by guest contributor Beth Solomon
Photo credit: Courtesy of NatGeo
Real live crocodiles chilled and thrilled a rollicking reception at the Embassy of Australia with TV star Matt Wright of Monster Croc Wrangler, the Nat Geo WILD show whose new season just launched. The show’s premise is harrowing: Matty and his mates, Willow and Jono, save people and crocs by catching and moving the creatures to safe habitats away from people.
Photographer Nick Dunn films a croc at the Australian Embassy
It’s a big issue in Australia, where crocs have come into conflict with ranchers, leading in the old days to massive killing. Crocs were on the verge of extinction only 40 years ago. But due to efforts like Wright’s, their numbers have recovered and are now higher than ever. But keeping the crocs away from human habitat is not for the meek. Cameraman Ash Dunn who was at the reception faces an extremely dangerous mission on every shoot as Matt and the mates wrangle deadly snakes, wrestle wild bull crocs or dangle hundreds of feet from a helicopter to land inside a crocodile nest.
Matt Wright
This year, Australia and the United States mark a century of friendship — that’s 100 years of “mateship” for the Aussies — and the Embassy under the leadership of Ambassador Joe Hockey is planning a year-long celebration. The nations’ friendship first formed in the trenches of World War I when U.S. and Australian troops under Australian command recaptured the city of Hamel from the Germans and turned the tide of the war, eventually leading to victory. It’s been the strongest of friendships — or shall we say “mateships” — ever since.
This article first appeared in The Georgetown Dish.
