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Mishandling of snakes
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by conkling on February 20, 2007
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I have watched with
incredible fascination
the (3) predominant
men on American TV
who handle
venomous/non-
venomous snakes.
Unfortunately, one of
these men is no
longer with us. Of the
two remaining, only
one is a herpetologist.
I have researched
and read everything I
could get my hands
on regarding this
man.
This man has been
very highly critized for
his handling of
snakes. I have
watched each and
every one of his
episodes on HD
Discovery Theatre.
In comparing Him to
the other two men, I
just don't see how he
is in any way hurting
these snakes. He is
extremely honest,
candid and un-
embellished in his
demanor on camera.
However, if he is
mishandling snakes,
what would clue me in
on this? I'm a Los
Angeles Native and
know several
amateurs who have
picked up
Diamondback
Rattlesnakes behind
the head and then
released them. I don't
advocate this,
naturally. These
people are not
herpetologists.
Sorry I got carried
away. Again, I just
need to know the
basic criteria for
herpetologist/
biologists in their
handling of
dangerous snakes.
Thank you.
Ros Davis
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RE: Mishandling of snakes
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by Cro on February 20, 2007
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Ros, you need to stop playing word games and state the name of the person on TV you are talking about. There are dozens of TV Herpetolgoists, and most all of them have been criticized at times for how they handle snakes. Is there any particular person and episode of the TV show you are talking about? Or are we supposed to play guessing games? It is ok to use folks names here, like Brady Barr, Austin Stevens, Steve Irwin, Mark O`Shea, Harry Butler, Bill Hasst,.............
Best Regards JohnZ
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RE: Mishandling of snakes
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by ichabod on February 21, 2007
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It has to be Austin Stevens. Austin in my opinion is a blundering man that is very good on camera, but his handling scares the crap out of me. I always think he is going to get bitten. Only once that I have seen and he was very lucky with that one.
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RE: Mishandling of snakes
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by LordViperTX on February 21, 2007
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I wouldn't even call him "good on camera." Everything is so amped up it's impossible to take him seriously. At least I can relate to Brady Barr's (albeit probably fake) apprehension at picking up a Black Mamba. But Austin Stevens' constant falling/diving into the water and rolling on the ground makes him seem like a clown to me.
I think the person I've enjoyed most was Rom Whitaker. Most recently he had a special called "The King Cobra and I" on Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom.
A calm, mild-mannered person, he isn't a performer. However, you can tell when he speaks that he has a genuine love and respect for snakes (especially O. hannahs), as well as a wealth of knowledge on snakes.
I met Nigel Marvin at the NARBC show in Arlington, TX last weekend (he isn't bad either) before the doors opened and we had a candid discussion about the nature-show genre and it's hosts. He said that he has a certain disdain for other nature show personalities because they try too hard to be the stars. He believes that the animals are the stars, and that the producers and personalities should remember that.
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RE: Mishandling of snakes
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by LarryDFishel on February 21, 2007
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Ros, assuming for the moment that you are talking about Austin Stevens, I would say a couple of things.
While I've heard him refered to as a herpetologist, I think that's a bit of a stretch. Maybe he is and I just don't know enough about him. He certainly knows quite a bit about snakes, but so do a lot of people who I wouldn't call herpetologists.
The main reason I've heard people criticize his handling is not because he hurts the snakes (although he certainly annoys them), but because he takes a lot of risks with his own safety just to make things look exciting.
One of my biggest problems with him is when he goes on and on about how lucky he was to find a particular snake in the wild when it is obviously a captive snake. Yes, I know most of the shows use captive snakes, but they don't usually go out of their way to claim that they just found them.
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RE: Mishandling of snakes
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by bush_viper17 on February 28, 2007
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The general public would rather watch something like Austin Stevens and be excited and interested than watch people tubing and hooking snakes and popping off a lot of scientific names. Its all for entertainment. Most of the shows arent really for education because when they usually capture an animal on these shows, they just give basic information. Adrenaline and close calls keep the ratings up. The hosts probably have degrees and probably do research, but they are hired by multi-billion dollar companies and their job is to entertain.
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RE: Mishandling of snakes
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by HMCZ on June 24, 2008
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It seems to me that a lot of people on this site dislike Austin Stevens. Personally, I like his show. (he's a very different person off camera than he might seem on camera) Yes. I agree that his "captures" are probably staged and he is quite dramatic (he thinks he's Indiana Jones). But with regards to the mass public, I think he does a very good job. Exciting, entertaining, and he does offer a few good facts and shows off some awesome snakes.
He knows his stuff and has many years of experience handling snakes. Yes, he does take risks (huge risks at times). But it's all for the camera. I say just enjoy him as an entertainer and let alone the more technical/academic aspects of his show.
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