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Outback Wrangler Matt Wright On The Top End, Filming With National Geographic And Why He Won't Eat Croc Meat

Crocodiles: If I Don't Eat Them Maybe They Won't Eat Me

They call him the Outback Wrangler and for good reason -- Matt Wright is the man you call when a problem crocodile is eating your livestock or lurking in a swimming hole.

Wright flies in -- he is a helicopter pilot after all -- and tackles the beast with his buddies Jono and Willow.

He's also part of a program collecting crocodile eggs to grow for the farming industry, but you won't catch him eating croc meat.

"I like to stick to the motto that if I don’t eat them, maybe they won't eat me," Wright told The Huffington Post Australia.

Wise words.

Outback Wrangler Matt Wright and a saltwater crocodile.

Wright's just launched his second season of Outback Wrangler with National Geographic and said his focus was on educating people about living alongside crocs.

Just don't think about swimming alongside them.

"If you swim in an area with crocodiles, there's a good chance you'll get bitten or eaten," Wright said.

"There's really not much you can do in the way of self defence other than only swimming somewhere that's been cleared of crocs."

Outback Wranglers John ‘Jono’ Brown, Matt Wright and Chris ‘Willow’ Wilson.

While there are calls to create a trophy hunting big game crocodile industry in the top end, Wright said he wasn't on board.

"It's a knee-jerk reaction that people get with a crocodile or even a shark," Wright said.

"As soon as someone gets bitten or eaten, people start calling for them to be culled, but we've worked hard for 40 years to bring croc numbers up to where they are today after the end of hunting.

"The females take around 10 years to mature and you see them nest every year in the same spot. If some redneck cowboy goes in and shoots the shit out of them, we won’t know the impact for a long time.”

He said surfer Mick Fanning's close call with a great white shark was a reminder that an animal's territory was its domain.

"Thank Christ Mick Fanning was able to find it off with his surfboard, if it had been a croc, he might not have been so lucky."

Outback Wrangler screens on Tuesday night at 8.30pm on National Geographic Channel.

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