Since buying his first python when he was ten years old, animal enthusiast Greg Parker amassed a collection of over 300 reptiles across 50 species.

Parker co-owns the park with his partner, Julia Leonard,[3][4] and manages it with a small team of permanent staff.

[1] Certified by the Zoo and Aquarium Association, the 10-hectare Ballarat Wildlife Park is home to around 300 animals and 40 species.

[8] It has contributed to a number of koala conservation campaigns,[9][10] including fundraisers for planting eucalyptus trees.

[3][8] There are wombats, emus,[8] cassowaries, quokkas,[5] and special enclosures for endangered Australian animals such as Tasmanian devils.

[3] The park also contains animals not native to Australia, including six meerkats,[6] a colony of little penguins,[2] and a Komodo dragon.

[1] Originally captured from the Lockhart River, he and a female crocodile named Bella were brought to the park as a replacement for Gator, his deceased predecessor.

In 2014, CNN's Rachel Barth named him the third-greatest city mascot in the world, writing that he has been visited by celebrities such as Nicolas Cage, Kirstie Alley and Kim Cattrall.