My Trip to the Zoo - 17th of July

On Tuesday (17th of July), I had a trip to Taronga zoo in Sydney with a uni friend of mine. We were luckily enough to have gone on tuesday because the weather was absolutely perfect. It wasn't too hot and because the weather is much cooler (since it's winter in Australia) a lot of the animals which are used to cold temperatures were up and running about. All my photos were taken with a 60D.

The first animals we visited were the koalas. Luckily enough, not all of them were sleeping. One of them was happily munching away on some eucalyptus leaves. It would place one leaf in it's mouth, and without using it's hands, munch continuously until the whole leaf was gone. It kinda looked like an old grandpa chewing without teeth.

As we continued to walk down the road, we passed by the enclosures of some native Australian birds. As we stood there to watch the birds, I noticed a Red-tailed Black Cockatoo preening (or grooming) another one.

They looked so sweet until they noticed how many humans were starring at them and they quickly changed poses.

Like a small gang, posting a threat that if any of us came closer, they would attack. However, black cockatoos are generally more shy and passive then their cousins, the sulphur-crested cockatoos.

After attempting to take some more photos, we walked around 'Reptile World'. The Komodo Dragon was up and about, flicking it's tongue. Tim said we should throw me into the dragon's enclosure and see how I go. It was ironic since I couldn't even see above the glass of the enclosure without standing on my tip toes.

So we walked around looking at the different frogs, turtles, lizards and snakes. From all the reptiles and amphibians, there were two that stood out for me that day. Firstly, the Veiled Chameleon which had changed its colours to resemble the rock placed behind it. As you can see in the photo below, the white patches on the Chameleon are supposed to resemble the patches of lichen on the rock.

Secondly, there was the Giant Cave Gecko. As most geckos do, they enjoy hanging in some awkward position on the ceiling of their enclosure or directly on the glass just like this one was.

There it was just 'chilling'.

We were able to enjoy the Gorilla Keeper talk and the QBE Bird show which really was spectacular.

But the next most exciting thing was seeing the male Snow Leopard, Khumbu. He has recently moved in as the zoo is hoping that he will mate with their female snow Leopard. He was calling like crazy and jumping around so energetically. Is was quite a sight.

Even the Fennec Foxes had a little action. This little guy was walking around in circles trying to find a comfortable space to sleep on. I've usually only seen them sleeping but it was nice to see this one moving around a bit.

As Tim and I waited for the Ausgrid seal show to begin, we wandered around the Wetland Aviary and had a look at the Red Pandas. The Mandarin Ducks in the aviary were resting and so became easy targets for photos.

For the Red Pandas, it was near feeding time so they were quite energetic, running from one end of their enclosure to the next.

After the Seal show, we spent the last few hours looking at the Australian animals and walking through the Australian Rainforest aviary. One of the interesting things which happened was that these two Peaceful Doves (below) were bowing to each other. It seemed like a courtship dance.

And in the Rainforest Avairy, there were so many colourful parrots and doves though they were still hard to spot since they were mostly sitting high up in the tree tops.There was however one White Breasted Ground Dove sat on a branch just above the pathway and calling very loudly. It would puff up it's chest, making a deep pigeon sounding noise.

This day at the zoo was amazing and a lot of fun. I saw many things I wasn't able to see the last time I went. The great things about zoos is that the animals are never doing the same thing. Birds will always sit on another branch. The Lizards are always sleeping somewhere else in their enclosures. And some animals you just can't find on some days and on other days, they are sitting right in front of the glass. Another great thing about zoos is that they are supporting the wildlife of the world. They are helping to protect and prolong the life of all these magnificent animals. So if you get the chance, go to your local zoo, wildlife park or aquarium and have a look around. Go with family or friends. No matter who you go with, you are guaranteed a good day. Help support the work these zoos are doing for nature.

Although I wasn't able to share all my photos and stories from the day, I hope you've enjoyed this post.

To read more information about Taronga zoo and the conservation work they are doing, please visit their website: taronga.org.au

Please remember that all these photos were taken by me and I would appreciate it that if you are wanting to use these photos (in other blog posts, wallpapers, etc) please ask for my permission first.