‘It’s disgusting’: Croc Hunter’s dad sinks boot into US influencer

The father of Australia’s Crocodile Hunter, Steve Irwin, has slammed an influencer’s “disgusting” treatment of the reptiles, rejecting comparisons with his famous son.

Bob Irwin, who described “The Real Tarzann” as a dickhead, has joined calls for the American to be deported after his illegal wildlife interactions in far north Queensland.

Mike Holston came under fire recently for posting videos to his millions of followers showing him catching and wrestling freshwater and saltwater crocs in Cape York.

Now Irwin has urged authorities to “throw the book” at him, saying his son should not be blamed for what he believes is a concerning rise in illegal wildlife content in Australia.

“This isn’t a Steve Irwin issue; this is about an individual illegally interfering with protected fauna,” Irwin said.

“When people compare the behaviour of blokes like Mike Holston to what Steve did, or claim they were influenced by him, it really gets under my skin.

Steve Irwin filming an early episode of The Crocodile Hunter series.Credit: Australia Zoo

“You can’t even put them in the same sentence. Everything Steve did ... was to respect wildlife.”

His son also had appropriate permits to carry out his work, while Holston had “no clue” about what he was doing.

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“The crocodile is clearly under extreme stress – it’s disgusting,” Irwin said of one of Holston’s posts.

Bob Irwin helped set up Queensland’s Australia Zoo, where his son developed a passion for wildlife, becoming the world-famous Crocodile Hunter before his tragic 2006 death.

Steve was a livewire on air, but his work had a purpose, his father said.

“He dedicated his entire life to conservation, wildlife research and education – what people saw on their TV screens didn’t show the half of it,” he said.

Bob Irwin’s advocacy led to the Queensland government’s 2024 increase in penalties for reckless behaviour with crocodiles.

However, he said the legislation stopped short of introducing a social media offence for people who “post and boast” about unlawful wildlife interactions.

Influencer Sam Jones was criticised in March after footage showed her removing a baby wombat from its mother.Credit: instagram.com/samstrays_somewhere

He believes there has been a rise in reckless behaviour with wildlife by influencers, citing a 2023 incident in which a chicken was fed to a crocodile in north Queensland.

American Sam Jones also copped criticism in March after footage showed her removing a baby wombat from its mother.

Holston’s posts have now caught the Queensland government’s attention, with Premier David Crisafulli calling him a “goose”.

The Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation Department is also “actively investigating” the influencer.

The maximum penalty for interfering with a saltwater crocodile is $37,500, and $27,539 for a “freshie”.

Irwin believes Holston should be “booted out the door”, saying the American proved the real problem wasn’t crocodiles, it was people who ignored the law.

“When we first started discussing the reckless stunts with crocodiles increasing on the internet, we joked the new policies should be called ‘the dickhead legislation’,” he said.

“And that’s because that’s exactly what content creators like the Real Tarzann are in my books – dickheads.”

AAP

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