feature
BY JORDAN PHILP
A love of adventure, animals and adrenaline has been the driving force behind the career of Australia’s Outback Wrangler Matt Wright, who visits Toowoomba on Friday, March 20, for an exclusive The Chronicle Club event
I look back at my childhood and yes, we were a bit more outthere with wild animals, but the skills and everything that you learn at that age (if you’re left and allowed to) is invaluable for the rest of your life. When handling the snakes as a kid, there was a bit of luck to not get bitten, but you soon worked it out which is the pointy end of the stick.
T
WHETHER IT HAS BEEN SERVING IN THE ARMY, OWNING AN ADVENTURE TOURISM BUSINESS OR SOARING THROUGH THE AIR AS A CHOPPER PILOT, WHICH OF THE MANY JOBS YOU HAVE DONE HAVE STOOD OUT THE MOST?
he wildlife expert shot to stardom in 2011 when his job as a helicopter pilot and crocodile relocator was beamed to an audience of hundreds of millions across 90 countries on National Geographic. Handling deadly snakes, wrestling with monstrous crocodiles and bringing the audience into the danger zone has been Wright’s mission to raise awareness about the critical need for animal conservation. The laid-back, adrenaline-craving wildlife warrior took the time to discuss how his fascination with wild animals began, his latest work exposing the poaching trade in South Africa and how he’s excited for his next big adventure fatherhood. YOUR WILLINGNESS TO GET UP CLOSE AND IN THE DANGER ZONE WITH CROCODILES, SNAKES AND BEARS SHOWS YOU CLEARLY HAVE A SENSE OF DUTY TO DO YOUR JOB. DO YOU REMEMBER WHEN YOU FIRST DEVELOPED A LOVE FOR WILDLIFE?
I just always had this massive fascination with animals as a kid, rescuing them and checking them out, it’s something that has never went away. 08
TOOWOOMBA STYLE, Friday, March 6, 2020
The most rewarding stuff that I’ve done in my career has been working with different wildlife around the world, whether it was tracking bears or wolves in Canada or catching moving elephants in South East Asia and Borneo. Coming out of that environment knowing that you’re on a mission, you’re doing something with purpose. You’re not just in a job, earning and churning to make the next stack to buy the next car, the next house, the next something for yourself. What you’re actually doing is preserving the world. It’s preserving our wildlife, our environment. YOUR LATEST WORK IN THE DOCUMENTARY SAVE THIS RHINO SEES YOU GET A FIRST-HAND, INSIDE LOOK AT THE ALARMING POACHING CRISIS AFFECTING RHINOS IN SOUTH AFRICA THAT COULD RESULT IN THEIR EXTINCTION AS SOON AS 2025. WHAT
TCHE01Z01ST - V1
