Crocodile Wrestling, Snake Wrangling Expert Tim Faulkner Returns to Animal Planet

Join wildlife expert Tim Faulkner as he wrestles saltwater crocodiles, wrangles deadly taipans and milks funnel-web spiders. It's all in a morning's work for the reptile park operations manager and wildlife expert.  A conservation series, The Wild Life of Tim Faulkner follows the busy schedule of Australian Reptile Park General Manager Tim Faulkner, as he tackles the daily challenges of running one of Australia's most action packed wildlife parks.

The new season of The Wild Life of Tim Faulkner  premiering December 01, every night at 9 pm on Animal Planet tracks Tim hatching baby alligators, tagging rock wallabies, releasing turtles and travelling deep into the Australian outback in search of rare and bizarre species to tick off his ‘bucket list'.

Also, in this series, viewers meet Tim's young son Bill (aged 4+), as he shares his dad's passion for wildlife conservation. One of his first lessons is the challenge of ‘how to train your Komodo dragon'.

The 20-part series The Wildlife of Tim Faulkner sees Tim spending time at the Devil Ark, the Tasmanian Devil insurance breeding program to ensure the survival and sustainability of the species in the wild.  He also explores the Tasmanian coast and heads out to the Southern Ocean to see its birdlife, dolphins and seals before heading north where he encounters Australia's longest python.

Tim encounters Australia’s largest lizard in central Australia, he administers a dose of antibiotics to the reptile park’s cranky croc Elvis.  Further, Tim heads to Central Australia to see what effects drought and introduced feral pests are having on local wildlife. He joins his team to rescue seven juvenile alligators from a muddy ending and deals with an eye infection of a cobra.   Further in the series, Tim tours Tasmania's Serengeti where he encounters kangaroos, wombats, echidna and some rare feathered friends.

Now 32 years, Tim has been working in the zoo and conservation industry his whole life. Since volunteering at a Sydney Wildlife Park from the age of 14, Tim has worked with some of Australia’s rarest most endangered species and their species management programs within captivity. 

Tim is playing an important role in the Tasmanian devil mainland breeding program, the Devil Ark.  The iconic Tasmanian devil is nearing extinction from the devil facial tumour disease. In Animal Planet’s series, viewers follow Tim as he discusses the devastating effect facial tumors are having on the animal and what the Reptile Park is doing to help. Tim is extremely proud that the Park has bred more devils than any other establishment.  His work with the Australian Reptile Park’s venom program also sees him handling the world’s deadliest snakes and spiders to produce venom which is then made into anti-venom at the Commonwealth Serum Laboratory.

About Tim Faulkner

Tim is playing an important role in the Tasmanian devil mainland breeding program. The iconic Tasmanian devil is nearing extinction from the devil facial tumour disease. The Australian Reptile Park became involved when the breeding program started in 2006 and Tim is extremely proud that the Park has bred more devils than any other establishment. 
 

Tim’s work with the Australian Reptile Park’s venom program sees him handle the world’s deadliest snakes and spiders to produce venom which is then made into anti-venom at the Commonwealth Serum Laboratory.

Starting work at age 14 seemed natural to Tim Faulkner. His first employer was Featherdale Wildlife Park in Western Sydney and Tim remembers it as a great place to start a career in zookeeping because of its focus on native Australian animals.

Almost a decade later, Tim joined the Australian Reptile Park as Senior Curator and is now General Manager. Tim has worked at the Reptile Park for eight years and values the its proactive conservation efforts, which enable him to work with some of Australia’s rarest most endangered species and their species management programs within captivity.
 

Tim has travelled extensively throughout Australia to see some of the world’s most pristine environments – from Cape York to see some of the world’s most beautiful rainforests and species such as palm cockatoos and the spotted cuscus, to Tasmania to work with the endangered Tasmanian devil. Tim loves observing animals in the wild and often implements things he has seen in the natural environment to assist with the care of captive animals.
 

A zookeeper for over a decade now, Tim is also a favourite with the media. Chatty and likeable, he has been a regular on Bondi Vet for three years and has his own segment each episode. 
 

Originally from Sydney, Tim and his wife Lizzy now live in Wamberal on the NSW Central Coast and have two sons, Billy (4) and Matthew (2).

About Animal Planet:

Animal Planet is the world’s only brand that immerses viewers in emotional, engaging and passionate content devoted to animals – from wildlife to pets. Animal Planet connects humans and animals with rich, deep content and offers animal lovers access to entertainment, information and enrichment. Animal Planet launched in Asia Pacific in 1998 and is currently distributed to over 180 million subscribers in the region.