Day 77 - Wildlife Sydney Zoo, Darling Harbour, Sydney, NSW, Australia

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Monday 3rd February, 2014. Wildlife Sydney, Darling Harbour, Sydney, NSW, Australia

As the weather forecast was a bit iffy we decided to go into the city to Darling Harbour to visit the Wildlife Sydney Zoo located in Darling Harbour. This small zoo concentrates entirely on native Australian wildlife which is one of the many things that make Australia a unique environment on our planet. There are some species found here that are not found anywhere else on earth.

After alighting from the bus we made our way to Darling Harbour where we queued for our tickets. While we waited D took some photos of a cute Koala Bear who was sitting in a tree next to the queue barriers. Thanks to Rach we got a two for one deal with her tokens from the Hays Book. The first exhibit was called 'Butterfly Tropics'.

Unsurprisingly, given its name, there were lots of butterflies, but also represented here was Australia's tropical 'Top End', with distinct wet and dry seasons, a consistent 33C average temperature and enough sun and water to maintain lush greenery and billabongs all year round. The carefully-created tropical habitat, had butterflies flitting through lush ferns and palms to vividly coloured pythons sunning themselves among the vines and slithering through the thick undergrowth. And it wouldn't be the Top End without some fresh water for the animals to take a break from theheat and humidity, so there was a waterhole home to tree snakes, frogs, Kreffts River Turtles, Snake Necked Turtles, Scrub Pythons and Plumed Whistling Ducks. M spotted the tree snake straight away but it took D ages to make it out as it was so well camoflaged.

After the 'Butterfly Tropics' we entered the 'Devil's Den'. This is where the zoo's two Tasmanian Devils called Oreo and Big John hang out. These two 'Devils' had been furiously breeding to counter a contagious cancer devastating wild populations, and now the pair are being welcomed into retirement in Sydney. Devil Facial Tumour Disease causes debilitating tumours that lead to death, primarily from starvation. Since being discovered in 1996, it's estimated the disease has killed hundreds of thousands of devils - up to 95 per cent of the population in some areas. Devils are communal feeders and the disease spreads by touch - one devil only has to touch another devil's tumours and that's it,they've got it, and it's a 100 per cent strike rate. The zoo welcomed Oreo and her mate Big John from a sanctuary in Victoria, where they played a crucial part in a Tasmanian devil captive breeding program. Big John was out and about so D took some photos. Oreo was asleep in the Den which we could see through a glass panel. M loved them.

We passed by a few nasties (i.e snakes etc) in tanks until we came to the 'Wallaby Cliffs' which is home to the Yellow Footed Rock Wallabies which are classed as a non-threatened species. This species of rock-wallaby is found in western New South Wales, northwestern Victoria, the east of South Australia and even small bits of Queensland. It does not usually live in places near humans, for it prefers a rocky environment. Rock wallabies scale cliffs and climb rocks with superb agility and can leap sizable chasms. Because their habitat is relatively inaccessible to grazing animals, rock wallabies have generally fared better than other small members of the kangaroo family.

After this was 'Gumtree Valley' where there were more Kangaroos, and other iconic animals. Next was what M had been waiting for - the 'Daintree Forest' exhibit which is home to the Southern Cassowary Bird.

The Cassowary has Gondwanaland origins (when much more of Australia was covered by rainforests). Here are some facts about the World's most Deadly Bird. There are two other cassowary species in New Guinea, they live to about 50 years of age. Despite being a bird, the Cassowary is Australia’s largest land animal (weighing about 60kg, but the heaviest recorded was 83kg), Its eggs are the third largest of all birds at an average 584g (after the Ostrich eggs at 1100gand Emu eggs at 637g). Even though it is large and colourful, it can be hard to see in the rainforest. At close quarters it may be quite frightening. It has powerful legs and if provoked may kick in defence. The sharp nails on its inner toes can easily rip flesh so the Cassowary is capable of killing humans. It is flightless (all it has is the vestigial remains of wings which have 3-5 large wire-like feathers attached that help brush aside any plants in its travelling path) . As it moves it also holds its head down for protection and lifts its toes right up under its chin. Its hard casque or helmet comprises a central cartilage core and an outer tough horn-like skin covering. Its size is possibly significant in determining social status. The Cassowary is an endangered species, with estimates of only 1500 remaining. This means there may be fewer Cassowaries in Australia than Pandas in China! It has relatives such as the Elephant Bird of Madagascar and the Moas of New Zealand that became extinct after contact with humans. Its extinction could affect rainforest plant diversity as it helps spread the seeds of up to 100 tree and shrub species. Its short digestive system allows it to eat the fruits of poisonous plants by eliminating the toxins before absorbing them. This seems to be associated with a highly active liver and an unusual combination of stomach enzymes. Seeds usually remain intact and can grow after passing through the bird. Accordingly, the Cassowary is often referred to as a ‘keystone species’ in seed dispersal.

The only time the Cassowary is not solitary is during the breeding season. At other times, if there is an accidental meeting, the female is dominant (it is larger with brighter colours). A female often lays eggs in more than one male's nest, but then leaves the family responsibilities to them! The male incubates the eggs (for about 50 days) and looks after the young until he becomes intolerant of them and chases them away at about one year of age. The chicks are striped until they are about 6-9 months old and become a glossy black colour when they are about 3 years old. The keepers can only go inside with the bird with a police riot shield to protect them from attack.

The next exhibit was called 'Kangaroo Walkabout' which is where we found some of Australias most iconic animals - the Koalas, Kangaroos, Wombats, Echidnas and the Kookaburras. This exhibit allowed you to walk on a path through the exhibit. If the animals came up to you great - if not you had to leave them in peace. M was particularly interested in seeing the 2 rescued Kookaburras close up as we had heard them in Pittwater. The merry kookaburra's distinctive,laughing call is one of the best-loved sounds of the Australian bush. The Kookaburra is a big bird with a wingspan of up to 90cm - they're the largest (and loudest) member of the kingfisher family! The kookaburra is carnivorous, preferring to snack on insects, lizards, small snakes and even the chicks of other birds. The crafty kookaburra beats its meal against a rock or branch before tossing its head back and swallowing it in one gulp. Its plumage is just as recognisable as its laugh, with off-white on the bottom and dark brown on the top and a brown stripe sweeping back from its eyes. Its name comes from the Aboriginal guuguubarra, which sounds just like its call. The two here cannot be released as they were brought in injured and would never survive in the wild. A wallaby came really close so we took a snap. There was also a bird called a Bush Stone Curlew.

We continued on to the 'star' exhibit which is Rex the Saltie Croc. He is enormous and lives in an area of the zoo called 'Kakadu Gorge'. The saltwater crocodile also known as saltie, estuarine or Indo-Pacific crocodile, is the largest of all living reptiles, as well as the largest terrestrial and riparian (the interface between land and sea) predator in the world. The males of this species can reach sizes of up to 6.7 m (22 ft), and weigh as much as 2,000 kg (4,400 lb). As its name implies, this crocodile can live in salt water, but usually resides in mangrove swamps, estuaries, deltas, lagoons, and lower stretches of rivers.

They have the broadest distribution of any modern crocodile, ranging from the eastern coast of India, throughout most of Southeast Asia, stretching south to northern Australia, and historically ranging as far west as off the eastern coast of Africa and as far east as waters off the coast of Japan.The saltwater crocodile is a formidable and opportunistic hyper carnivorous "apex" ambush predator capable of taking almost any animal that enters its territory, including fish, crustaceans, reptiles, birds and mammals, including other predators. Due to their size and distribution, salties are the most dangerous extant crocodilian to humans.

We left left Darling Harbour and strolled over to Chinatown for a snack. We also found the place where we ate when we were here 6 years ago. In the same building there was a hairdresser. M was very opportunistic and went in to ask how much it would cost for a bob haircut. It was a bargain and as we were coming back here tomorrow she made an appointment. Well if its rubbish it will grow back - and its more convenient than Balmain for our plans tomorrow.

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Photos

34. The Captive Salty
Called Rex