A BRITISH production company is chasing a Cairns wildlife warrior for a television series billed to revitalise ratings after Steve Irwin's death.

Ratings took a blow after Irwin's death in 2006, with many production companies and television stations unable to fill the void left by Australia’s international star.

Pictures: Crocodile hunter Corey Wild

The man dubbed by some as the next Irwin, Cairns animal conservationist Corey Wild, yesterday confirmed he was in negotiations with a London production company.

Wild, whose real name is Corey Smits, 33, already runs Corey Wild Productions which has sold more than 300 copies of his self-titled animal DVD series globally.

The London production company cannot be named, but it is believed the organisation would film a television series and sell it to cable TV stations.

"I'm going for gold ... that's my own goal to get my own series on cable television," said Wild, who recently quit his part-time job as an Innisfail croc handler to focus on his media career.

Wild was also quick to quash suggestions he was trying to be the next Irwin, claiming he was just doing what he loves.

"I'm not trying to replace the guy, I just do what I do ... he was one of a kind," he said.

"I'd love to be filming for an Australian production company for prime-time television weekly." 

Channel 10 ran a two-minute feature story on Wild late last year, which profiled the animal lover as a man following in the footsteps of the late Irwin.

"Married to wildlife", Wild is currently filming a DVD series dubbed Australia's Most Venomous which profiles about 15 deadly species.

Wild recently had his business Snake Busters deregistered after a Melbourne based snake handler was found using the same name with an earlier established date.

Wild man could be next Steve Irwin

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