We saw many Bearded Dragons (lizards) wandering all over the place.
The Wildlife Park was originally set up by David Fleay but is now run by Queensland National Parks. Mr. Fleay was famous for helping, protecting and breeding all types of Australian wildlife. The Park is run like more of a rehabilitation and education centre than a zoo.
We were able to get entry at child prices over the school holidays as they had a lot of the park closed for renovations but there was still a lot to see.
Check out those claws!This display looked a little bit like Jurassic Park. Zeroed in on a model of the, now extinct, Tasmanian Tiger.Models of some of the other giant megafauna (animals) that used to roam around Australia including a giant kind of wombat (at the back) and a supersized lizard (at the front).The Red-legged Pademelon was the next animal we saw. They have an unusual way of sitting compared to other types of macropods (kangaroos, wallabies, pademelons, etc).An Emu. They are very big flightless birds unique to Australia. This one reminds me of Fluffy. the parkrunning, wild emu up at Nambour.A nesting Dusky Moorhen with its chicks. I was so lucky, the chick only popped its head up for a second.A Blue Tongue lizard during the informative reptile show.A Jungle Python (related to the more commonly known Carpet Python), on display during the reptile show.
Australia has some of the most venomous snakes in the world but generally they will stay out of your way if you stay out of theirs. This one, however, is not venemous. All pythons are non-venemous and kill their prey by grabbing, hugging and swallowing their food whole.
After the show we were able to get much closer for some nice photos. The snake was surprisingly calm and its handler had it out on the grass with heaps of little children less than 1 metre away.Looks like the Harry Potter snake Nagini but without the big, scary fangs.Eastern Great Egret water bird.The Rock Wallabies can out for a spot of lunch.The Southern Cassowary from Far North Tropical Queensland.Check out those strong feet! Very dinosaur like.I wouldn't like to be on the wrong side of the fence with these guys. They seem quite menacing. (Photo by Conscious Cat)Little Black Cormorant with fantastic blue eyes and webbed feet. I would not want to see a big one, LOL.The handlers were handing out some fish to try and lure the Freshwater Crocodiles out of the water. The staff need to check the crocodiles are OK as they are usually only brought here to the Wildlife Park if they are old, sick or injured.Freshwater crocs are far less dangerous that saltwater ones. The handlers said that if these were 'Salties' there's no way they would be inside the fence.They usually have a few Saltwater Crocs at this park but they are currently upgrading their enclosure and so the crocs are staying at Australia Zoo for a while.A cheeky turtle wanting in on some of that fish action.This is a nocturnal Bilby. It's Australia's answer to the Easter Bunny and now comes out in chocolate-shaped treats every year.Kangaroo Hopping Mice. A Platypus! They are very (very) hard to spot in the wild and almost as hard to photograph in a tank. This one is hiding under the tree branch (centre, lower part of photo).He or she was either well hidden or continuously (and randomly to seemed) darting around.Everybody's favorite: a Koala. Generally not very active in the middle of the day, in fact, they are said to sleep for about 20 hours out of every 24.An Australian Powerful Owl. Those eyes! No wonder they can see so well at night.A North Territory Brolga being fed by the handler, and a Dusky Moorhen trying to steal some feed.Red Tailed Black Cockatoo. It was happily nibbling away on whatever the handler had just fed it.The Red Tailed Black Cockatoo in mid flight.
We see lots of these near our place over the summer months but they're usually high up in big trees. I didn't realise how they big they are close up.
A Hawk (centre of photo) swooping to catch a treat thrown up by the handler (bottom right corner of photo) during the bird show.Albino Breaded DragonMap of the Park (pdf file from Queensland National Parks).See you next time!.
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