The vibe we are receiving in Australia is that this poor man is being crucified by the American media and general public for something that he, and many Australians consider perfectly normal - maybe we are making a mointain from a molehill, but the media here has a serious inferiority complex, and when anything is reported from America concering Australia, it tends to be rather sensationalised.

Just because you, or your kids weren't brought up near wild animals doesn't give you, or anyone the right to judge someone on their methods of raising their kids.

When i was 2 years old i was in known Shark Waters, and was not unfamiliar with Kangaroos, or any other wild animal for that matter - i have no fear of any animal now, but i am grateful for my parents, as a lot of Australians would be, for educating us on how to act around animals. I have a certain respect for Animals that you cant 'learn' in books.

It is quite normal here, and a man of Steve Irwins stature in the world of wild animals definitlety knows what he is doing - we really need to encourage interaction between man and animal, because i am afraid it will be a thing of the past in the not to distant future.