What's dominated our media in the last 24 hours? Stories about a crocodile, a giraffe and a gorilla.

Reports suggest a New Zealand woman has died after swimming in croc-infested waters in North Queensland. She went into the water in Cairns at about 10.30pm at night, which is prime feeding time.

The Australians -- they don't hold back -- the North Queensland MP Warren Entsch said the victim should be blamed for the attack, not the croc.

He said "you can't legislate against human stupidity" and that "if you go swimming after 10'oclock at night, you're going to get consumed." Nothing like the Aussies to call it how it is.....

And then the giraffe who, bless it, was driven from Auckland to Wellington. You wouldn't wish that journey on anyone, would you. And particularly someone who's got legs that long and is standing on them for a solid 12 hours or so.

Anyway, the giraffe -- Zuri is her name -- she has arrived safe and well in the capital. She must have been disappointed though. She probably rolled into Wellington and thought "well, this isn't exactly the Serengeti, is it?

And then there's the gorilla. The gorilla that was shot dead after a four year old fell into its cage. And haven't we raged about this?

It was shot too soon, we claimed. The parents should be shot too some of you said -- really? How does that make the situation better?

The gorilla had to be shot. Faced with the choice between saving a human life and an animal life...well...there is no choice. It's just that what makes this case particularly tragic is that we're not talking about some old angus bull....we're talking about an endangered gorilla.

My issue isn't with those who shot the gorilla or the child's parents, it's with the zoo.

The chief customer base of any zoo is children so zoos have to be child proof. At the same time, zoos have to protect the animals they house. They failed in this case to protect the gorilla. And they failed to protect the public as well.

If I take my son to the zoo, I struggle to keep up with him -- and particularly if he's with his friends. He's off like a shot. And while I'm usually nipping along behind him, I don't expect to round a corner and find my son standing in the middle of a tiger enclosure. It's the zoo's responsibility to house these animals and make sure that under no circumstances can people or animals breach the barrier that divides them.

In the case of the gorilla, the zoo failed everyone -- the public and the gorilla.

Anyway, it's been 24 hours of animal stories, and they say current affairs is dying in this country.

Rubbish. It's alive and well - it's just that it's being disguised as the Animal Channel.