The father of Australia’s most famous wildlife warrior has sunk his teeth into an American influencer who thought it was a good idea to wrestle crocodiles in Far North Queensland, all for social media.
Mike Holston, better known to his 15.5 million Instagram followers as The Real Tarzan, posted videos recently that showed him leaping from boats, splashing through shallow water and rugby-tackling unsuspecting crocodiles. One clip features him pinning down a freshwater croc, grinning like a kid in a lolly shop and declaring, “this is what dreams are made of”.
Not everyone shared the dream.
A couple of days later, Holston doubled down with another video, this time clutching a small saltie by the neck on a Cape York riverbank. Experts were quick to note that the animal’s unusually calm behaviour suggested it was more stressed than stoic.
Both crocodiles were released, but the stunts set off alarm bells for conservationists, and none louder than Steve Irwin’s dad, Bob.
“People visiting our country need to respect our wildlife, or they need to be booted out the door,” the 86-year-old fired back in a blistering statement on Wednesday, calling Holston a “d**khead” and demanding new laws to deal with social media stuntmen.
And just in case anyone was tempted to justify Holston’s antics by saying “but Steve Irwin did it”, Bob was quick to draw a very sharp line in the sand.
“This isn’t a Steve Irwin issue. This is about an individual interfering with protected fauna,” he said. “You can’t even put them in the same sentence.”
Bob described the videos as “disgusting”, pointing out that the crocs were visibly distressed and reminding everyone that wrangling reptiles isn’t just about bravado, it’s a skill that takes years to do safely.
“Everything Steve did, from the time he was a little kid, was to respect wildlife,” Bob said.
The veteran conservationist warned that social media is fuelling a worrying trend of animal harassment-for-clicks. He rattled off recent examples: an influencer feeding a cooked chook to a croc, another tourist grabbing freshies for likes. “It’s like a runaway train,” he said. “The more dramatic, or cruel the interaction, the more money these accounts make.”
And he wasn’t finished. Authorities also copped a serve for their oft-repeated promise of “we are investigating”.
“When are the environment authorities, who are tasked with the protection of our native wildlife, going to step up?” Bob asked.
The Queensland Environment Department insists it is stepping up. On Wednesday it confirmed it is investigating Holston’s videos, describing the actions as “extremely dangerous and illegal” and warning of possible fines up to $37,500.
“Let us be clear: people should not attempt to capture freshwater or saltwater crocodiles in Queensland, unless they are trained and licensed to do so,” a spokesperson said.
Which, to be fair, rules out The Real Tarzan. But not, it seems, his Instagram followers, who are no doubt waiting to see what “dreams” he chases next.
Images: Instagram
