Presenter & Conservationist, Director of Big Cats & Conservation at The Big Cat Sanctuary
Giles has an amazing affinity for animals and the natural world. His relentless determination and commitment, together with an in-depth knowledge of wildlife and a wealth of experience with big cats has helped develop an extremely successful career in conservation and the care of big cats.
Giles is the Director of Big Cats & Conservation at The Big Cat Sanctuary in Kent, England. The private Sanctuary is home to one of the most important and endangered collections of felines on the globe. Giles was formerly, Head of Tigers at Australia Zoo, managing one of the only ‘hands on’ facilities for tigers in the world.
His work has been featured in the BBC TV series; Tigers About The House (2014), Tigers About The House – What Happened Next (2015), Ingenious Animals (2016) and ‘Big Cats About the House’ (2018). He has been a contributor to numerous mainstream TV and Radio programmes both in Australia and in the UK.
His incredible passion for conservation and his dedication and motivation ‘to make a difference’ has taken him around the world. He lived in Central India for 18 months, observing tigers in the wild and carrying out vital conservation work, trying to help contribute to the survival of the Sumatran tiger. Giles played a significant role in helping to establish ‘Project Life Lion’ in east Africa from 1995, working closely with Fauna & Flora International, the University of Minnesota and TANAPA – Tanzania National Parks.
During his 13 years at Australia Zoo, Giles was very involved setting up and managing the various partnerships worldwide with conservation projects affiliated with the zoo. In 2008 Giles played a pivotal role in acquiring three Sumatran tigers for Australia Zoo. This was hugely significant for several reasons, not least because they were the first to be released from Indonesia in over 27 years. In 2013, as a consequence, two of the most genetically important Sumatran tigers in the world were born.
Giles’ unfaltering drive and infectious enthusiasm inspires others and his natural presenting skills are evident, both in front of a camera and to a live audience.
