A TV crocodile hunter has been hailed as ‘the new Steve Irwin’ following his eye-popping battle with a 15 foot croc.
Fearless Steve is remembered for his daring up-close encounters with the sort of animals many of us would flee from in complete panic. For many of us,
And Steve’s spirit of adventure lives on in the body of Monster Croc Wrangler star Matt Wright, a helicopter pilot and animal conservationist with an infectious love of all things scaly.
Check out Matt in action below:
With the fourth season of Monster Croc Wrangler now underway, Matt is fast becoming a beloved telly fixture, with viewers loving his courageous nature and the care he has for animals.
Speaking with the Daily Star, Wright spoke about the biggest crocodile he had ever caught; a monster of a beast measuring ‘a bit over 18ft’ in length.
Reflecting on his conservation work, Wright told the Daily Star:
It’s human-animal conflict but the animals deserve to be there and humans encroach on their land and destroy their environment so it’s only fair we try and find them a new home.
He added:
Crocs are just an animal, they’re quite predictable, They don’t really see humans as a food source and they don’t want to go chasing things that are too big for them because it takes too much effort for them to tear up and eat it.
Ideally they’d like to eat a small wallaby or a dog or a cat.. something that’s a bit smaller. We do have a problem with some of the bigger ones chewing on cattle because the young cattle go down to the waterways and they get themselves into trouble.
The crocodile eats them up down the waterways – that’s where the conflict comes in when we have to come in and move them.
Speaking with the Radio Times in 2018, Wright revealed he has a three-legged pet crocodile called Tripod, who is a staggering 17ft in length.
As well as his pet croc – who reportedly ‘hangs in the backyard’ – he keeps eight snakes in an enclosure in his bedroom.
The next episode of Monster Croc Wrangler will air October 22 on Nat Geo WILD, and will follow Matt as he is called to tackle crocodiles at a cattle ranch.
If you have a story you want to tell send it to UNILAD via story@unilad.com
Jules studied English Literature with Creative Writing at Lancaster University before earning her masters in International Relations at Leiden University in The Netherlands (Hoi!). She then trained as a journalist through News Associates in Manchester. Jules has previously worked as a mental health blogger, copywriter and freelancer for various publications.