Steve Erwin is well known worldwide because of his encounters with Australian animals. Prior to coming here, I did not know much about him. I had the opportunity of taking a tour in Cairns and the tour guide gave us a lot of information about him and the work he did.
Although Steve Erwin had encounters with numerous deadly animals and made videos about them, he is most known for his encounters with salt-water crocodiles.
Salt-water crocodiles are one of the most deadly animals, some consider them the most deadly over snakes. This is primarily because unlike most other deadly animals in Australia, salt-water crocodiles hunt humans. They actually like the taste of us, whereas other animals, like sharks and snakes, attack because they feel defensive or because they think we’re something else. These crocodiles are often misjudged as being lazy because they wait around and do nothing, however, they hunt their prey for hours, sometimes days. They can smell and sense vibrations from miles away, while they stay under water. By feeding on one human, they are able to live without any other meals for over a year, so many take their time to hunt to ensure a capture.
Salt-water crocodiles are found in numerous bodies of waters in Australia, primarily in Queensland territory. They prefer to hunt at night, but prey on their victims all day. There were numerous deaths because people would enter waters without knowing the animals lurk there. The moment a human enters water near the crocodile they can feel the vibration. Due to the numerous casualties, it became legal to hunt and kill salt-water crocodiles. They were hunted so severely, that the whole species was on the brink of extinction.
After he became aware they were going extinct, Steve Erwin educated and recorded a video to inform natives of the necessity for salt-water crocodiles and how one can work with them. This video helped prevent the extinction because they were no longer hunted.
Removing animals from an ecosystem, although they may be dangerous, can ruin an entire ecosystem because it changes the food chain. When entering salt-water regions in Australia, people must be aware of what animals live in it.
There are many sea nets in waters that people can swim in and it is just crucial to stay between the poles when in the ocean, in order to prevent any animal encounters.
