Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary

Elder and Sister Bean and I went to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary today. It is home to a number of the indigenous animals of Australia. I was so excited, because these are what, in my mind, make an Australian "experience." Much of the foliage I have seen in one location or another, but the animals housed here -- never!

I had expected to see Koalas (they are not bears!), but not all of the other animals. These were the first kangaroos I have seen, although there are signs along the highways indicating that they might jump out at you at any time, particularly from dusk until dawn. I "borrowed" this picture from  the internet, but have seen the signs in real life, just not fast enough to photograph.

I had expected the kangaroos to be jumping around everywhere, as if they had springs in their bottoms, like Tigre. At 9:00 in the morning, however, they were rather lazy. Although one or two did give a most satisfactory leap. They are quite friendly and like to be scratched like a cat or dog. (Perhaps that is only here at the Sanctuary and not in the wild.) We saw a couple mamas with Joeys in their pocket. Those little ones seemed quite content to be packed about.

I had heard of lorikeets (birds -- larger than a parakeet, but smaller than parrots). I had even heard them -- they are VERY loud, especially in a crowd. But I had never seen them or, at least, known that I had seen them. Here, at the sanctuary, they are fed at 9:30 am. I had NO idea what to expect. The keeper said that he would explain what we would be experiencing before he put out the food (a thin white liquid) because after that no one would be able to hear him. It appears that was wisdom and experience speaking. Once the food was distributed, the air was filled with their sounds -- almost deafening. Their color is magnificent; they came by the hundreds, perhaps thousands. They were not the least bit shy about where they stood, as one picture will attest. 

Finally we got to see the Koalas. They are a sleepy bunch. Their diet consists of Eucalyptus (also known as Gum Tree) leaves which are 55% water, along with plenty of fiber, and low levels of protein and sugar. Hence the Koalas eat a lot (as much as half a kilogram/1.1 pounds a day) and sleep a lot (18+ hours a day), conserving the energy derived from their diet.We saw lots of them sleeping in man-made trees, a few eating cuttings from the Eucalyptus. 

We paid to be allowed to have our picture taken, holding one.  (Elder Bean took the one I have posted here.) The keepers were very careful how we held them. I was glad to find out that they are every bit as soft and cuddly as I had imagined and was sorely tempted by the stuffed doll version in the gift shop. Their bottoms are well padded with lots of thick fur so they are able to sleep for long hours without falling out of the trees. The one I got to hold was much more interested in the sprigs of eucalyptus his keeper kept offering than he was in posing with me.

You have probably noticed that all of the koalas were grey. That is true of koalas in the north of Australia (i.e. Queensland); koalas in the south are light brown. The speckles on their bottoms are to provide camouflage and protect them from predators on the ground.  

We saw many other animals, but these three were my favorites.

I finally saw a kookaberry -- in fact two varieties:

Laughing Kookaburra

Blue-winged Kookaburra

We, and several other visitors, tried to get the birds to "laugh" by singing "Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree (which I now know to be a eucalyptus tree), merry, merry, king of the bush is he; laugh Kookaburra, laugh Kookaburra, gay your life must be," to no avail. 

This solitary emu lived with the kangaroos. I have learned that they are related to, but smaller than the ostriches. I thought him/her to be pretty large, probably about as tall as I am. 

These next few picturesare for my grandsons who value such creatures. I have no interest in being any closer than I was. The first is a Perentie, the largest known lizard. He was 2+ meters long (6 1/2 -7 feet). I don't have a label for the second. He may stay nameless. He also was shorter, perhaps about 3 feet long.  

Perentie Lizard

Inland Taipan

Olive Python

We saw a variety of birds . . . a duck that was unfamiliar.

Major Mitchell Cockatoo

There was a very large tank of Duck-billed platypuses (not sure how to make this plural). They are much smaller than I had imagined (about two feet) and move so fast that this was about the best picture I was able to get. 

This was a most enjoyable day. I feel totally satisfied to have seen the animals I associate with Australia. I truly did love the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary and will most likely visit again before my two years are ended.