A SOUTH Lakeland zoo owner has shared his near-death experiences with man, anima and nature in a revealing and intimate autobiography.

David Gill, whose South Lakes Wild Animal Park opened in 1994, launched the book Nine Lives, on Saturday.

The 51-year-old, who was born just around the corner from his Dalton attraction, takes readers right back to his childhood when, at the age of 11, a local farmer said: “You have a gift with animals.”

Going on to be known as Dalton’s Doctor Doolittle, the animal-lover penned his journey towards the opening of his ‘conservation-focused zoo’, before documenting numerous brushes with death both at home and on his travels to far-reaching countries.

Among these was his face-to-face meeting with Egor the tiger at the park – it went for him after he attempted to lure the animal out of his box with a broom. Mr Gill had to fling himself on to a fence to escape.

He said: “I learned then that I must not engage with dangerous animals when I’m on my own.”

Another of his ‘nine lives’ was used up in Australia, where he became trapped in his vehicle after taking an off-track route and experiencing a sudden change in the weather.

Describing the ordeal, which he said was similar to Pierce Brosnan’s in Dante’s Peak, he said: “I believed that was the end and we were going to die.”

Not only has Mr Gill recorded the adrenaline-filled moments that could quite possibly have been fatal, but he also told of his more poignant memories.

One touching example was the shooting of his own rhino, Zimba in a mercy killing, which left him distraught.

And to add to the drama laden tale, he also heavily discusses his personal life – divorce, jealousy and losing the right to see his children are just some of the private affairs that Mr Gill has decided to make public.

But why write a book that revives such traumatic times?

“Simply, because I get asked every single day, ‘how did you start a zoo?’ and ‘how did you get where you are today?’,” he said.

“To tell the success story without illustrating the mountains I had to climb and depths I fell into and the emotions I had to live through would be like looking at a negative of a photo without all the true colour.”