The father of late Aussie wildlife legend Steve Irwin, Bob Irwin, has called for authorities to “throw the book” at US influencer Mike Holston after he shared footage of himself snatching freshwater and saltwater crocodiles on social media.
ICYMI, Holston — who posts under The Real Tarzann — has landed himself in hot water after he posted two separate videos where he’s seen manhandling crocodiles in Far North Queensland.
Speaking to the Brisbane Times, Bob Irwin slammed the influencer, whom he dubbed a “dickhead”, and shut down any comparisons made between Holston and his son, Steve Irwin.
“This isn’t a Steve Irwin issue; this is about an individual illegally interfering with protected fauna,” he told the publication.
“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.
“You can’t even put them in the same sentence. Everything Steve did… was to respect wildlife.”
Irwin went on to state that his son had permits to carry out his work, while the influencer had “no clue” what he was doing, pointing out that the creatures were “clearly under extreme stress” in his videos.
“It’s disgusting,” Irwin added.
Furthermore, Irwin said Holston should be “booted out of the door” for his antics, adding that the influencer proved that the problem wasn’t crocodiles, but folks who ignored the law.
“When we first started discussing the reckless stunts with crocodiles increasing on the internet, we joked that the new policies should be called ‘the dickhead legislation’,” Irwin said.
“And that’s because that’s exactly what content creators like the Real Tarzann are in my books — dickheads.”
Irwin’s scathing comments comes shortly after Queensland Premier David Crisafulli called the influencer “a goose” for the way he interacted with the crocodiles.
On Tuesday, the Queensland Environment Department issued a statement confirming it was “actively investigating two videos circulating on social media”.
People who deliberately disturb or feed crocodiles can cop a $2580 fine, with the maximum court-imposed fines reaching $26,615.
“These actions are extremely dangerous and illegal, and we are actively exploring strong compliance action, including fines to deter any person from this type of behaviour,” the department said, per The Guardian.
At the time of writing, Holston has not responded to the criticisms stemming from his behaviour in Far North Queensland.
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