4 minute read
Matt Wright on wrangling wildlife and real life
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
The 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.
TOOWOOMBA STYLE, Friday, March 6, 2020 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.
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?
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
WAS THE MOST SHOCKING REVELATIONS IN YOUR EXPERIENCES BEING ON THE FRONTLINE?
The worst reality check was coming across two rhinos that had been poached just a few days prior to us getting there.
In that same area, which was about the size of a football field, there were a dozen rhino carcasses. It’s out of control. It’s madness and just comes down to human greed and human negligence.
The documentary highlights an important message we need to get out into the general population.
DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOUR PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE DEALING WITH WILD ANIMALS AND MANOEUVRING HELICOPTERS AT BREAKNECK SPEEDS HAS PREPARED YOU FOR PARENTHOOD?
Everyone tells you life’s going change pretty damn quickly, so we will have to wait and see.
I think the kid’s going to be strapped on the side of me and we’re going to continue doing what we do and he’s going learn everything
between Kaia and I.
Kaia’s the academic one and I’m more the practical one, so we will make a good team raising a little one.
YOU HAVE DETAILED THAT YOUR LOVE AND FASCINATION WITH ANIMALS BEGAN FROM A YOUNG AGE. DO YOU FEEL AS THOUGH THAT SENSE OF ADVENTURE AND UNDERSTANDING ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENT WILL BE PASSED DOWN TO YOUR CHILD? It’s not just a lesson I want my child to learn, I think it’s important for all kids to know.
It’s the message we try and get across through the shows whether it’s the Outback Wrangler or Save This Rhino is to protect and look after the environment and our world.
What I can teach my kids is to look after what we have and to show appreciation for the connection that you can have with wildlife.
YOU AND YOUR WIFE LIVE ON A PROPERTY IN THE NORTHERN TERRITORY COMPLETE WITH A ONE-TONNE PET CROC. DO YOU THINK SNAKES, CROCS AND THE WILD WILL ALWAYS BE A PART OF YOUR LIFE?
The snakes and the crocs aren’t so much high adrenaline anymore, it’s just a way of life these days.
I’ll still work with the wildlife, but for me it has always been asking myself, “what’s the next excitement? What’s the next adventure?”
Now my next adventure in life is bringing up a beautiful family with my beautiful wife.
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