Hi sz

His approach would scare most people shitless, but he generally knew exactly what he was doing. The snake trick, for example, illustrates what most people growing up in Australia know from childhood - a snake is only dangerous when threatened. Most species will happily slither past you rather than rear-up and threaten you. They want to get out of your way as much as you want to get out of their's. A few species are strongly territorial, but every snake handler knows that and no professional herpetologist is stupid enough to forget which ones.

As the Australian media has been at pains to point out sting-rays aren't aggressive animals. No one is saying how he managed to piss one off but it could only be an accident, not a stunt gone wrong.

Adam