About the author - 2007 version
The photo which appeared here earlier was from a few years back, so I thought I would update it with this one - taken in front of the main Australia Zoo sign at the end of my last day of
volunteering there in January this year.
Late 2006 saw me commence a chapter for the cryptozoology book
Elementum Bestia which was completed early 2007. From the author bio:
"
Chris was born and lives in Sydney, Australia.
His recurring interest in the thylacine has haunted him for as long as he can remember and has grown to include the smaller carnivorous marsupials of Australia also.
Through his website Chris hopes to promote three things:
- An examination of the evidence for rare fauna, particularly Australian,
- An awareness of local action for conservation, and
- The chance to get up close and personal with wildlife using photography and first-hand accounts.
His wildlife encounters include volunteering time for two Australian zoos, contributing to a wildlife rescue program, developing websites pro bono for worthwhile causes and informally surveying local areas for species diversity."
Early 2007 also saw me publish
the world's first Google Earth post-extinction thylacine sighting tour.
This led to
an article in the Sydney Morning Herald (blog section), radio interviews with Mike Welsh from Canberra's radio 2CC and Dotun Adebayo from BBC's Radio Five Live in the United Kingdom, and finally Google contacted me.
The
WLMD Google Earth tour of thylacine sightings featured in Google's showcase gallery in July 2007.
Magazine "
Australian Traveller" made contact in mid 2007 and plans to feature one of my
three-toed skink photos in an upcoming article on hoop snakes in their Myth Traveller column.
In the end, this mid-year "About the author" update has become a bit of a showcase summary of the site's recognition. Stay tuned for further site updates. I have polled the audience, and the resounding feedback is that thylacine evidene is the prime motivation for visiting Where Light Meets Dark.
You have been heard, and the site will be restructured to reflect this demand soon!
Many thanks for your continued readership and support.
Chris.
About the author - 2006 version
(I can be
contacted here. The vision behind WLMD can be
viewed here.)
I was born, and live in
Sydney,
Australia.
Since a young age I have had a passion for nature. I can remember catching fish with my older brother when I was perhaps two.
All through school my favourite projects had to do with animals or nature. At about fifteen I became engrossed with fishkeeping. This was on the back of catching some for myself (
Gambusia sp) and putting them in an aquarium.
At that time (and pre-internet) I felt there was little being done to protect and conserve Australia's freshwater habitats. Likely I was largely ignorant, but the truth remains that many of Australia's freshwater ecosystems have been severely degraded resulting in loss of species.
Those late high-school years and the year after school were spent working in various aquarium stores absorbing as much information as I could regarding aquatic life.
Eventually I began biology studies and progressed to a scholarship with the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) where I worked with freshwater Australian rainbow fish, marine amphipods, freshwater mussels and participated in research on heavy metal accumulation in Northern Territory saltwater crocodile osteoderms (The bony bumps on the crocodiles' backs).
Following this, my career took a different path into the world of information technology and I am presently employed as a software developer.
In my spare time I indulge my passion for Australian wildlife. I have surveyed local freshwater streams for their native fish fauna and am participating in
Perth Zoo's seventh annual Night Stalk - a search for native and introduced mammals in local bushland.
In late 2005 I became involved with the search for missing four year old
Solitaire Meissmer by contributing a critical mind to the analysis of various photographs and by contacting a variety of professionals for their input in that search.
At Where Light Meets Dark I hope to bring that critical mind to the photographic and video evidence for the ongoing existence of Australia's thylacine. This journey may extend into research of other Australian cryptids but the fauna of Tasmania, and the thylacine in particular, will always be close to heart.
Commencing late 2006 / early 2007, I will be returning to postgraduate studies concerned with conservation of Australia's native fauna.
I have always admired fellow Australian, Steve Irwin for his complete passion and proactivity in conserving Australian wildlife. I dedicate this search to Steve and I applaud the thousands of Australians actively involved in conserving Australia's habitat through sustainable land use.
If you would like to learn of ways you can get involved, you can read my
tribute to Steve, call to action and discourse on how the Irwins have had a personal impact on myself and my family for more information.
All new updates are posted to my Facebook page (Open in new window)