My Childhood

I grew up with two extreme wild life gurus. My father was the greatest herpetologist in Australia and was the world legend for catching very venomous snakes. My mum was a pioneer in Australian history. I always called her the Mother Teresa of wildlife rehabilitation. As I grew up I went with my dad on many missions. I watched my dad and tried to mimic him. This eventually developed my instinctive ability with wildlife. I had the best most unusual childhood. My house was also a home for many animals in need of help. I got very close with many of the animals, but I had three very close animal friends. My first animal friends name was Curley. Curley was a curlew who thought he was an emu. My second animal friend was Egg Head. Egg Head was an emu who thought he was a human. My third animal friend was Brolly. Brolly was a brolga who thought he was there best thing ever. Curley, Egg Head, Brolly, and I would always play games that Brolly got real tired of. Curley, Egg Head, and I would always be the good guys. We would make Brolly the enemy. Together we would pretend to stalk, shoot, throw grenades, and fight hand-to-hand. All the animals at our reserve were like my brothers and sisters. Even though I was so close to these animals they were still wild and sometimes could get out of hand. I quickly learned to respect the animals and their space. I followed in my parents footsteps my whole life. They helped me to have the wonderful life I have today.

The Legend of Acco

There was a legend in North Queensland of a huge black crocodile that was thought to be measured over 35 feet long. Fishermen working in the river system would come back  scared from a narrow escape battle with the giant croc known through Queensland as Acco. It was said that Acco had sunk boats, torn nets, and driven lots of fishermen from the river. It was even said that he could attack and kill a scrub bull, then he would drag the carcass hundreds of feet across mudflats and eat it. He was also known to be able to swallow a whole “Barra” boar. Croc hunters would compete and try to shoot Acco for the supreme award. Fishermen started to complain so the government sent in professional croc catchers, but they could not capture the huge croc. My father and I heard about this legend in 1985, and we felt we had to do something about it. Then in 1987 we observed the crocodile’s territory and made a plan of how to safely relocate it. This was not going to be an easy job. We looked over the river system for months and set up lead-in baits and traps to attempt so safely capture Acco. We looked around to try to track were he could be. It seemed as if he never made a mistake. Eventually we found a belly slide which told us he was at that spot not too long ago. My father eventually left me and my dog Chilli alone to capture this this huge croc by ourselves. My first move was to set up two traps by the belly slide thinking that might be a popular spot for him. Then I set up another trap a little further upstream which I thought would be the hot spot. Lastly I set up a final trap at the mouth of the river which is where the stories I had heard before had taken place. This crocodile was the smartest I have seen  It took three attempts, lots of equipment, and lots of time to catch this croc. I was so committed to capturing him I was not going to give up. When I finally caught him, I had been there for months and the rest of the animals in the habitat were used to me being there. I would have to say that that was the hardest croc capture I have ever had. After being caught, Acco was put into a trailer to be safely relocated to my zoo. He was so tired and so shaken up I was terrified that he wasn’t going to make it. Back at the zoo I tried to make him as comfortable as I possibly could. I even put a couple of girlfriends in with him. Acco never forgave me for taking him out of his habitat, but it had to be done for his safety. 

My First Beautiful Daughter Bindi

One night I was sitting out by a fire when I suddenly wondered who would take care of this zoo when Terri and I were gone. This question started to make me panic. I quickly went inside to talk with Terri about it. We both agreed on the best decision. We were going to have a baby. Right when we made this decision, we made the rule that we were not going to force our child into wildlife conservation. Our child was going to be able to do what ever he or she felt she wanted to do. When I found out that Terri was finally pregnant I was so excited I called everyone I knew. Terri’s pregnancy would be difficult because she is stubborn and didn’t want to stop helping me capture and save animals. After a couple adventures Terri figured out she was to week to help, and that she would just have to observe. Two weeks before her due date Terri went home, while I traveled two and a half hours away to do more filming. The next day I got a call from Terri that she was in the hospital and the baby would be arriving soon. I started to panic and got there just in time. Terri was embarrassed because I brought the whole camera crew in with me. After Bindi was born we got some much needed sleep, but six days after Bindi was born she would be going on her first adventure. We quickly figured out Bindi would not be living a normal life. Amazingly Bindi loved any animal she was introduced to. She had a deep love for snakes. It seemed as though Bindi had a sixth sense for nature just like her father. Throughout her childhood Bindi was strongly encouraged to love and save wildlife.

My Last Encounter

On Monday, September 4, 2006, I took a trip out to the Great Barrier Reef to film an under water documentary for my daughter, Bindi's, Television show. What I didn't know was that this would be the last time I would ever get to film a documentary. When we got to the reef, I got in the water to start filming. It wasn't too long after I got in that a beautiful sing ray swam near me. While shooting the sting ray segment, I started to swim over it for better footage. All of the sudden the stingray got spooked and struck its barb right into the left side of my chest. I was so shocked that this was actually happening. I watched my life flashing before my eyes. I quickly pulled the barb out of my chest. Right after I pulled it out, I went unconscious for the last time in my life. I have handled so many dangerous animals in my life, and I made my last mistake that ended my life. Everyone thought I was indestructible, but if any animal could ever killed me it would have been a crocodile. They were wrong. Looking back on my life I realize that I have accomplished a lot and Im very proud of it. I will very dearly miss my fans and most of all my family.