Vivid Sydney #4

 Vivid Sydney Tour Friday 16 June, Featherdale Wildlife Sanctuary, NSW.  This episode features the cutesy Australian animals.

 This is what you expect to see in Australia isn't it?  Koalas?

Well, in the trees they are quite hard to spot.  This pair are not too high up.

These are pademelon.  A species of kangaroo/wallaby.  They were in this area that had a rail fence and they could go in and out of the area; being with people if they wanted, or separated into the enclosure.

Here I am giving some RooFood to a pademelon.  When I turned away to talk to Ian it gently put it's paw on my hand and turned it back so it could get more food.  You can see how tiny and delicate they are.

They are so cute and were very polite.  Here is one with a joey in it's pouch.

There are loads of pelicans around Australia.  This is a fine fellow who decided to show off and started grooming himself.  I don't know how they comb their feathers so beautifully with that great long beak.  Their beak pouch folds into their beak when they are not using it.

Some koalas are kept in smaller enclosures with shorter trees so you can see them better.  Here one is fast asleep in the crotch of a tree.

These two had just touched noses in greeting as one came down the branch and the other went up.

A cute little owl having a snooze in the sun.  It is so small it could've fitted in my hand.  Notice how it looks just like the bark of the tree.

It always amazes me that you think of some things generically.  As always  there are so many kinds of owls and they are all wonderful.

A Lesser Sooty Owl.  It was quite big as owls go, so I wonder what the greater sooty owl might look like?

Here is a wombat curled up asleep.  They are a lot bigger than I expected; about the size of a pig.  And
one having a slurp.  And one digging a hole.  Did you know they poop square poo?

A Goodfellows Tree Kangaroo.  If you take off the tail it looks like a teddy bear.

These birds look like some kind of ibis.  They are numerous and we have seen them wander around Sydney parks - just like we would have sparrows at home.

I don't know what this was but he's very handsome, took his time just wandering around, and would make a good dinner being bigger than a turkey.  

This is a quokka, little, cute and furry (marsupial).  A big bigger than a guinea pig, about the size of a cat.

Another kind of kangaroo, such pretty markings.

Another pademelon.  As you can see they are able to roam throughout the park.  These were my favourite animals here - they were so beautiful.

And to finish, the world famous dingo.  A very good looking wild dog.

There were so many other kinds of Australian animals there too, such as cassowaries (who didn't want to get photographed and were behind wire because they are attack birds), lots of parrots etc.  Too many to mention!   Next time is the not-so-cute critters.