Crocodiles are easy. They try to kill and eat you. People are harder. Sometimes they pretend to be your friend first.

The line contrasts the straightforward danger of wild animals with the more ambiguous, socially mediated risks posed by humans. Crocodiles represent honest threat: their intentions are legible and consistent, so one can respond with clear precautions. People, by contrast, can conceal motives behind friendliness, making betrayal or exploitation harder to anticipate. In this framing, “harder” does not mean more physically dangerous but more psychologically complex—requiring judgment about trust, character, and deception. Attributed to Irwin, the quote also plays against his public persona of fearless engagement with predators, suggesting that his real caution was reserved for human duplicity rather than animal aggression.