Crikey! The Australia Zoo

So I've been to quite a lot of zoos during my time in Australia. This is partly because it is the main way to make sure you see lots of Australian animals. I've actually been fortunate enough to see wild kangaroos, koalas, goannas, pademelons, kookaburras, quokkas, possums, dingos, and snakes while I've been here. But, that is because I've been lucky enough to travel to some more remote places, if you're here for a short time or only in the cities going to a zoo is the best way to see these animals (kinda like at home… you won't see a bear in the wild in Chicago). 

However, this particular zoo is special. The reason is that it was owned by Steve Irwin, better known as the Crocodile Hunter. Now, while he was really corny and definitely a showman, he was also a huge conservationist. I remember watching his show on Animal Planet when I was little and it helping peak my interest in Australian fauna, and conservation. One of the things that I think is so important is getting kids interested and caring about nature, so in my mind he did his job well. Since he was killed by a stingray, the Australia Zoo has become a sort of memorial to him and his dream, so there is lots of stuff about him at the zoo. 

This was my last field trip with my Australia's Terrestrial Environment class. My class did a couple of special things at the zoo, we saw the crocodile and bird show(above), as well as got talks from a variety of trainers. It was clear that while there was a lot of showmanship involved when interacting with the animals, the main goal of it all was conservation and the appreciation with nature, which made me really happy. Also it was clear by talking and listening to the trainers that they LOVE the animals they work with, and the animals LOVE them back. It was really touching and heartening to see those type of connections between the animals and people, the animals are really cared for and well looked after. 

Another really cool thing about the zoo is that I was lucky enough to get some really great views of animals that were sleeping or hiding at the other zoos I've been to. The sleeping Tassie Devils (above right) really made the trip, and the wombats were extremely cute, digging tunnels in their enclosure (above left). 

This was a perfect way to end the semester, and it was great to see some of these animals before I started reviewing all the info about them for the final for this course (I have it this afternoon actually). I'm going to miss field trips to the zoo and national parks being part of my classes when I return to St. Louis :P