MY WIFE’S MORE WORRIED ABOUT ME FLYING THAN WRANGLING CROCODILES Monster Croc Wrangler is back, following animal expert Matt Wright as he saves stray reptiles Down Under. hears about his job, and how becoming a dad has affected him
NOT many dads have job titles that are as cool as Matt Wright’s.
The croc wrangler, who was raised in the wilds of Papua New Guinea and the Australian outback, became a father for the first time this summer (wife Kaia gave birth to Banjo in August).
And he will certainly be encouraging his son to be fearless as he grows up.
“That’s a big thing, parents wrap their kids in cotton wool, ‘little Johnny can’t go out to play and get his hands dirty’,” says the affable TV personality, whose previous jobs include horse wrangler, Australian Army soldier and crocodile egg collector.
“How is a kid meant to understand and learn the wildlife and environment that he’s living in?
In the fourth series of Monster Croc Wrangler – airing on Nat Geo WILD – Matt travels across Australia with the goal of preserving wildlife, by removing problem animals so they won’t be killed.
We sat down with the wildlife relocator – who’s also a trained helicopter pilot, and an awardwinning tourism operator – to find out more.
ON HIS LOVE FOR CROCS...
you rescue them, and they can’t get let back into the wild... Eventually I’m going to have a really nice park for them, but right now I’ve got them all in holding pens.
They do eat a lot – we’ve got a big supply of feral pigs in Australia so they get well fed.
ON HIS FAVOURITE MOMENT IN THE NEW SERIES...
I THINK being able to catch and leave a croc in the area that we caught it... that was probably my highlight, because you feel bad that these crocs have to be moved away from their homes. So, it’s quite nice when you can actually
ON THE JOB’S DANGERS
I’M pretty good with the wildlife – that part I’m reasonably comfortable with.
If I slip or something, that would give me a shake up, because that’s my own fault. But there’s times in helicopters when you can have a close call, and that shakes you up a little bit.
Sometimes that’s out of your control as well.
Kaia does worry when I’m in the chopper a lot. Not so much working with the crocs – she knows I’ve got most of that under control.
ON BECOMING A DAD...
BANJO is going to have a pretty interesting life! He’s got all the toys under the sun he can play with – boats, choppers, air boats. And he’s got as much wildlife at his fingertips to entertain himself.
Everyone’s like, ‘Your life’s gonna change’ [when you become parents], but our life was never normal to start with.
He just fits in. I THINK people just need to get out there and experience it themselves, before they start throwing advice out there.
But, as general human beings, you need to go and see the wildlife and support countries and communities that have this wildlife, and then they’ll respect it and they’ll look after it.
Monster Croc Wrangler new season 4 returns to Nat Geo WILD next Tuesday, at 8pm.
MONSTER Croc Wrangler Season 3 airs on Sunday mornings on Freeview channel BLAZE.