Paul O'Callaghan is Australia Zoo's life sciences manager. Born in Brisbane in 1966, Paul grew up living beside Kedron Brook Creek and spent every spare moment catching lizards, snakes, fish, turtles, tadpoles, frogs and toads. Paul would camp by the creek every weekend and watch kookaburras build nests, lay eggs, and raise the chicks until they were old enough to leave the nest for good.
Paul was so fascinated with wildlife that he even studied the bugs and insects that fed off rotting dead animals such as possums. Paul went on to work in Queensland National Park's premiere koala facility, Lone Pine, for 17 years. He is regarded as one of the world's foremost koala experts. Paul began working at Australia Zoo in February 2002, and his job ties in all the zoological and conservation issues from around the world into Australia Zoo. Paul deals with other zoological facilities, governments, national parks and wildlife researchers.
Paul has two very unusual pets, a giant cockroach and a gecko.
