SNAKES ALIVE!

SA’s Steve Irwin talks about his love for animals, a near death experience and why his work matters

- LESEGO MKHIZE

IT’S hard to imagine he was once an investment broker. The guy who swims with crocodiles and shares his bed with snakes doesn’t look quite the suit up-and-get-serious type.

And it turns out he wasn’t – which is why Graham “Dingo” Dinkelman quit his job to devote his time and energy to the animals he loves so much. Now the Pietermaritzburg-born adventurer has a rapidly growing following on his profitable YouTube channel where he shares some of his wildest stunts, all in the name of “building a connection between people and animals”.

The 41-year-old has a BCom from the University of Pietermaritzburg but the great outdoors has always been his passion.

“I probably went to about 10 lectures in those four years of studying because I hated it so much,” he tells us, chuckling.

“I did the bare minimum to pass. I hated varsity – I thought it was a complete waste of time and I just wanted to be out in the bush exploring nature instead of sitting in a lecture on economics.”

The conservationist and wildlife filmmaker shot to global fame after he won the Cell C “Break the Net” competition in 2017 with a YouTube video clip of him catching a crocodile.

His channel features videos of him safely removing puffadders, pythons and black mambas from homes, assisting in the dehorning of rhinos, relocating hyenas and re-homing trafficked pangolins.

He works with a dedicated crew and his wife, Kirsty, to shoot and edit the footage, and many of the animals he rescues can be visited at Dingo’s Farm and Reptile Park in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands.

DINGO’S love of nature comes from his dad, Brian.