Australia Zoo

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Australia Zoo

I was able to visit the Australia Zoo while making a port visit in Brisbane, Australia. The main attraction of the zoo was the crocodiles (of course). I went to a show in the "Crocoseum" where these was a demonstration on elephants, birds of prey, reptiles/snakes. Of course the finally ended with a crocodile demonstation. My favorite part of the whole show was probably the bird of prey. At least 100 birds were released in the crocoseum and they flew all over the place. I thought for sure one of the birds would crash into me because they were flying so close. Although the crocodile show was interesting the zoo keepers said that the crocodiles would be a little less aggressive because of the winter monthes. Even though I didn't see any death rolls or crocodiles leaping out of the water, watching the zookeepers feed the crocodile was pretty exciting because of how close they got...I would not want the job of that zoo keeper.

I also had the opportunity to have my photo taken with a koala. Right before I went to have my photo taken I told all my friends that with my luck, the koala would probably pee or poop on me while I held it. And guess what?! Right before I held it, it started pooping! HAHA! The entire time I was holding it all I could think was, "Please don't go to the bathroom on me." Thankfully, it didn't! There were several areas throughout the park allotted to koalas. It was pretty cool because I could go right up close to them and take photos. Most of the koalas were sleeping (in what looked like rather uncomfortable positions). Koala sleep for about 16-18 hours each day and the time that they are awake is primarily devoted towards eating eucalyptus leaves. Talk about an easy life...

There were two Tasmanian devils on display in the zoo. One was busy sleeping in the bushes and another was running around like a crazy man. Edwin and I kept trying to take a photo of it, but it was just moving around too much. Edwin started making Tasmanian devil noises from the cartoon show. It fit perfectly with this animals behavior.

There were several areas in which visitors were allowed to feed kangaroos. I managed to get real close to a wallaby (it's like a miniature kangaroo) and Edwin snapped the camera at the perfect moment. When he tried to get a photo like I had, the kangaroos were completely uninterested...they were turning their heads or hoping away. I also saw a kangaroo with a joey in its pouch. It was so cute!

Adolescent tigers were another fun site in the zoo. They were jumping in the water, chasing toys all over the place, and generally putting on a pretty good show for all the people that were watching them during the presentation.

See more photos visit: http://picasaweb.google.com/kdupak/17July2009AustraliaZoo?feat=directlink

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Photos

Kim at the Australian Zoo
Crickey!

Kim with a Koala
The koala looks high....he's been smoking some eucalyptus leave...

Kim risking her life...
The statue was made of concrete