Taronga Zoo has been on our 'to-do' list for many months, recommended to us by many locals, but something we just hadn't go around to going - whenever we thought of it it was in the school holidays or a Saturday, and we were set on making the most of a quieter weekday.
With our visitors here and wanting to see a wombat, it finally made us go.
With our visitors here and wanting to see a wombat, it finally made us go.
During our nine months here we had slowly been introduced to the native animals. (granted - quiet a few after hours and not always welcome...) but there was one I had been desperate to see - a koala
I always thought they slept so much because they were high, but apparently it;s because eucalyptus is so hard to digest, it takes all their energy and that's why they sleep.
The zoo is situated at Bradley's Head in Mosman, being in the same suburb we drove, but there is a specific ferry service from Circular Quay. The views across to the city are pretty spectacular, but I think the giraffe's have the best plot (and the added bonus they can see over any trees!)
One of the star performances of the morning was when a Bush Turkey flew into the Meerkat enclosure whilst we were there, resulting in a great Meerkat display!
With over 4,000 animals from 350 species, there is certainly a lot to see - and learn - and we were there for over three hours, but I have no doubt you could be there for a lot longer.
Some of the Australian species we had seen on our balcony (cockatoos), others we had seen on walks (bush turkeys), some on holidays out of the city (kangaroos, wallabies), but there were other natives we were very glad were kept behind glass, such as the snakes - the Inland Taipan in particular. The world's most poisonous snake, it is apparently capable of killing 100 men with one drop of venom.
Crikey!
Crikey!
From the scary to the cute, the weird to the familiar...
...there was a species to interest everyone.
Behind the scenes, there is much conservation work happening - both at Taronga Zoo itself, and the zoo being involved in breeding programmes across the world. One new addition to the zoo was a male Eastern (Highlands) Bongo calf, born in February. With fewer than 100 of these beautiful creatures left in the wild, the breeding programme, in addition to the Bongo Surveillance Project (BSP) which tracks and monitors their movements in the wild as well as teach the local communities in the hope that the Bongo can survive in the wild.
A blurry photo I'm afraid, but this was the highlight of the day for me. To see firsthand that we humans are actually helping our fellow dwellers instead of destroying them.
We were so glad we went, and have every intention (!) of returning soon,
Oh, and no, the wombats were not playing on that day - despite spending quite a bit of time scouring their enclosure, they were nowhere to be seen.
Oh, and no, the wombats were not playing on that day - despite spending quite a bit of time scouring their enclosure, they were nowhere to be seen.