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Daily Mirror
John Bett

'Real-life Crocodile Dundee' who wrestles 20ft monsters is training son, 3, to do it too

A man has been dubbed the real-life Crocodile Dundee as he spends his time wrestling some of the most dangerous animals on the planet. Matt Wright doesn't have a normal nine-to-five and rarely gets bored in his work, even though he spends a lot of his time waiting.

He works as a crocodile relocator and gets called in whenever someone has a problem with one of the huge beasts but doesn't want it killed for ethical reasons. That leaves Matt with the unenviable task of capturing the crocodile while it's still alive - and some of them are up to 20ft long and weigh over a tonne.

Matt works as a wild animal relocator (Wild Croc Territory)

What do you think about Matt's job? Let us know in the comments...

Matt is the star of the new Netflix show Wild Croc Territory which follows his day-to-day life as a wild animal relocator, duties he performs alongside his wife, Kaia, and son, Banjo.

The TV star admits that he can see the similarities between himself and Paul Hogan's character in the 1996 blockbuster, but insists there are differences.

He said: "We both live in the top end and we both catch crocodiles, I think Dundee was a hunter but I'm trying to look after the crocs. The show itself has really showcased parts of the territory that haven't been seen since Crocodile Dundee.

He's not afraid of giant crocodiles (Wild Croc Territory)

"I go out with my wife and throw her in the deep end from time to time, I have Banjo that's watching and learning. It's fun, it's a good show that will resonate with people around the world.

"The show itself, it's following our life in the Northern Territory and part of that is catching and moving some of the world's biggest crocs.

"We travel from cattle station to cattle station camping out, living off the land, then going out and trying to problem solve where you have a huge crocodile causing conflict.

"The property owner wants to destroy the crocodile and we want to save them.

Matt's taught his family how to deal with crocodiles (Wild Croc Territory)

"I can see the mentality, the quickest easiest solution is to kill the animal and get rid of the problem, we're meant to be the smartest species on earth but I scratch my head on that one, how can we destroy all these animals?"

Matt has been working with wildlife since he was a boy and he's learned how to handle himself, so he's not phased by massive crocodiles.

He continued: "I've had a massive interest in wildlife for as long as I remember, crocodiles are fascinating and I have a wildlife sanctuary for old breeding crocs, some parks are shutting down so I take them. Some get caught and we can't find homes for them, so I take them home with us.

"We also run tourism where people can come in and experience these prehistoric dinosaurs first hand.

He said his job isn't like a normal nine to five (Wild Croc Territory)

"Some of the biggest I've caught are about 18ft, it comes with risks. I've been working with wildlife as long as I can remember, I've been flying in Canada - that was fun and engaging - the bears and wolves, a lot of that was tracking and research, we have crocodiles here and that's what we work with.

"It's all very fun and interesting when you're out there, everything is new - it's not like you get up at eight and come home at five, every day is a new challenge.

"We set up a trap, to do that you need to find the right area, then you bait it with big bait. Hopefully, you catch it within two or three days.

"It's hard to explain how to catch a one-tonne animal, it's one of those things you have to see. I can go into lots of different techniques, you can use a harpoon and string - that's the riskiest part, it's pretty full on - we've sunk boats doing that.

Luckily his wife, Kaia, and son, Banjo, also like crocodiles (Wild Croc Territory)

"We've flown in with a chopper and a snare, there are lots of different ways

"The first resort is to set a massive trap. That's the ideal way."

Matt said that on one trip he accidentally got a crocodile caught on the skid of his helicopter, and had to try and free it as he flew away.

He added: "I've had some close calls, there's always interesting days you could say - when you flip the boat over at night time while catching crocs, that puts the wind up you a bit.

"As far as being bitten, I've been close a few times- a big fella snapped my uncle. I had a crocodile hanging off the chopper one day when it grabbed on, it comes with the territory.

Matt said a trap is the best way to capture a croc (Wild Croc Territory)

"It shook me up a bit, and the helicopter, it was very hard to fly. I tried to get a bit of height and it let go and fell back into the swamp. It was fine, it lay there they rolled over and swam away.

"They're like sharks, like any animal, if you end up in their environment you are putting yourself in danger, but if you understand how they think or move you can mitigate that risk, get yourself out of a bad situation.

"With a crocodile, people think they will run you down like a cheater, but when they come out you can see a crocodile is flat out getting out the water, they have so much weight, the smaller ones are a bit faster, they're a bit quick.

"A 13ft croc is the most dangerous crocodile because they're in that adolescent phase, they're fast and have something to prove. The big alpha males, up to 19ft, yes they're dangerous if you're in the water with them, but they're not as aggressive.

Sometimes things don't go according to plan (Wild Croc Territory)

"Awareness is everything, in the show you see me in the water with some of these big guys, they don't eat me - they're not out there to kill me.

"I don't recommend anyone does this, by the way, don't go touch a crocodile because you're putting yourself in danger, but I'm trying to shed a different light on these animals - they're not just maneaters looking to kill and destroy, they have their place in the ecosystem.

"I've seen different natures in crocodiles, some can be aggressive and some are placid, I came across a 17ft who came up to me and I looked at him, grabbed him in on his nose, he mouthed up a bit then rolled over.

"It was huge, a massive crocodile, it was coming over to say g'day.

Matt's been working with wild animals for as long as he can remember (Wild Croc Territory)

"Some are curious, some are more hungry, the weather has a big change in their temperaments, and if it's breeding season they get a lot more aggressive."

Matt's three-year-old son Banjo is also in training to be a crocodile relocator and looks set to follow in his father's footsteps.

Matt continued: "We explain to Banjo that the TV is broken, and occasionally it might be fixed for ten minutes on Saturday, he doesn't get iPads or TV. We try to spend time with our kids, outdoors, explaining everything. Take him for a surf, or go feed the crocodiles, we're really hands-on rather than sticking an iPhone or a TV in front of them.

Matt said that he couldn't imagine doing anything else (Wild Croc Territory)

"With Banjo, from a very young age we explained to be careful, that's dangerous, this is ok. At six months old he had a big snake crawling all over him, now I can give him a snake and he's fascinated.

"He's growing up with it and respecting it, when we tell him it's dangerous and don't go there, he doesn't. There was one time in the show where I'm feeding the big crocs and he was so worried for me, he says 'be careful'.

"He understands the danger of these animals, Kaia was filming a croc at home and it got out, she got it under control and had to lead it back in, and Banjo came down with the dog, and Kaia said to Banjo, 'get out, run and get back to the house'.

"He took off because the croc was coming, then he shouted back to make sure mum was ok, it was interesting to see how switched on he is from learning this from a young age.

"We had some blue bottle jellyfish the other day, they're poisonous, and I was explaining to them they'll sting if they're alive but if they're dried up it's ok, he understands - it's brilliant."

Wild Croc Territory is available on Netflix now.

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