One of the first places that we made weekend excursions to was the Sydney Wildlife World. Despite how it is normally in the states, this place is located on the harbor right near downtown. It is wonderful to have such a menagerie for the kids to see just a short walk from the train station. Additionally, it was an air-conditioned facility, making it a great refuge during the hottest days of summer. We bought annual passes for entrance to both the wildlife park and the aquarium, wonderfully located next door to each other. The next posting will be about the aquarium.
The great assortment of wildlife, so different from North America, makes for some great photos. I only put five here, but I should add more in another posting. I have also put them on an album on my Facebook page. Photo 1: Would any Ausie wildlife park be complete without the koala. One of the symbols of Australia, the mascot for the national airline.
They are less slothlike than I thought, but not by a whole lot. They apparently conserve energy, since they reap their energy from eucalyptus only. This is one of their survival skills, living off a food source that no other animals really compete for.
Look closely at this koala's tummy.
Photo 2: This mother is toting her little one around. Both spend a lot of time napping.
Photo 3: Ana meets with one of them. Actually all four of us were allowed to mill around with four koalas in a small area. Most napped. One was designated as the petable one for the day. Unfortunately, today's koala was the grumpiest of them, according to one of the guides. Note his social interaction in the photo.
Photo 4: Maybe even more Australian than the koala is the kangaroo. They had one adult and a few adolescents in a large enclosure, no girls so that there was no competitive behavior. Here the oldest is the boldest, feeding close to the path for the people.They are scrawnier than I expected.
Photo 5: Equally exclusive to Australia, but less known, is the cassowary, touted as the world's most dangerous bird, according to the Guiness Book of World Records. Note the pleasant look on this fella's face. In the same family as the ostrich and emu, he is a little smaller but has sharp talons and a powerful kick, admittedly in defense of self or nests.
And that horn! So attractive.
There are three different breeds, differentiated by the pattern of the red waddle.
