Geoff Brooks has turned his dream of working with exotic animals into reality
MOST little boys have dreamt of working with the likes of lions and giraffes and for Geoff Brooks he’s turned that into his daily reality.
GEOFF Brooks wouldn’t have been the only eight-year-old boy to envisage a lifetime spent working with lions and giraffes after watching Born Free in 1966.
“My mum took me to see it at the Regent Theatre in Rundle St, Adelaide,” Geoff recalls. “And from then on it was all I wanted to do.”
Unlike other kids, Geoff indeed grew up to spend his days surrounded by exotic wild animals.
Today as the project manager at South Australia’s Monarto Zoo — one of the world’s largest wildlife sanctuaries — Geoff lives and breathes conservation.
“I was the kid who always had lizards and frogs and beetles in my pockets so I was interested in the protection of animals and their habitat from a young age,” he says. “It’s the same passion today.”
Monarto — home to more than 50 species of exotic animals, birds and reptiles (many of them endangered) — “is not a petting zoo,” says Geoff, a noted photographer who has been shooting images of the inhabitants for many years. “Here we’ve got large multi-species exhibits so you’re not just looking at a single animal as an exhibit; we’re trying to recreate the chain of what Africa looks like because most people will never go to Africa. I’ve found that it’s the perfect setting to talk to people about conservation.”
As the first person at the zoo every day, “I’ve got a 1000-hectare property to myself,” says CommBank’s Australian of the Day.
“I’ve sat here and watched the sun come up with Australia’s largest giraffe herd. Just amazing. I’ve always got my camera with me because being here is an absolute privilege.”
One that Geoff has shared in his book Monarto Zoo, which captures the sanctuary’s amazing wildlife and the efforts staff put into their care — and to helping save entire species in some cases.
“It’s important work,” says Geoff. “But sometimes I shake my head in wonder and say ‘I can’t believe I get paid to do it.’”
CommBank has partnered with News Corp Australia for the Australian of the Day initiative in 2016 that celebrates Australians who make a real contribution to their communities. Go to the australianoftheday.com.au website where you can read all about these amazing Australians and perhaps even nominate someone you know.
Originally published as Geoff Brooks has turned his dream of working with exotic animals into reality
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