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Fishies and ‘Roos
This week, I took a trip to the Sydney Aquarium and Featherdale Wildlife Park. I’ve decided that I don’t like aquariums and zoos; they make me sad. Don’t get me wrong. I’m no animal rights activist, and I’m not going to stage any late night ‘roo breakouts. It’s just that you are taking God’s amazing creatures and putting them in a really small cage. “Here’s the world’s most poisonous snake! Behind glass! We feed this ferocious beast daily so all he has to do is lay here still so you can get pictures with your dad with your thumbs up!”
At the Sydney Aquarium, all the fish start to look the same. The only thing I found was more reason to never ever swim here. After seeing a box jellyfish and then walking through the shark tank viewing area, I decided the ocean really isn’t worth my limbs.
But it wasn’t all a disappointment. When I took a moment at the zoo to squash the cynic inside me and patted the head of a wallaby, the inner child emerged. I also switched on an unknown “girl mode” and possibly allowed a few it’s-sooo-cutes and awws slip out when I saw the koala bears and wallabies. If you aren’t familiar, wallabies are like baby kangaroos (somewhere a wildlife expert cringed). They look the same, but they are soooo cute! I decided kangaroos are kind of gross. Most of the pictures I took at the zoo were of wallabies. I snapped a few shots of the ‘roos, but I think I would rather eat a kangaroo than look at them.
Wombats, a cousin of the koala, are still my favorite Aussie animal. They look like the offspring of a hamster and a koala, but are the size of a golden retriever. They are rather large and stubborn. Despite their size and small legs, they can run around 20 to 25mph. However, because of their mass, stopping isn’t one of their strong points. I read a few stories about people domesticating wombats, and the animal took out a door trying to get into the house. They will try to go through an object long before trying to find away around it. Wombats live in burrows most of the day to escape the heat. Most of the pictures I got of them at the zoo were of their burrow with the rump barely visible. Oh and that rump… let me tell you. The wombat has an extremely tough hide. In case a predator comes and attacks in the burrow, the tough hide protects the wombat, and it can use its strong legs to smash the intruder against the roof of the burrow.
I love wombats.
The pictures from the zoo and aquarium are posted at http://www.chimpsahoy.com/australia/
Videos of koala bears, wallabies and other strange creatures to come.
Joni March 13th, 2006 07:50 am
This is a very funny pic of a wombat
http://www.theage.com.au/ffximage/2005/03/09/ani_wombat_gallery__550×393.jpg