Tuesday, July 7, 2009
One of the first things we did when we arrived in Townsville was visit Billabong Sanctuary. I visited the sanctuary months ago with Liz and Melissa but it is worth going back to.
When you walk in the park you are greeted by hundreds of duck and geese sitting at the Billabong. I hate these things as they turn into your little shadow as you explore the park for more cuddly animals. Kris, of course, had to feed them so we had a flock with us our entire time at the park.
Below is a picture of one of the Koala bears. It takes a Koala an entire week to digest the eucalyptus they eat. What they ate on our visit wouldn't be pooped out until the following Wednesday. As their diet is strictly eucalyptus they sleep a lot. Eucalyptus is good as it grows high (meaning Koalas don't have to go down to ground level to get food) and is made up of a lot of water, so they don't have to search for water sources. Koala's are a dying breed and may not be on this planet within the next 20-30 years. Most are killed when trying to cross the road.
Another fact about Koalas that you may not know: their pouches are upside down, the opposite of a Kangaroo. When a Koala has a baby it crawls into her pouch (opening by her bum) and eats her feces as it cannot digest the harsh eucalyptus. The Momma gives the baby the necessary digestive enzymes through her feces so the baby can grow and digest its own food. Just to be nice the momma makes her feces a liquid form during this time so the baby doesn't have to... chew. Gross, I know.
The first Koala they brought out was young and not too happy about being held. Mom got to hold her but when the next girl (from France) tried to cuddle the Koala it tried to climb her arm leaving some pretty good scratches. Koala's try to climb higher when they are scared and they have the claws to do it. Luckily they brought out a different Koala for the rest of us!
Dad said he didn't want to hold one but Mom got him a ticket anyway. He loved it.
Kris and the Koala.
And of course I wasn't missing the chance to hold one again. They are so soft and warm..... I would like to keep one although I bet they stink.
This is my precious Willameena, the Wombat. I would take one of her home as well but she can be quite mean when she wants to be. You can't tell in the pictures but she's got some good claws on her!
No one else wanted to hold Wilameena. I love her!!!! This is my second cuddle with her - isn't she fantastic?!
Anyone who knows my sister knows she loves birds. She's like Dr. Doolittle when it comes to birds. This one kept sticking his head out the cage so Kris could pet him!
See.... she's a crazy bird lady!
These are the paddymellons, which are mini looking kangaroos. Very approachable.
The goose just sat on the fence waiting for us to throw him some food.
If you look closely you can see the tail of the little baby in the mammas pouch.
And this Kangaroo had a bigger baby in her pouch! It's so funny looking at them because the Joey's tangle themselves up in the pouch, with their legs wrapped around their heads! Flexible little things. A little fact about Kangaroos: they are able to stop their pregnancies!!! Yep, if they don't want a joey they just hit pause in their bodies (somehow!) and restart their system when they are ready! Imagine having a baby today that you were impregnated with two years or more ago!! Guess that would save on pro-life arguments.
This is a Dingo for those who have never seen one. They look like dogs. I don't know why they can't be pets - perhaps they cannot be trained. No idea.
Mr. Turtle suntanning.
We spent a lot of time with the Kangaroos as we got surrounded! This Kangaroo took the bag of feed from Mom and dug his entire head in the bag!
Look at his legs! How is that comfortable?!
We threw some feed on the ground and this little guy, and another Joey from the next pouch, came out for some food. Look at how big Mamma's pouch is! This Joey is pretty big!
Kristy got swarmed. The Kangaroo on her left actually used his paws to snatch the bag of empty feed and Kristy had a tug-of-war with him. It was funny.
We were out of feed. Luckily there was still some on the ground so we could slip away without being noticed!
Mr. Croc. I'm not sure of this guys name. Crocs bore me, they just lay there.
So that was our experience at Billabong. It was a great day and lots of giggles and cuddles. If you ever come to Townsville be sure to visit Billabong!
