Im not a big fan of zoos but in Brisbane, we visited
Australia Zoo
as it had beenrecommended by a few people. Also, we were keen to
see some native Australian wildlife during our stay.
I also assumed that Steve Irwin would ensure that the animals were kept
in a natural and humane environment. We all enjoyed the day out. We saw
crocodiles snapping at a white bucket, the kids fed pellets to kangaroos
and wallabies and we cuddled sleepy koalas. We also saw dingos,
echidnas, possums, macaws, snakes, wombats, turtles, tigers and the
world famous Australian elephant (shurely shome mistake here - Ed).
However, although all the animals looked healthy with large, open pens
and appeared to be deliriously happy, I was left with a slight feeling
of unease about my experience at Australia Zoo. The image of Steve Irwin
aka 'Crocodile Hunter', who took over management of the zoo from a small
wildlife park created by his father, was plastered everywhere. Irwin
died in 2006 after being attacked by a stingray while filming on the
Great Barrier Reef.
Now, obviously, the Irwin family own the zoo and are perfectly entitled
to use the image of Steve Irwin as much as they like and I have no doubt
that every single picture of Irwin's smiling face together with his
catch phrase of 'CRIKEY' has been approved by his widow, Terri and
probably existed prior to Irwin's death.
However, I find it a little unsettling that Terri Irwin is also now
using her two children, Bindi and Robert (Bobby), whose faces also
appear in videos, posters, billboard adverts and promotions liberally
scattered around the zoo.