at the zoo on the outskirts of Bangkok, Thailand, since it was set up in 1985.

During the hour-long shows they stick their head between the jaws of some of the zoo's biggest crocs, in the style of Krai Thong, a legendary Thai crocodile hunter.
Photographer Bronek Kaminski, who witnessed the feat on a trip to the attraction, said: 'They are quite lively crocodiles. They are not lying around half asleep all the time.

'They are chomping at a bamboo stick and snapping their jaws and then they guys put them into some sort of trance and put their head into the croc's mouth.
He keeps it in there for a long time, and puts his arm in, right up to his shoulder.

'Then the crocodile goes back to being a wild animal. It's very impressive.

'I was not sure if they were actually going to do it so when they do you are really taken back by it.'

The centre also doubles up as a breeding zoo, and has more than 10,000 crocodiles.


Smile for the camera: Another wrestler grips a surprisingly docile beast and hoists him into the air

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Making a splash: The crocodile writhes and wriggles but cannot escape the clutches of his angry opponents

In the jaws of death: The crocodile is defeated by a maze of angry hippos after trying to kill one of their youngBold move: The crocodile races across the backs of the hippos in a bid to escape after trying to snare a mother and her calves

Make it snappy: The raging hippos take revenge by biting back while feeding at the River Nile in Tanzania

Finish him, boys: The crocodile writhes in its final movements before being finished off by his mammal opponents

Their bone-crushing jaws, 24 razor-sharp teeth and armour-plated skin are enough to ensure most animals keep their distance.

But, as our incredible pictures show, even crocodiles are no match for a herd of angry hippos.

This young reptilian predator paid the price for swimming too close to a mother and her calves while they bathed.

As 50 hippos gathered into a defensive circle around them, the crocodile panicked and raced over their backs in a bid to escape.

It was the last mistake he ever made. The beast's defences were no match for the maze of angry mammals, who proved their bite is every bit as lethal as his.

The spectacularly rare battle of the beasts was captured by Czech wildlife photographer Vaclav Silha.

He had set up his camera on the banks of the River Nile in the Serengeti national park, Tanzania, when the unbelievable scene unfolded before him.

But the 45-year-old got more than he bargained for when a colossal fight broke out between the group and a sneaky crocodile he had spotted earlier.

‘Mutual respect between these animals means fights occur very rarely,’ he said.

‘One of the only reasons you might see a conflict is if the hippos have young and they think the little ones are under threat. That’s exactly what happened here.

‘The incautious croc got too close to a female who had calves and the whole group gathered into a defensive circle around them. It was a strong message for the crook to clear off.

‘I have absolutely no idea why but the crocodile suddenly raced across the backs of the hippos. I think it might have panicked and thought it was a possible escape route. I couldn’t believe my eyes.

‘It was the worst choice the reptile could ever have made and it was definitely its last.

‘The island of hippos suddenly erupted with teeth and all I could see was the crocodile being repeatedly crushed in their huge mouths.’

Described as one of the most aggressive creatures in the animal kingdom, an adult hippo can apply several tons of pressure in a single bite.

‘Even the toughest crocodile could not have withstood being repeatedly bitten like that,’ said Mr Silha, from Prague.

‘There was no way for him to escape. I few seconds later his lifeless body slipped below the water and I didn’t see him again.’

One of these pictures was originally published in the November issue of BBC Wildlife Magazine.




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