By now you've noticed that Steve has been surrounded by his most trusted staff members at the zoo throughout Croc Hunter Live — Wes, Brian, Kelsey, Jodie, Big Richard, Stui and the rest of the crew. They, like Steve, look like you'd expect them to in their khaki uniforms going about their daily duties, yet they are a bit baffled by all of the attention they have gotten from fans in the United States.
"It's really hard to understand; all that was done five years ago," Kelsey says of the excitement about shows featuring the zoo in its early years. "I guess it will be easier to relate to fans with the recent shows."
Brian is a bit embarrassed by their U.S. fame. He's not quite sure what to think about the women and girls who write him fan letters.
"I get some that are really weird, you know," he says. "People wanting to marry me and all."
Sorry ladies, Brian is still taken. He has a girlfriend at the zoo, who shall remain nameless.
At the moment, the crew is pretty far removed from the frenzy because the show only airs in North America, but there are plans to bring the show to Australia and Kelsey wonders what things will be like then.
You can tell Kelsey is tough. She was charged with holding on to cameraman Craig Lucas during Monday's live event and managing the movement of animals featured throughout the week. She's well respected and still has that dimpled grin.
Big Richard is now assistant curator at the zoo, working with Kelsey to manage the zoo's keepers. He's also head bird keeper, now that Stui is operations manager, overseeing all the construction at the zoo.
Big Richard wears a goatee and his hair at half its length in the episode where he married his wife, Kelly, on the zoo grounds. He also tells great stories.
Richard was charged with feeding the Aldabran tortoises for Wednesday's live show. Steve was to have a breakfast of leafy greens with them, just after the shoot with Barney the alligator. The tortoises are just behind the alligators and Richard was to listen for Barney's hissing, then feed the tortoises so they'd be ready for Steve.
"We hear the hissing and we rush to feed the tortoises," Richard says. "I drop the food in the dirt, the food that Steve is supposed to be eating."
With nothing else to do, he dusts it off and places it near the tortoises. Then they wait for Steve, and wait, and wait.
"It was just the rehearsal, and we're like 'Oh, no,'" he says, realizing they'd fed the
Aldabrans too early and worrying that Steve would know that he was eating food
that had been dropped in dirt. "It actually worked out in the end; they were still
hungry, and Steve was none the wiser."