Croc Hunter& Conan Obrien & 20ft Retic

i remember a show where he was working with a amethystine python that wasn't shedding right. they took it in as a rescue, and even then he didn't mention anything about not keeping herps... he just said it's sad when people don't know what they're getting into and reitterated the importantance of knowing the species you're dealing with.

who knows though... with anything you say on tv or in any media, there's a good chance it will be misreprested and scued to fit the agenda of whoever is reporting it. manipulation is the media's best tool.

No comment on any specific person but personally I'd rather watch Discovery or National Geographic shows about snakes than anything Animal Planet puts out. They just seem to hype so much...amp it up and dumb it down a bit, so for me anyways, it's a lot more entertainment when what I want is information and to come away from the show actually having learned something about the species of snake.

Animal Planet is a good, don't get me wrong...just sometimes they seem to treat the creatures more like sideshow freaks than just another part of the natural world.

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Originally Posted by frankykeno

No comment on any specific person but personally I'd rather watch Discovery or National Geographic shows about snakes than anything Animal Planet puts out.

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I don't know, I think it depends more on the show than the network. I was watching a show last night on Discovery about snakes, and it was full of misinformation. They would cover individual species like Rattlesnakes, and would show a picture of a Ball Python. They did the same thing when they were talking about Retics and they showed an Anaconda, then they went on to say how Retics can get "up to 16 or 17 feet" and how many large pet pythons kill their owners every year. :rolleyes:

I know what you mean about Animal Planet, though. They whole "Extreme" series has a little too much hype and not enough meat.

For starters the video was a "show" the handlers were the ones doing all of the movement. and the flailing around. Except for when the snake went under the couch, I think the rest was planned. Not once did the snake snap, or attempt to strike anyone or anything. Even at the end of the video when 1 man was holding the retic by himself, the snake seemed to be as calm as possible considering his enviornment.

As far as Irwin. He is now a "cartoon" of what he once was. The networks made him into this personality. He has an extreme love and dedication to animals, especially herps. Just think of how unknowledgeable people would be having not seen his show, or specials on Animal Planet? I am not condoning some of the outlandish behavior, but just think of how many people stopped on his channel to see what he was doing, and actually learned something (as dumb-down as we might believe it to be). He has probablly done more for the education and basic awareness of the animals, especially snakes, than anyone else. You might not respect the behavior of the man, but you must respect what he has done for the herp community.

gimme a break steve irwin is cool.