Born in Shanghai and shipped to England as a child, Peter Whitehead then made his way to Australia, solo, at the age of 13 in 1938, in order to save his family money. Alone and working in near slave-like conditions as a farm labourer, Whitehead learned the art of breaking wild horses and so began a lifelong love affair with animals.

After wartime service as a horse breaker for the army and a gunner on a Liberator bomber, Whitehead headed to Africa and had a richly varied career as an agricultural officer, national parks ranger, big game hunter, animal wrangler and rancher.

He worked on the sets of several big-name movies, including Hatari! with John Wayne, and handled lions for the smash hit film, Born Free. Whitehead survived two aircraft crashes, as well as encounters with man-eating lions, zombie witches and killer hippos, and nearly drowned in a crocodile-infested river. Along the way, he also helped save an endangered species and found a woman who would put up with him.