The last field trip...to Australia ZOO!!!

Hello Everyone!

This post is going to be all about my trip to the Australia Zoo. I went yesterday as the last field trip with my biology class. We spent the entire day in the Zoo, getting a backstage tour of all the animals and their enclosures. We even got to hold, feed and touch some of them which I will explain below!

The morning started off with a tour of the reptile house. Along one side were all the venomous snakes in Australia....something like 9 out of the world's 11 species. Along the other wall were the pythons -  another group of snakes found in Australia, except these ones won't kill you via venom. They kill you via constriction. Dad would not have liked this at all!

We then split up into two groups - the first group heading off to see the Echindnas and the Tasmanian Devils, while the second group went off with our professor to see some of the Freshwater and Saltwater crocodiles. I was in the first group, and had the opportunity to see both an echindna and a Tasmanian Devil up close and personal, as the zookeepers picked them up and let us pet them both. After spending some time talking about these two very unique animals, we swapped groups and then headed over to learn about the crocs.

I have to admit, the crocs were not as interesting. I mean yes, seeing a 17ft predator about 3 feet from you with nothing but a fence of separation is really cool, but I am more for the cuddly, furry animals. Luckily, I was able to get my fill of what I liked  shortly after the croc talk, as we had to walk through the kangaroo enclosures to get to the "Crocoseum" to watch the wildlife show. Here, we hand-fed groups of both Grey and Red Roos....they were amazingly adorable. I captured a couple great shots, and could literally spend the rest of my life hanging with the roos. I love them.

Before lunch, we watch the extremely tacky and touristy "wildlife show" designed to educate the population on Australian Wildlife, and how to live with them in harmony. We saw many species of birds flying about, some snakes, as well as a very brave Croc Man hand-feed a hungry crocodile with a skinned chicken. It was neat.

After lunch, we were given the backstage tour of the different animal groups by their handlers. One by one, they would come to us in our UQ group, usually with an animal or two and explain a bit about the animal and some of the hardships they are currently facing. We saw a koala, some more snakes, a parrot, and a baby croc. This normally doesn't happen, as tourists you are required to just visit the respective enclosures, but since we paid extra to come as a uni tour, we got the full blown deal. My fav animal? The Koala. For sure. How can you resist this face?? The dingoes were super cute also....reminded me of the dogs back home!!!

After this presentation was our own free time. Kelsey and I decided to start by taking some epic photos with the largest croc at the zoo....

And then head back to the kangaroo enclosure. Enough said.

Some heavy rainfall forced us to wait under the enclosure with the roos, which was interesting because as soon as it began to pour, they all hopped as fast as they could from out in to open to come and huddle with us under the roof! We waited here until the rain subsided, before making our way to the South East Asia part of the zoo, and a little detour through through the Koala pens on the way.

Upon entering the South East Asian portion of the zoo, we headed directly to the Tiger enclosure. Here, we were able to be literally a foot away from these amazing creatures while they played with the trainers. Yup, you read correctly, the trainers were actually playing tug of war and "tag" with these jungle cats. I captured some really excellent photos just to show you how close I was to them!

To wrap up the day, Kelsey and I visited the elephants during their feeding time, and were able to hand-feed the three girls. It's a really neat feeling feeding elephants, you basically just hold out your hand and they pick up the food with their trunk and shove it into their mouths. The cutest one was the baby, Bimbo, because she wasn't as adept at picking up food directly out of your palm, she had to curl her trunk all the way around your hand and fiddle for a bit before actually getting the piece of fruit!

All in all, it was a great day and makes me realize how amazing all the animals are. You don't really think about the worries and bad things like poaching going on until you see these majestic creatures up close and personal....and then wonder what life would be like if they were gone!

I'm at the uni today, trying to get some internet as my laptop wireless refuses to work. So this aft it will be back to the Mac store for me to try and get that sorted out. Then this evening I am going to be baking Derek Gma Arlene's chocolate chip cookies.....and then taking tomorrow off.

I'll be sure to write back next week, and let you know about the computer situation, as well as update you on any new events in my life!!

xoxo Danielle