BEERWAH, Australia — Steve Irwin may be dead, taken out by a stingray four months ago, but the crocs he hunted and caught are alive and thriving.

Most of them, anyway. They make up the crocodile population of the Australia Zoo, a 70-acre sanctuary located about 50 miles north of Brisbane and no more than a few miles from where most of the crocs were born.

In 1970, Bob and Lyn Irwin, Steve's father and mother, moved to the Beerwah area in Queensland for the express purpose of rescuing crocodiles from rapid human encroachment and opening a zoo where they could all — the Irwins, the crocs and various other creatures — live in relative peace.

Before he was a teenager, a young Steve Irwin was taught by his father how to catch crocs before they catch you. Steve got so good at it that he became the worldwide phenomenon known as "The Crocodile Hunter," and his father's reptilian reserve became the finest zoo in Australia, if not the world.

Personally, I harbor a general bias against zoos because of the animals' necessary loss of liberty. I don't imagine them liking cages any more than I would.

But in the case of the Irwin's zoo, which we visited while on vacation in Australia two weeks ago, I'm willing to make a concession. For three reasons:

One, the majority of the animals have natural-like expanses in which to roam. They may not even realize they're confined. The kangaroos, for example, live in a grassy pasture where they allow humans to pet and feed them all they wish.

Two, the enthusiasm — Crikey! — of the late Steve Irwin permeates the place.

And three, the crocs get to show off.

I'm quite certain this wouldn't be allowed in America — and if were allowed, the stadium would be filled with personal-injury lawyers — but every day at the Australia Zoo, a crocodile swims into a large pond at the center of a 5,000-seat stadium called the Crocoseum, where zookeepers step to the edge of the water and dangle chunks of raw meat, allowing the croc to demonstrate its amazing hunting, stalking and jaw-snapping abilities, and the zookeepers their dexterity at staying alive as they serve up croc snacks without (hopefully) losing their arms.

It is an act Steve Irwin invented and would still be doing if it hadn't been for the unfortunate incident with the stingray — although he wouldn't be doing it every day.

"Steve was consciously backing off being the center of attention here," a zookeeper named Cathy told me. "He wanted the focus on the animals."

Ironically, his death has accomplished exactly the opposite. At least for the short term. Everywhere I turned, I saw Steve Irwin tribute books and other memorabilia, and I saw numerous people wearing T-shirts with Irwin's picture and "Crikey, we miss you mate" across the front.

But I saw no such attire on the crocs. Despite being well-fed and the absolute center of attention, the Australia Zoo crocodiles display the same nasty disposition as if they were in the middle of the wilds — as good an indicator as any that they don't realize they've been caught.

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Lee Benson's column runs Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Please send e-mail to benson@desnews.com and faxes to 801-237-2527.