Just an observation. In the last decade the US population became more urba= n than rural. In Latin America, it has always been more urban than rural, an= d in Europe, well, there is no realy nature there anymore, except in unusual situations. Sure, almost nature, after all, there is still life!
So, many people, young and old, get their messages from TV, unfortunately. TV, as well all know, has to grab the audience in some way, or they will switch channels. Now I am mostly bored by many nature shows, because they are often dumbed down for the average consumer, and as a scientist, I don't need that. So, I am only familiar with some of Steve's antics. None of th= e others, don't even know who the bear guy is (was). But, in the course of teaching field courses in ecology and conservation to students from North and South America, I have found that their interests have often been charged by watching these shows, and indeed, some of the only infromation that they have access to is from these shows. And, their interest was always stimulated in a positive way by Steve (at least). And he did NOT "Dangle" his son over a crocodile - but held him at his side - his son, not the croc. I thought Steve's film was a fantastic spoof of the CIA and had a somewhat conservation approach to it. Relocating a croc that would have died otherwise. Sure, maybe crocs are not all that special, but hey, it was to save an animal in the midst of a spoof of the CIA - ya gotta like the combo= . So, in summary, with our increasingly city bred population, a person who ca= n show the youth and stimulate them to the excitement of wildlife, while having to keep their attention (in competition with all those stupid realit= y shows) is I think an accomplishment worth praise. At least in the case of Steve. He rigged his shows to make it look like he was taking bigger chances than he was, and he always said that it wasn't for beginners. And, he knew that 99% of his audience would never have the opportunity to run down a croc, catch a Tiger Snake, swim with rays, and so on. So, how many animals have been abused by Steve fans (before he died)? How many young people have gotten a kick out of Steve and are now more interested in wildlife? We'll never know, but I betcha that there are many young people now interested in wildlife because of Steve (at least). Cheers, Jim On 9/26/06, stan moore <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Are we talking about the same Steve Irwin who dangled his own diapered so= n > from one arm while feeding a crocodile with the other? What is the > important lesson other people's children could learn from that antic -- > don't worry, crocodiles are not dangerous? > > What is the lesson children learn from watching a television series in > which > a herpetologist grabs hold of every specimen he sees in the wild for no > apparent reason other than to admire it while hamming it up for the > camera? > Is there a genuine conservation message in all of this, or was it > entertainment for an entertainment-fixated public, including small > children? > > I guess it is revealing that, according to one admiring zookeeper, Steve > Irwin made millions of dollars from all this entertaining manipulation of > wildlife, unlike Aldo Leopold who always made a modest salary as a > professor. And yes, Aldo Leopold began by treating some wildlife as pest= s > or varmints, including gray wolves (and he used to advocate killing > raptors > as pests, too). But Leopold learned and grew with experience and his > essay > about the fierce green fire in the dying eyes of a wolf he shot is a > classic > lesson in growth by wrong experience. Did Steve Irwin demonstrate such > growth, or was he annoying a ray the moment he was killed? > > Aldo Leopold may not have had millions of dollars to purchase habitat for > wildlife, but he used his influence to advocate appropriate public fundin= g > for wildlife habitat acquisition. And he personally bought a property in > Wisconsin with the famous "Shack" on site, at which he personally engaged > in > habitat restoration with his graduate students, developing models of how > abused habitat could be restored, and his Leopold Preserve continues to > this > day as a wildlife area and conservation education facility under the > Leopold > Foundation and his surviving children. > > I watched Steve Irwin's movie a few years ago where he removed crocodiles > from the advance of human-induced "development" but I saw no real > conservation message in that effort. In the U.S. we used to relocate the > Shawnee Indians and the Choctaws and other human inhabitants of wild land= s > until we finally had no more space and then we just put them on > reservations > in places like Oklahoma. Perhaps zoos are the equivalent for wild animal= s > whose habitats have been fragmented or have disappeared before relentless > development. If Steve Irwin advocated habitat conservation at all, which > I > did not see, it was an afterthought and probably not the primary lesson > learned by all those little kids who loved to see him hold up an exploite= d > lizard or snake and mischeviously display his smarmy face for the camera. > > No, I was not a Steve Irwin fan, and I don't believe that his approach wa= s > a > net positive for wildlife. I never heard a serious conservation message > from him that taught anything resembling responsibility for the > preservation > and conservation of wildlife. It is easy to enjoy something that > entertains > you for the moment, but to accept responsibility for the difficult work > and > sacrifices involved in conservation is something completely different. > > And, while I have not reached audiences of millions, I have trapped > hundreds > of raptors in the local area and displayed some of them to local > landowners > and their children who allowed me access to their properties and wished t= o > see the wild raptors prior to release. I would never trap a raptor for > the > primary purpose of displaying to the public, but I have banded many birds > under the gaze of little children who I believe could benefit in a small > way > from such encounters. When I watched Steve Irwin's shows on television, > I > never saw any research taking place -- I saw capture of wildlife > apparently > solely for the purpose of entertaining kids and I would be astonished if > an > unhealthy collection of kids around the world are not currently grabbing, > harrassing, annoying, and harming wildlife because they saw Steve Irwin d= o > it on television, with no discussion of responsibility and possible harm > to > the subjects of that treatment. > > So, am I way offbase? I am willing to consider the possibility that I am= , > but I have yet to see a convincing argument that I am. > > > Cheers all! > > Stan Moore San Geronimo, CA [EMAIL PROTECTED] > --=20 ----------------------------- James J. Roper UFPR, Zoologia Caixa Postal 19034 81531-990 Curitiba, Paran=E1, Brasil =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D= =3D=3D=3D E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Phone/Fone/Tel=E9fono: 55 41 33611764 celular: 55 41 99870543 =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D= =3D=3D=3D Ecologia e Conserva=E7=E3o na UFPR http://www.bio.ufpr.br/ecologia/ --------------------------------------------- http://jjroper.sites.uol.com.br
