Living on the Edge: A Deep Dive into Animal Handling with Christopher Soul
Christopher Soul, a professional snake wrangler and animal handler, shares his enthralling journey into the world of dangerous creatures in this engaging podcast episode. He recounts his beginnings at SeaWorld in Australia, where his fascination with sharks ignited a passion that eventually led him to work with crocodiles and various other animals. The conversation delves into the intricacies of animal behavior, safety protocols, and the often misunderstood nature of these creatures, showcasing that fear often stems from a lack of understanding. As they explore the balance between human interaction and wildlife, Soul emphasizes the importance of respect and awareness in the presence of such formidable animals. Listeners will find themselves captivated by his stories and the unique insights he provides, leaving them with a newfound appreciation for the wild wonders of Australia.
Christopher Soul is a dangerous animal handler and a snake wrangler. In fact, Mr. Soul stars on National Geographic's "Aussie Snake Wranglers." In 2021, Christopher went viral across the globe when he caught a carpet python in someone's toilet!
"Aussie Snake Wranglers" can be found here: https://www.disney.com.au/national-geographic/aussie-snake-wranglers
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Takeaways:
- The podcast features Christopher Soul, a professional snake wrangler and animal handler, who shares intriguing insights about his career journey from working with sharks to handling various dangerous animals.
- He recounts his first encounter with sharks while working at SeaWorld, emphasizing the thrill and respect required when engaging with such powerful creatures in their natural habitat.
- Soul discusses the misconceptions surrounding dangerous animals in Australia, clarifying that while the media often sensationalizes the threats posed by sharks and crocodiles, actual incidents of attacks are exceedingly rare.
- The conversation covers the differences between crocodiles and alligators, with Soul humorously noting that alligators are often referred to as 'frogs with teeth' due to their relatively docile nature compared to their more aggressive crocodile relatives.
- Listeners are treated to a humorous exchange regarding the dangers of Australian wildlife, with Soul playfully suggesting that even koalas, often perceived as cute and harmless, can exhibit unexpected aggression when provoked.
- The episode wraps up with an amusing discussion about the appeal of Australia as a travel destination, highlighting the blend of breathtaking nature and the ever-present thrill of encountering wildlife that could potentially be hazardous.
Links referenced in this episode:
- blindknowledge.com
- joellineknowledge.com
- blind_knowledge
- theblindknowledge
- twitch
- youtube
- tiktok
Companies mentioned in this episode:
- Blind Knowledge
- Blindknowledge.com
- SeaWorld
- Australia Zoo
- National Geographic
Transcript
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Speaker A:Here, presented by Blind Knowledge is another edition of behind the Content.
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Speaker A:Tonight, tonight, tonight we have a legend.
Speaker A:The man is a legend in my eyes and I think he'll become a legend in yours, too.
Speaker A:He is a dangerous animal handler.
Speaker A:He is a professional snake wrangler.
Speaker A:My friend and yours, Christopher Soul, everybody.
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Speaker A:Chris, how the hell did you get into this profession and why?
Speaker B:Well, I got, I originally got my start.
Speaker B:I used to play in a, in a local band and our manager was actually working at SeaWorld in Australia.
Speaker B:So on the Gold coast over here we've got SeaWorld, which is a little bit different to.
Speaker B:Little bit different to your SeaWorld over there.
Speaker B:Like, we don't have whales and all that kind of stuff, but yeah, they got a whole heap of rides and I started on the rides just, you know, being a button pusher and sending people around on the roller coasters and stuff.
Speaker B:And then, yeah, I used to go hang out at an exhibit that they were building at the time.
Speaker B:It was called Shark Bay.
Speaker B:And, and yeah, they had like heaps of sharks in there, I think.
Speaker B:I think at the most we had like 13 sharks, like one of the biggest shark aquariums in the southern hemisphere.
Speaker B:And I used to go down and hang out down there and, and just be like, man, like, it's so Sweet.
Speaker B:And then the guy who runs the place, he came down.
Speaker B:He's like, oh, I see you down here all the time.
Speaker B:Like, do you want to.
Speaker B:You want to go and do your course?
Speaker A:And just randomly.
Speaker B:Yeah, well, like your commercial dive course.
Speaker B:So that was what you needed for it.
Speaker B:And, yeah.
Speaker B:He's like, go do your course and come back and we'll give you a job.
Speaker B:And I was just like, oh, holy moly.
Speaker A:Wow, that's cool.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:So I went down and did my course.
Speaker B:It's like two months in Northern Victoria, which is like, the southern part of Australia, and it was cold as.
Speaker B:And.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And then.
Speaker B:And then I came back and got my start working with the sharks and cutting whales out of nets and all this really cool stuff, and then it just kind of all came up from there, because once you start working with dangerous animals, most of the stuff is all, like, the same.
Speaker A:Okay, in what way?
Speaker B:All the health and safety and all that kind of stuff.
Speaker B:Like, you know, you're always watching your back.
Speaker B:You're always watching your buddies back.
Speaker A:That makes sense.
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:So across the board, like, the dangerous animal, like, health and safety stuff is.
Speaker B:Is very similar to each other.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And then when I left SeaWorld and actually went over to Canada.
Speaker B:Oh, yeah.
Speaker B:And I came back and I started working at Australia Zoo.
Speaker B:Steve Owens, Australia Zoo at the time.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And then just started working with the crocodiles.
Speaker B:And I was there for seven years, and it was.
Speaker B:It was good fun.
Speaker B:Good fun being able to run around and see all the, you know, see all the animals that want to try and eat me.
Speaker A:What'd you do with the crocodiles?
Speaker A:Like, did you wrangle them?
Speaker B:Yeah, well, I mean, you're in Florida, right?
Speaker B:You got, like, the alligators.
Speaker A:We got.
Speaker A:Yeah, we got alligators, man.
Speaker A:We got alarm.
Speaker A:We got alarms and alerts that go off when an alligator is just, like, coming out of the.
Speaker A:The muck.
Speaker B:Really?
Speaker B:That's wicked.
Speaker A:Yeah, they're huge.
Speaker A:They're like dinosaurs, man.
Speaker A:They're.
Speaker B:Yeah, they're big.
Speaker B:They're big.
Speaker B:And.
Speaker B:Yeah, so when you start.
Speaker B:When you start there, you start off wrangling alligators, and then you move up and you start working with the crocs.
Speaker A:That's the entry level.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Oh, man.
Speaker B:Like.
Speaker B:Yeah, the alligators.
Speaker B:Steve used to call the alligators frogs with teeth, because compared to crocodiles, they're just, like, so just chill.
Speaker B:Very, very chill.
Speaker A:Wow.
Speaker A:I never would have thought that, like, even when they're not hungry, they just.
Speaker A:They just want to pick a fight.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:That's it.
Speaker B:They always chase you.
Speaker B:They always have a, they always have a bone to pick, you know.
Speaker B:And then.
Speaker B:Yeah, and then after that I actually met all the guys from the Snake Wrangler show.
Speaker B:They all.
Speaker B:So everyone that's in Aussie Snake Wranglers on National Geographic used to work at Australia Zoo.
Speaker B:And so, yeah, my friend, my friend Stu started doing that.
Speaker B:He's got a snake catching business here on the Sunshine coast in Australia and I started doing some snake catching stuff for him and then it just kind of went on to the show and now I don't really do that much like snake catching except for the stuff on the show now.
Speaker B:But now I actually work out in the mining sector relocating animals.
Speaker A:Oh, that's awesome.
Speaker A:That's awesome.
Speaker B:Yeah, so like just snakes and possums and pretty much whatever we can find.
Speaker B:It's mostly lizards.
Speaker B:Lizards and goannas and all that kind of thing and just so they don't get squished and.
Speaker B:Yeah, that's pretty much where I am now.
Speaker B:Like it's been a, it's been a rough rocky road in some spots.
Speaker B:You know, it's like everyone up, have your ups and downs.
Speaker A:I gotta ask though, entry level crocodile guy in the us like when you start entry level, maybe you're doing customer service in a cubicle somewhere, not really doing the crocodile thing.
Speaker A:What did you specifically do with the crocs?
Speaker A:Like did you dance with them?
Speaker A:Did you, did you, did you have to harness them?
Speaker A:Like, did you guys, like, did people come to see them specifically for a show?
Speaker A:Maybe?
Speaker B:Yeah, so we do all that.
Speaker B:Like it's, it's, it's a zoo.
Speaker B:So you know, 85% of what you do is all back a house cleaning.
Speaker B:Like anyone that's worked in the zoo industry knows that you might have your on display stuff and the shows would probably be like maybe 5% of what you do on a daily basis.
Speaker B:The rest of it's cleaning and, and yeah, cleaning, feeding, making sure the animals are good, doing your good husbandry and, and all that kind of stuff.
Speaker B:And yeah, and then, and so, so obviously at the zoo, at Australia Zoo, they know Steve Irwin, the Crocodile Hunter, right?
Speaker B:So he used to do shows back in the day.
Speaker B:And so he's got this huge purpose built crocodile stadium where we've got seven crocs out the back and we bring out, we bring out a crocodile and you do the show in the main coliseum.
Speaker B:There's run around in front of them, jump in the water, do all the crazy stuff and have a Bit of fun with it.
Speaker A:How old were you back then when you first started?
Speaker B:It was maybe 28.
Speaker B:Wow.
Speaker A:So that late bloomer.
Speaker B:Yeah, like 26, 27 probably.
Speaker B:And then.
Speaker B:Yeah, I was there for seven years, so there for quite a while once I kind of got into the animal stuff and I found my stride and.
Speaker B:And, you know, you do kind of, you know, you.
Speaker B:You learn to work around big, dangerous animals and it's.
Speaker B:It's just a really cool thing to keep going with.
Speaker B:And there's.
Speaker B:There's actually quite a lot of places in Australia.
Speaker B:You know, small zoos, all that kind of thing where you can kind of do that thing.
Speaker B:And the government has a lot of zoos.
Speaker A:Oh, okay.
Speaker A:So it's popular.
Speaker A:It's a popular destination.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Well, that's why everyone comes to Australia.
Speaker B:Why?
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:Because all the animals can kill you.
Speaker A:I didn't know people go to Australia.
Speaker A:I thought people were just trying to get out of there.
Speaker B:Yeah, well, that's what it feels like at the moment.
Speaker B:That's.
Speaker A:That's the stereotype I think of.
Speaker A:I think of kangaroos.
Speaker A:I think of big snakes and, like, spiders and stuff coming out of toilets.
Speaker B:Yeah, well, that's.
Speaker B:It's funny you mentioned that because.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:That I had to catch a snake that was in a toilet maybe two, three months ago.
Speaker B:And it was on.
Speaker B:It was on the news because I had to pee water to get it out.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Christopher Soul, you were trending in the US you were actually on one of the nightly news shows, because I saw your clip.
Speaker B:So I got a. I got a call off one of the.
Speaker B:Off one of the blokes, and they were like, oh, you know, you just go over and apparently this snake is in the bathroom.
Speaker B:I was like, all right.
Speaker B:So I went in there and I checked the whole bathroom.
Speaker B:I couldn't find anything.
Speaker B:And then the.
Speaker B:The girl that was there at the time, she was just like, oh, no, I think it was.
Speaker B:It was in the bowl.
Speaker B:And I was like, oh, okay.
Speaker B:And so, like, so for.
Speaker B:For Americans, the way our toilets work is a little bit different to.
Speaker B:In America.
Speaker B:Like, you guys have, like, a heap of water in your ones compared to ours.
Speaker B:Like, ours is, like, really low.
Speaker B:And so the snake was actually just under the lip of the toilet.
Speaker B:And when I opened the lid, it was just in the water where this, like, chick had just peed.
Speaker A:So she was sitting there and it was.
Speaker A:It was under her.
Speaker B:Yeah, she was sitting there and she looked between her legs and there was a carbon pipe underneath.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:I had to pretty Much.
Speaker B:Reach in and grab it.
Speaker B:Reach in and grab it.
Speaker B:And it was.
Speaker B:It was.
Speaker B:Yuck.
Speaker A:Did you just happen to be there?
Speaker A:Did they call you?
Speaker A:Because they.
Speaker A:They noticed it after they were finished.
Speaker B:They caught.
Speaker B:They called us.
Speaker B:They called us.
Speaker A:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:Such an Australian thing.
Speaker A:So I gotta bring it back.
Speaker A:We'll rewind here because I gotta know at first when you got it, when you know, when you started Sea World, you're working with sharks.
Speaker A:First of all, I don't know who the hell in the world wants to work with sharks.
Speaker A:I guess Christopher Soule.
Speaker A:When did you figure out that you were cool with that?
Speaker A:That you were.
Speaker A:You wanted to hang with sharks?
Speaker A:Like, it's a ballsy move, bro.
Speaker A:It really is.
Speaker A:Like, I wouldn't do it.
Speaker A:I don't think most of the people on this stream or hear this podcast would do it.
Speaker A:How did you know you were cool with it and you liked it?
Speaker B:Like, I thought, like, I have always liked animals.
Speaker B:I remember my mom got me, like, a snake.
Speaker B:It was a shark and a crocodile book when I was like 8 years old.
Speaker B:And I've always liked.
Speaker B:I've always liked, like, big, you know, dangerous animals.
Speaker B:But I think it got to the next level when you kind of.
Speaker B:You see that, like when you're in the water with them, it's a different world because you're pretty much at the mercy of them because they're just so much more powerful and so well suited.
Speaker B:Being in the.
Speaker B:So, yeah, like when you're in the water, but then like, the more you work with them and, you know, they're in a captive environment as well, and they used to.
Speaker B:Divers, they used to people being in the water.
Speaker B:You do have close calls sometimes with all animals that kind of like, they almost reset you internally where you're like, oh, okay, I won't do that again.
Speaker B:Like, I got away with that and got lucky.
Speaker A:Got lucky.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:So, like, with the.
Speaker B:The shark stuff was what made me fall in love with, like, dangerous animals to begin with.
Speaker B:Because they're just.
Speaker B:Yeah, they're just the next level powerful kind of animals and you've got that certain respect for them, but also at the same time, you fear them as well.
Speaker B:And I think that's what a lot of people.
Speaker B:That's where they get it from.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:Like, they, they fear what they don't understand.
Speaker B:And so I was never like that.
Speaker B:I always wanted to understand.
Speaker A:Oh, hell yeah.
Speaker A:I agree with you.
Speaker A:110.
Speaker A:For sure.
Speaker A:For sure.
Speaker A:Fear is.
Speaker A:Fear is.
Speaker A:It comes from and derives from the unknown.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And So I think with that, with the sharks, like, the sharks are actually quite.
Speaker B:Not placid, but they, they're very certain circumstances where they become dangerous and obviously goes for in the wild.
Speaker B:Like, you know, Australia has a bad reputation for, you know, sharks and crocs and snakes and spiders and all that other stuff.
Speaker B:But those animals, the amount of people that they actually kill per year is, is almost nothing.
Speaker B:It's.
Speaker B:It's very, it's very overhyped in the media.
Speaker B:You know, you like sharks.
Speaker B:I think on average it's probably like maybe two or three people per year get attacked by a shark.
Speaker A:That's it.
Speaker A:Really?
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:It's not, it's not a lot.
Speaker B:Like, they do have a little.
Speaker B:So sometimes they have a little bit more.
Speaker B:But you know, like, to put it into context, I think like per year, 11 people die from falling off their chairs.
Speaker B:And I think it's like people die from like vending machines falling on them when they're trying to get like a.
Speaker A:Could you imagine going to get a soda and it's just like the thing falls over.
Speaker B:Worst way, Worst way to die.
Speaker A:That's gotta be the worst one.
Speaker B:I died being a greedy fat bastard.
Speaker B:Yeah,.
Speaker A:Dude.
Speaker B:Yeah, like, and the same goes with crocodiles as well.
Speaker B:Like, there's crocs up north.
Speaker B:Like, as you go probably about six hours north from where I am on the Sunshine coast, you go north and it starts to be crocodile territory.
Speaker B:So the crocs are in the water, and if you just don't go in the water, you're never going to get eaten by a crocodile.
Speaker A:So are there signs, other signs up and posted that say.
Speaker B:Yeah, crocs.
Speaker B:Every single river, every single beach, every single waterway that like, where they're found has signposted, but they make them so that they're very convenient towel racks.
Speaker A:They always need a towel rack.
Speaker A:You know, if you jump in that water with those, those crocs, you're going to be wet.
Speaker A:You're going to be wet.
Speaker B:Either way you go up and the, the opportunity I think that crocodiles have to actually eat people is, Is insane.
Speaker B:Like, because people just.
Speaker B:Most people up there, they don't care.
Speaker B:They just go swimming in the water and the crocs generally stay away.
Speaker B:And then every now and then something might happen and they might get too close or, or they might, you know, be trying to kill the crocodile or.
Speaker B:Yeah, something out of the norm happens and then they get smashed.
Speaker B:And once you get smashed by the crocodile, it's basically like their instinct is just to Drown it all over.
Speaker A:Wow.
Speaker A:So it's a regular part of life as we would say here in the US down under.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:I grew up having to tap my shoes out before I put them on just so there's no spiders in them.
Speaker A:Wow.
Speaker A:Okay, so that's like, that's such a huge lifestyle difference between me and you.
Speaker A:Like, I grew up just outside of Boston, Massachusetts here in the U.S. right.
Speaker A:And there are, there are actually great white sharks.
Speaker A:You know, usually in the summer especially, more and more they have shark sightings and then they, they throw the red flags up at the beach, get off the beach and whatever and people get, people get bit and there's more and more starting to inhabit that area.
Speaker A:Yeah, but I, I never really thought to, to, to you know, worry about spiders or even bugs, maybe ticks, you know, but probably larger and more dangerous where you are, I'm assuming.
Speaker B:Well, we, we also like, we don't really care about, you know, six meter crocodiles and all that kind of stuff.
Speaker B:But I can tell you right now that bear overseas, like in America, I would like lose my mind.
Speaker A:Bears are no joke.
Speaker A:Bears.
Speaker A:A bear Will you up, bro.
Speaker B:Yeah, they're super scary.
Speaker B:Like it's, it's no different.
Speaker B:Like you see a croc, you see a shark or whatever.
Speaker B:If you're in the water and you see a bear, it's like the same thing.
Speaker B:Like you just know that they, they're gonna mess you up if you do the wrong thing.
Speaker A:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker A:They're no joke and they will eat your, your food out of your dumpster.
Speaker A:And they look warm and cuddly, but.
Speaker A:Yeah, no, and they're fast too.
Speaker A:Once they start galloping and realize where they are and they kind of look, I'm thinking of a black bear because there's different bears, but a black bear in particular, they look kind of goofy and just kind of like off center.
Speaker A:But those, those guys and you know, male and female bears, they're, they're fast, they're aggressive and they'll eat your head off, you know.
Speaker A:What's, what's your favorite animal to, to work with or to handle or, or however you would say it?
Speaker B:I'd say, I'd say crocs are probably number one.
Speaker B:It was a toss up between crocs and great white sharks.
Speaker B:I've never actually like worked.
Speaker B:I've seen great white sharks in the wild, but I've never like, they've never been in captivity.
Speaker B:The crocs, Crocs are next level, right.
Speaker B:They just so smart people just don't think they think of a reptile as like dumb.
Speaker B:Right?
Speaker B:Crocs are so smart.
Speaker B:Like they'll sit there and they're so patient.
Speaker B:Like you, you have them in captivity and every day you walk past them in the same spot over and over and over and over again.
Speaker B:You might do it a thousand times and you don't know because you never really realized that the crocs been slowly inching closer and closer and closer and closer at the edge of the water.
Speaker B:They're extremely fast.
Speaker B:They're pretty much faster than anything, you know, like that catch deer and antelope and stuff at the edge of the water and all the deer can even process what's going on.
Speaker A:Wow.
Speaker A:Yeah, I've seen, you know, I've seen some things actually.
Speaker A:A natural National Geographic and various, various places.
Speaker A:Probably YouTube clips and stuff like that, where they just pounce and then they, they're gone.
Speaker B:Well, they're like invisible in the water.
Speaker B:Like if the water is dirty, you can't see them at all.
Speaker B:And they'll, they'll be like right below you and you won't even know.
Speaker B:And they can sense like animals on the land, they're coming close to the water, they can feel them.
Speaker B:They don't have to see them.
Speaker A:That's interesting.
Speaker A:Do you know how they do that by any chance?
Speaker B:So if you look at like a close up photo of a crocodile's like, or an alligator as well, like they've got those little black dots on their bottom jaw.
Speaker B:That's what they are.
Speaker B:They're tiny little receptors that feel the motion waves coming through the water.
Speaker B:And they can triangulate animals at the edge of the water without having to expose themselves so they can sneak right up below you.
Speaker A:It's like a, it's like a sixth sense or something like that.
Speaker B:Well, I mean they've been around for so long.
Speaker B:Like crocs have been on the planet for like 250 million years.
Speaker B:So they.
Speaker A:Yeah, they sing a thing or two.
Speaker B:Yeah, they do what they do.
Speaker A:Well, dude, I gotta know though.
Speaker A:I gotta know.
Speaker A:I have so many questions.
Speaker A:I hope you have time.
Speaker A:You know, you connected with me, which is great.
Speaker A:No effort on my end.
Speaker A:And I was like, dude, I gotta know some things.
Speaker A:And one of the things I gotta know is what's the worst experience you've ever had handling an animal?
Speaker B:Oh man, there's so many, like, you know, each day is completely different.
Speaker B:There's so many times where you'll be like, oh man, that was, that was pretty bad.
Speaker B:But you Know, like, there's been times where I've been in croc enclosures, I've fallen into enclosures.
Speaker B:You've put yourself in an area where you know that you've done the wrong thing and, you know you've messed up and real good with capitalizing on that stuff that's just stink that they've got, you know, like this.
Speaker B:There's a lot to think.
Speaker B:I've been bitten by snakes a fair bit.
Speaker B:Nothing venomous, but, you know, get bitten by pythons pretty much pretty regularly.
Speaker B:I mean, I got bitten on the.
Speaker A:Show, just a regular thing.
Speaker A:Yeah, you know, I get bit by pythons, but, you know, other than that now.
Speaker B:Well, one, one smashed me on the belly when I, while we were filming season one, and I actually got bitten again in the same spot by a very similar snake in season two.
Speaker B:Yeah, that was interesting with, with the crocs, generally it's, you know, when it might be slippery, it might be raining, you slip over in front of them and they, you know, have a massive cr.
Speaker B:Catch you and you get up and get out.
Speaker B:And with the sharks, generally, it's like when you're underwater, you're not paying that much attention and something sneaks up on you in a wrong spot and you kind of like put your head up and next thing you know, you kind of headbutt a massive bull shark.
Speaker B:And yeah, you know, you crap yourself and you're like, holy moly.
Speaker B:Like.
Speaker B:And then normally the sharks freaks out and just cruises off.
Speaker B:But yeah, yeah, there's always times that you collect yourself and you're like, wow, I shouldn't do that again.
Speaker B:But, you know, it happens to the best of us and, you know, sometimes you've just got to take what happened and learn from it and try not to do it again.
Speaker A:Yeah, you said you did Season one and two.
Speaker A:Is season three on the way?
Speaker A:Or is.
Speaker A:Are.
Speaker A:It's season three, right?
Speaker A:On the way.
Speaker B:Never really talked about season three yet.
Speaker B:We might.
Speaker B:Who knows?
Speaker B:I mean, it has gone quite well on National Geographic.
Speaker B:It's.
Speaker B:It was like one of their top rating shows here in Australia.
Speaker B:So at the moment it's not actually showing in the US I don't believe on the National Geographic panel, but yeah,.
Speaker A:There's no way for me to see it.
Speaker A:I, I didn't know what season you're on.
Speaker A:I, I didn't know if you're like a host or, or are you like a reoccurring person?
Speaker A:Like, what's, what do you do on there?
Speaker B:Well, I'll.
Speaker B:I'll be pretty much in every episode.
Speaker B:Like, it, it basically focuses on the team that we all have that work for Sunshine, Ghost, snake hatches.
Speaker B:But the, like, the whole way that the TV stuff works, it's, it's all completely split.
Speaker B:Like National Geographic Australia is a separate thing to National Geographic America.
Speaker B:I think, I think they're looking at bringing it out on Disney plus.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Which, which will definitely, definitely boost and send it to a lot more people.
Speaker B:Hopefully it'll play in the States with that kind of thing.
Speaker B:And I think they're looking at.
Speaker B:I think that's being shopped for the US and the UK right now.
Speaker A:If you think about it, though, if you think about it, you know, that's probably really entertaining to a large demographic here in the US because, stereotype or not, I'll tell you from firsthand experience, it's all about the hype and it's about events and it's about, like, the big things.
Speaker A:Like, people want to see someone get snake bit or, like, travel out in a Humvee and go see some, some crocs.
Speaker A:Like, that's, that's stuff that we don't have here and it's dangerous and it's, like, interesting.
Speaker A:So I could see how that'd be a good sell for this market over here, for sure.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:It doesn't help the stereotype that Aussies are just, like, overwhelmed with snakes because, you know, like, it's, it's, it makes it come across like, you know, we're just like, kicking snakes outside our door before we go to bed at night.
Speaker B:Like, they're an everyday part of being in Australia, but they're not, they're not in, like, plague proportions or anything like that.
Speaker B:Like, they do cruise around.
Speaker B:I mean, at the end of the day, like carbon pythons, they're no different to, like, a crow or mice.
Speaker B:Like, they're just really good at being around people now.
Speaker B:So, like, they cruise around people's houses and they cruise around in the suburbs because, you know, the possums are hanging out, the rats are hanging out in people's houses, and that's their prey.
Speaker A:Oh, that makes sense.
Speaker A:And so are they fearful of humans or are they just like, screw you, get out of my way?
Speaker B:No, generally, like, especially, like, most of the venomous stuff, they're very flighty.
Speaker B:They'll leave as soon as they know that the person's seen them.
Speaker B:The thing is, like, copper pythons, I'll hang in your garage and you might walk past them 20 times and they won't do anything because they're just like still and they just sit there and next thing you know, like, you're like, oh, I need to go and get so and so and so.
Speaker B:You go in there and there's a snake right there.
Speaker B:And that gives you a fright because you realize that you walked past it 20 times and you're like, oh my God, I could have taken my face off.
Speaker A:It could have taken a testicle, my friend.
Speaker B:Yeah, snake bites are rare.
Speaker B:They're very rare.
Speaker B:And generally it only really happens when they're trying to kill a snake.
Speaker A:You know what the big stereotype of Australia was over here?
Speaker A:Especially like that I can think of that was force fed to us growing up was kangaroos, wallabies and koalas.
Speaker A:Are those everywhere?
Speaker B:Yeah, like if you, if you were with me right now, we could probably drive maybe about 30 minutes and we could probably see like a huge, like amount of kangaroos.
Speaker A:No way.
Speaker A:Do they travel in like packs or something?
Speaker B:Yeah, generally they're like in a koalas.
Speaker B:Definitely not.
Speaker B:Koalas are really, really hard to find at the best of times.
Speaker B:They've just been listed as endangered here in Australia.
Speaker B:So they're in a bit of trouble, funnily enough.
Speaker B:Like I was working at a job probably about 20 minutes from my house and they had 17 koalas in a 2 square kilometer area.
Speaker B:And so that's like insane.
Speaker B:Like I've never seen that many koalas in the one spot before in my life.
Speaker B:And I've been working with animals for like, you know, 13 years.
Speaker B:And so that was pretty cool to see.
Speaker B:But yeah, they're in a lot of trouble.
Speaker B:Koalas are in a lot of trouble and they're really hard to see.
Speaker B:And that's why they die through like land clearing and all that kind of stuff.
Speaker B:It's just impossible to see them when they're in trees.
Speaker A:Yeah, that's really interesting actually, that one.
Speaker A:Because koalas are so chill.
Speaker A:They just eat leaves and sleep.
Speaker A:That's all I want to do too.
Speaker B:Kangaroos though, everywhere.
Speaker B:Everywhere really.
Speaker A:So it's like deer over here basically exactly the same.
Speaker B:They're pretty much like, yeah, deer.
Speaker B:They're just, you know, you cruise into any real wooded area or like in Australia, like, yeah, if you're traveling like out west, there's a lot of people, you know, like for everyone in America, you're probably looking at about like most of the main like population centers are on the coast on the east coast of Australia.
Speaker B:But once you go like maybe three, four hours, it's like sparse farms.
Speaker B:And then if you go more than like eight, seven hours, it's like the desert.
Speaker B:And so if you're traveling out there and you don't have like a bull bar on the front, like a kangaroo will clean up your car and you'll be done.
Speaker A:Yeah, man, I, I gotta tell you, it's, it's a pleasure to meet you because it's fascinating.
Speaker A:You're not what I pictured.
Speaker A:I was p. This wild, crazy man.
Speaker B:That, that's, that's me.
Speaker B:He's in the show as well.
Speaker A:Oh, okay.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker B:Crazy Australian.
Speaker B:That's him.
Speaker B:100.
Speaker A:We'll have to talk to him at some point.
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker A:You know, you seem really like an intellectual more than a crazy man, which is pretty cool.
Speaker A:Are you someone that went to college or.
Speaker B:Nah, nah, that's.
Speaker B:I have like two sides.
Speaker B:Like I've got an entertainment side and I've got like just a, you know, normal person side.
Speaker A:Fair.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:I couldn't be running 100 all the time.
Speaker B:Just get exhausted.
Speaker B:Not like Steve Owen.
Speaker B:That dude was 100 on all the time.
Speaker B:Oh yeah.
Speaker B:Like you, like I'm just here chilled out, you know, like just having a beer and just hanging out, talking with you guys, having a chill session.
Speaker B:But when you get out there and you get all ended up and you're handling six foot brown snakes, you know?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:That's when the blood's pumping and you're ready to rumble, you know?
Speaker B:Yeah, definitely.
Speaker B:Definitely.
Speaker B:No, no uni for me.
Speaker B:It's all hands on learn stuff.
Speaker B:So it's all like learn by doing.
Speaker A:So that's your education really is.
Speaker A:Yeah, learning by doing, being, being there and having the experience, which, you know, I think is a better education.
Speaker A:And it's, you know, what you want to do, you know who you are,.
Speaker B:Which is pretty cool.
Speaker B:Yeah, like there's definitely place in the industry for both, like both kinds.
Speaker B:Like you always have to have intellectual people there to, you know, run scientific side and all that kind of thing.
Speaker A:But you want to balance in any business or any industry, you want a solid balance for sure.
Speaker B:And, and a lot of the time, like those scientific people that have less hands on experience.
Speaker B:And so when they do want hands on experience, they rely on people that have done a lot of things with animals, like physically to introduce them to that and, and help them to, you know, learn the aspects.
Speaker A:Mr.
Speaker A:Soul, I gotta know, do you play video games or do you read books?
Speaker B:I definitely, I would definitely play more video games and I'd read books 100%.
Speaker B:That's why.
Speaker B:That's why I'm a snake handler, because I didn't read enough books.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:You probably write a book.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:At this point.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:No, I played my fair share of video games.
Speaker B:I grew up, you know, with a PC and stuff when I was younger and then moved on all the consoles and stuff and love playing a bit of.
Speaker B:What am I playing at the moment?
Speaker B:UFC.
Speaker B:UFC 4.
Speaker B:Playing a bit of UFC.
Speaker A:Love UFC.
Speaker A:Love UFC.
Speaker B:Big time.
Speaker B:Big time stuff.
Speaker A:It's so, it's so captivating to hear different perspectives.
Speaker A:Like, I'm over here in the usa.
Speaker A:I only know what I know.
Speaker A:And then we're having this conversation and you're, you're telling me things that are just so foreign to me, yet I understand.
Speaker A:It's very, it's very dynamic.
Speaker A:It kind of goes along with what blind knowledge is.
Speaker A:Blind knowledge.
Speaker A:The concept is that there's information out there that we just haven't learned yet, maybe haven't experienced or maybe we're not privy to it.
Speaker A:Maybe it's being withheld.
Speaker A:So we're really getting our, our dose of knowledge on here on this episode of knowledge.
Speaker A:This degree, for sure.
Speaker B:Hopefully everyone that listens to this will be able to come to Australia soon and they'll be able to experience it for themselves.
Speaker B:Because it is magical.
Speaker B:Like, it's, it's an amazing.
Speaker B:It is an amazing place.
Speaker B:Like, once you get over the fact that, you know, once you get over that fear that everything wants to kill you, then everything.
Speaker A:That's what it sounds like.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:That's what I, that's why I haven't visited yet.
Speaker A:It's the place where the toilets go.
Speaker A:They roll the other way and the animals will kill you, basically.
Speaker B:It's one of those.
Speaker B:It's one of those places where you can just, you know, like, you could just drive a couple of hours west and like, you won't see anyone, you won't have to deal with anyone.
Speaker B:Like, you can get away, but also at the same time, you can go to the beach, you can go to the forest.
Speaker B:Like, you can do all that kind of stuff on the east coast of Australia pretty much within an hour of everywhere.
Speaker A:Wow.
Speaker A:So that's, it's, it's a lot more well balanced than I thought.
Speaker A:I always think just like desert and then like city.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:I don't know.
Speaker A:I don't know why.
Speaker B:Northern Territory is amazing.
Speaker B:Like, it's all like beautiful desert and they got like aboriginal artwork on all the, on all the rocks and all that kind of stuff.
Speaker B:But Then you go to Tasmania and it's, you know, snowing and mountain peaks and the whole shebang down there.
Speaker B:And you go to, you know, the desert and you can see nothing but sandhills for the hours and hours and hours.
Speaker A:That's, that's.
Speaker A:There's a lot to do there.
Speaker A:So if I was to come over, right, I was to come over to Australia, just, just a guy from the US what would you suggest I do?
Speaker A:Like, how do I experience these animals without going out in the wild and trying to basically set myself up for failure?
Speaker A:Like, are there tours or should I go to the zoo first or all the above.
Speaker A:Like, where, where would you direct me to go?
Speaker B:You can see all that stuff in a condensed format at a zoo, but nothing beats seeing an animal in the wild, like, just what they're.
Speaker B:Even if you just kind of happen upon it.
Speaker B:But it just.
Speaker B:Like, I remember the first time I saw a wild croc in the, like, you know, just hanging around in the river and I was just like blown away.
Speaker B:And that was after I'd worked with crocs for like four years, like working with him in captivity.
Speaker B:But then when you see him in the wild doing their thing, like, you know, hanging around, the big boys got like their, all their little girlfriends and all that kind of stuff, and they just so physically, physically intimidating like this.
Speaker B:It's just, it's another level.
Speaker B:So definitely you come to Australia.
Speaker B:The whole east coast of Queensland is like, yeah, that's real Australia.
Speaker A:Real Australia.
Speaker A:That's what I gotta know.
Speaker A:I'm writing that down.
Speaker A:Queensland.
Speaker B:Yep, Queensland.
Speaker B:You go all the way up the coast, up the coast road to Cape Tribulation, which is like the Daintree rainforest, like the oldest rainforest in the world.
Speaker A:Cape of Tribal, is it?
Speaker A:Or Tribulation.
Speaker A:What is it?
Speaker B:Cape Tribulation.
Speaker A:That just sounds intimidating.
Speaker B:You can see cassowaries up there, which,.
Speaker A:Like, it's probably beautiful, isn't it?
Speaker B:Yeah, cassowaries.
Speaker B:Like the most dangerous bird in the world.
Speaker A:Oh, God.
Speaker A:Not so beautiful anymore, Chris.
Speaker A:Damn beautiful landscape.
Speaker A:But the, the birds will kill you now.
Speaker A:So we got birds that kill you, we got snakes, we got sharks.
Speaker B:It's hysteria.
Speaker A:I just want to hang with the koalas, bro.
Speaker B:That's, that's.
Speaker A:How do they even survive in this kind of, this ecosystem?
Speaker B:Yeah, exactly.
Speaker B:Like, koalas are just, they just sit in the trees all day and just eat like eucalyptus leaves and that's all they do.
Speaker B:Every, every, every predator goes past them and they're just like, oh, I couldn't Even be bothered.
Speaker A:Just so disgusting.
Speaker A:They're just like this fucking guy again.
Speaker A:Sleeps 20 hours.
Speaker A:He just hangs out in the tree.
Speaker A:You know what?
Speaker A:It's just not even worth it.
Speaker B:All right?
Speaker A:Hey, Phil.
Speaker A:Hey, Phil.
Speaker B:They are pretty nasty animals, but, yeah, they're.
Speaker B:They're just not worth it.
Speaker B:They're really not fair.
Speaker B:They're lovely, cute and fluffy, but they just.
Speaker B:Yeah, they've got sharp claws, they got big teeth, and they're just like.
Speaker A:Never would have guessed that.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Or you try to pick one up in the wild and they will mess you up.
Speaker A:Yikes.
Speaker A:Yikes.
Speaker B:Oh, yeah.
Speaker B:So now.
Speaker B:Now it's like.
Speaker B:Because I don't know whether you guys know, but if you ever meet an Australian, as an American, you should ask them about drop bears, because drop bears are what we.
Speaker B:We basically call koalas, but they're like a really super aggressive version of koalas and they just drop out of.
Speaker B:They drop out of the trees and, like, mess you up.
Speaker B:Scratch it by.
Speaker B:Yeah,.
Speaker A:Of course they do.
Speaker B:Of course they do.
Speaker A:Everything does.
Speaker A:How are the insects over there?
Speaker A:The ants just taking over?
Speaker B:Like, I think the ants are pretty good.
Speaker B:I think we're pretty good on the ant front, but don't jinx it because we might find, like, some mutant ant in the outback that just, like, you know, eats children or something.
Speaker A:Oh, my goodness.
Speaker A:Oh, my goodness.
Speaker A:But, yeah, like, bees and.
Speaker B:Yeah, it's funny.
Speaker B:Our.
Speaker B:Our native bees are stingless, so you don't have to worry about them.
Speaker B:They're really super friendly.
Speaker A:The bees are friendly, but the koalas will take your eyeball out and the ants will eat your intestines.
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:Drop.
Speaker B:Drop bears, cassowaries, koalas, crocs, the whole shebang, the whole family.
Speaker B:It's a whole big angry family.
Speaker A:If you had to name the top five most beautiful animals that you've encountered, what would they be?
Speaker B:I think a cassowary is.
Speaker B:A cassowary is a really nice animal.
Speaker B:I'd probably go.
Speaker B:I'd probably go great white shark, crocodile, the red belly black snake.
Speaker B:And then I'd go, a cassowary.
Speaker B:And then bring it up number five.
Speaker B:Probably like, no, probably like a dolphin, maybe.
Speaker A:Do the dolphins have giant teeth and just, like, sharp, sharp objects hanging out.
Speaker B:Of it or what?
Speaker B:No, but funnily enough, at SeaWorld, the.
Speaker B:The, like, the dolphins are way more harder to work with than the sharks are.
Speaker B:Like, if you're diving.
Speaker B:If you're diving in the dolphin enclosure, you have to, like, watch your back because the dolphins, like, they'll come up, they'll play with all your hoses.
Speaker B:They'll smack you with their tails, like, they'll bite your ankles.
Speaker B:They'll drop rocks on your head underwater, like, because they're.
Speaker A:Oh, wow.
Speaker A:Because they're.
Speaker A:They're really smart, right?
Speaker A:Dolphins.
Speaker B:Yeah, they are very, very smart.
Speaker B:But they're.
Speaker B:What's the American term?
Speaker B:They're man.
Speaker B:Yeah, they can be real funny sometimes.
Speaker A:A big thank you to Christopher Soul for joining me.
Speaker A:Of course, you can catch Chris on Nat Geo Australia.
Speaker A:Snake Wranglers.
Speaker A:That's National Geographic Australia.
Speaker A:The show is called Snake Wranglers.
Speaker A:They will be hopefully coming to this market over here in the US But I'm sure you can find them on the Internet somewhere and look out for good things from Chris too.
Speaker A:He is getting into the podcasting world.
Speaker A:So in the future, definitely look out Christopher Soul.
Speaker A:Hopefully, maybe, possibly.
Speaker A:I will ask after the show.
Speaker A:Maybe he wants to join the collective over@blindknowledge.com My name is Joey B.
Speaker A:The name of the show is Knowledge this Degree.
Speaker A:I appreciate you.
Speaker A:Thank you so, so, so very much for joining us on the live stream.
Speaker A:We will be with you so many times because this miniseries is so awesome.
Speaker A:It is behind the content.
Speaker A:Again, this is Blind Knowledge.
Speaker A:Knowledge this Degree.
Speaker A:Christopher Soul, everybody.
Speaker A:We'll catch you next time.
Speaker B:Bye bye.
Speaker B:Never ever, ever knock this one for my dogs.
Speaker B:Reminiscing on the time we were just young.
Speaker B:A few.
