You’ve got to be brave taking on an animal and reptile farm; just look at Andy and Cheryl Keane pictured sitting on a giant crocodile at their Urimbirra Wildlife Park. Sheer courage, by both of ’em.
Some may suggest the partly-obscured silly-looking frog in the background tends to dilute the authenticity of this toughness claim, not to mention thousands of tourists are also pictured sitting on this croc every year, but there really is some truth.
It costs Andy and Cheryl, owners-operators of the park, $8000 every year to keep the five crocs warm, even during the hottest of months. Now that’s real courage to take on a business like that, perhaps even sillier than our background Freddo.
However, we discovered these guys are also a rare breed, and we can reveal Andy has actually had his left leg bitten by one of the real crocs and survived to tell us why they do this job. After all, the gas bill for the crocs, the feed for more than 400 animals, birds and reptiles representing 60 native species, and the insurance premiums suggests there is not a lot of money in this wildlife game.
And if it were just about pleasing the tourists Andy and Cheryl paid good money to purchase a rare pair of Calyptorhynchus lathami halmaturinus that lurk on the perches; better known as a South Australian glossy black cockatoo. There are only 200-or-so remaining in their natural habitat on Kangaroo Island, so they are special, and according to Andy, if a common sulphur cockatoo, regarded by many as a pest, screeched “hello’ the tourists would be far more impressed.
Walk among the kangaroos and tourists regard it as a lifetime experience, yet the $1000 rare cassowary (pictured right), as picturesque as he may be, offers a sense of excitement knowing that if you could jump the impenetrable fence he’d disembowel you within minutes. Nice, but it’s what wildlife parks are about; a sense of beauty and complete control over something that would like to eat you all up.
It’s all about sharing a love, respect and care for all creatures; a reason they do it without being able to afford to pay each other $20 an hour.
“I was building boats and in the surfboard industry, and started in hospitality in a wildlife park in Victoria Phillip Island,” Andy said. “I actually worked my way down from a restaurant and catering manager to looking after the animals. I heard the local council here was leasing it out in 1991, and I took it on.
“Yeah, after all these years I am still shovelling the s….; every morning basically. I have the best damn compost heap in town and then we spread it around the new displays around the park over the 36 acres.
“But I love this job even though it’s tough going, I guess like any business. For 25 years now I have basically worked every day, often 10-12 hours, including weekends, Easter and Christmas Day. If you run a business like this you may last seven to 10 years before you burn yourself out, and for me, I can’t get off it… it’s like being on a hampster wheel; paying the banks, the rates, chasing your tail; you know the story.”
Urimbirra will celebrate 40 years on November 5, starting when the land was bequeathed to the Victor Harbor Council. The buildings and fencing were developed by council with grants from the state government with work done through a training scheme.
“It has been a challenging journey, but even though we have put in a lot of time it is compensated by a lifestyle; there is some flexibility,” Andy said. “And I especially love looking after the animals.
“Having said that, you can’t get too attached to the animals; you just can’t. Things live and die. If you spend your time too attached you’d be heartbroken. Pets are different; on any given day one of our native animals may die of natural causes, but another is going to breed.
“There have been times when we have spent thousands of dollars on getting a special animal, and two days later it’s dead. That’s life, if you know what I mean.
“We trade in the wildlife park and the zoo systems; we buy off people who might breed a certain type of lizard or snake or whatever. What we have a surplus of and breed we swap within the network.
“We have everything from crocodiles to koalas, a sprinkling of birds and mammals. It’s not cheap… we’re not tropical northern Australia so we have to heat the crocs’ pool with gas combustion and salts between 25-30 degrees. Koala food is important; there is a lot of effort getting certain species of Eucalyptus leaves, and even with the kangaroos there is a need to irrigate to keep the place fresh and buying them supplementary food.
“Despite all of the challenges that confront us, it is so rewarding when you see families enjoy themselves. The most special thing for people in general are the koalas and the kangaroos walking among them, but they don’t do much. For me it’s some of the lizards that have personality, like sleepy lizards and beard dragons.
“Most of us take all this for granted, but it is very special for the tourists.
“Even young kids in the city don’t have a great deal of contact with animals or even see them, so even chickens and guinea pigs are special to them.”
Andy and Cheryl are helped by keeper Leoni Kenyan, a dedicated worker for 18 years. She fits the classic role as the token pet lover because, as a kid she brought home sparrows and blackbirds to her mum at their McLaren Flat home, and Leoni now has a dog, cat, rabbits, guinea pigs and lot of birds to care. It tells you something about the genuine love of animals at this park.
The work is full on at Urimbirra, and according to Cheryl you need to be to make sure the animals are healthy.
“We find that we are open to a lot of scrutiny… it’s the nature of the business,” Cheryl said. “We had a lady run into the shop screaming that a kangaroo had a bone sticking out of its stomach and asked how could we be so cruel. It was the leg of a joey.
“We’ve been reported to the RSPCA because the tail feathers on the peacocks had fallen out, and people assumed they were ripped out, but every year the old ones fall out and they grow a new set.”
Andy and Cheryl don’t become despondent because they live by the meaning of Urimbirra… to preserve or take care of. Yes, it can be a tough business, but the very few difficult customers are simply fed to the crocodile Andy and Cheryl are pictured sitting on while Freddo chuckles. The good ones get the chance to cuddle a koala, walk among the kangaroos and look the cassowary in the eye.
By the way, have you been there lately?
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