When it comes time to celebrate the special day, there’s nowhere Luke Reavley, General Manager of Australia Zoo, would rather be than with the animals he counts as part of his family.
For the Christmas 2025 issue of The Weekly, Luke shares where his passion for wildlife began.
Growing up, I loved animals. I was born in the UK and lived there for 12 years before moving to Australia with my family. As a kid, I was constantly nagging my parents for a pet, always bringing an injured bird into the house, or building a frog pond. I was obsessed with The Crocodile Hunter, and loved learning about wildlife from Steve and Terri Irwin.
When I was maybe six years old, I found a frog in our back yard. Not knowing any better, I figured he’d need a swim. I filled up the bathtub with water and let him go in there. I can still remember the look on my mum’s face when she saw it. Unlike me, the rest of my family aren’t really into wildlife, especially my mum, who’s scared of EVERYTHING!
My love for wildlife only grew when I moved to Australia. With more critters here, I was in heaven. When I was 13, I started caring for injured lizards through a rescue group, and never looked back.
I always knew I wanted to work with animals, I just didn’t know in what capacity. When Steve Irwin passed away, I visited Australia Zoo to pay my respects. During my visit, I was chatting to a wombat keeper, and she suggested I do work experience. Despite living a 90-minute drive away and not having a car, I was in. I went along for work experience and I’m still here 20 years later.
I vividly remember my first day. It was Australia Day 2007. John Williamson was performing in the Crocoseum. I felt like I’d joined something bigger than me – a purpose and mission for the greater good. I couldn’t have been happier!
Christmas was magical growing up, and I still love it today. As a kid, the excitement of going to bed waiting for Santa to sneak in with presents was amazing! The whole family would be together – grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins – and we’d leave out carrots for the reindeer and milk and cookies for Santa. Following the snowy footprints through the house as we’d wake much too early on Christmas morning, stockings full of treats, fruit mince pies baked by Nan – wonderful memories! Looking back, it wasn’t really what we were doing, it was that we were doing those things together, as a family.
The first year I worked Christmas at Australia Zoo was 2009. I had started working with the elephants and was even more in love with my job. Large herbivores are definitely my passion, especially elephants. The joy of working with such a smart, big, beautiful animal that you form a relationship with is beyond words.
I love the feeling of being a work family. I’ve known a lot of the staff for 20 years. We’re all real friends who hang out together outside of work. My husband even works at the zoo! We really are a family!
Nobody complains about working over Christmas. We understand that the animals need to be cared for, even on Christmas Day. Everyone brings in treats to share, and there’s a sense of comradery. I love it! There are always lots of treats for the animals too – all their favourite foods – and we always have fun enrichment activities, like presents full of treats or toys. They may not know it’s Christmas, but they know it’s a special day.
My absolute favourite memory of working Christmas Day was when I was head keeper of our elephants, and we spent the day beside a dam. The elephants were grazing on grass and swimming, while our team had a little BBQ on the banks.
Another great memory of Christmas Day at Australia Zoo was 2021, during the pandemic. My husband and I raised an orphaned wallaby and echidna puggle through COVID. The wallaby sadly couldn’t be released back into the wild due to his injuries, so moved in with the zoo’s wallabies. On Christmas Day, our family came over for lunch, and we went to visit Daniel the wallaby that afternoon, with some of his favourite food – apples. He was so sweet. He’d gotten big, but not too big for cuddles with Dad!
There are so many memories – I can’t stop! One Christmas Day, I volunteered to take care of a hand-raised cassowary chick. How difficult could it be to take care of a cassowary chick while spending the afternoon at home with my family? Turns out, pretty difficult! She loved being around people so much that she’d zoom around the lounge room in joy. While we ate lunch, she had her bowl of blueberries, and I spent the night cleaning up blue cassowary poop from around the house.
Nowadays, as a manager rather than a hands-on keeper, I don’t need to take care of the animals on Christmas Day, but I still love to head in early in the morning. I check on all the animals and sneak some frozen watermelon to the elephants. I say g’day to the team and drop off treats to the staff at the Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital. Sick, injured and orphaned wildlife don’t stop coming to us just because it’s Christmas, so the hospital is open and our vets and nurses are working harder than ever.
Since we opened the Crocodile Hunter Lodge, guests spending Christmas with us have the chance to visit the zoo, with the whole place to themselves. I make sure they have a good time too. Last year, Terri, Robert and I joined families from the Lodge to feed our giant giraffes their Christmas breakfast.
Working at the zoo, I’ve learnt just how special the bonds with the animals in our care are. If I’m willing to spend Christmas morning with elephants, you know they hold a special place in my heart. I know I speak for all our keepers when I say the animals really do come first, no matter what day of the year it is.
The animals have also taught me patience. You’re never going to out-stubborn a wombat, so you may as well enjoy the ride!
I think animals can teach us that we need them as much as they need us. They need our protection, especially during these times of uncertainty in the world, where habitat loss is happening at an alarming rate and human impact is taking its toll on all species. And we need them. We rely on animals more than we think. They pollinate our crops, keep habitat clean, are essential for healthy waterways and are imperative to our survival. Conservation is just as much about people as it is about wildlife. I know I wouldn’t like to live in a world without the incredible animals we share it with today.
This year, I’ll be flying back from South Africa on Christmas Eve, but I have no doubt I’ll be up at the crack of dawn to visit the elephants on Christmas morning. Then, Christmas lunch with my family and hopefully lots of presents. Because secretly nobody grows up enough to lose that Christmas magic.
This article originally appeared in the Christmas 2025 issue of The Australian Women’s Weekly. Subscribe so you never miss an issue.
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