RATINGS for “The Crocodile Hunter” jumped nearly 20 percent after show host Steve Irwin gained worldwide noteriety for dangling his baby son in front of a man-eating crocodile.

For the week of Jan. 5 – the week after Irwin cradled his son in one arm while feeding chicken to a crocodile with his other hand – “The Crocodile Hunter” averaged 372,000 viewers on Animal Planet.

That was up from the 315,000 viewers the show had averaged the week before.

The baby-dangling incident occurred Jan. 2 at the Sunshine Coast Zoo in Brisbane, Australia, during an exhibition.