Sidenote: I learned how to import pictures onto my blog, so click on them to enjoy!
Since I do not have class on Wednesdays, this is my day to explore Sydney and get more and more familiar with the city. This Wednesday, my friend and I went down to Darling Harbor and went to the zoo and aquarium! We started off at a place called Wildlife World, which is an indoor zoo with animals not only found in Australia, but around the world. There was a special section that had the most dangerous snake in the world because Australia has the most venomous snakes in the world. Now I know to be on the lookout for these snakes!
The zoo also had the biggest crocodile I have EVER seen in my life. I have been on swamp tours many times in New Orleans, and I still have never seen a bigger crocodile in my life. At first I thought it was not real, but then it moved and I realized that it most definitely was real. Here is a picture of the crocodile:
My friend and I were walking along the zoo, and all of a sudden I looked up to a sign that read, "Koalas and Kangaroos this way ----->." I probably looked like a little kid who was told she was going to a candy store. The first stop was the koalas, where a zoo keeper was standing next to them. About half of the koalas were sleeping, and the other half were eating. I asked the zoo keeper everything from A to Z about the koalas, including a place that I can hold one. She said that in the state of New South Wales, where Sydney is, that it is illegal to hold the koalas. The government made it illegal because koalas sleep 20 hours a day, and when they do not sleep, they get very sick. If people are holding them throughout the day, they would never get any sleep and can actually die because the eucalyptus leaves do not provide them a lot of nutrients. All my life I thought it was because they were mean animals! She also told me that since the eucalyptus leaves do not provide much energy, the koalas have smaller brains because the bigger the brain, the more energy it takes to make the brain work. The zoo keeper explained that in Cairns, which is near the Great Barrier Reef, you can hold the koalas there because it is not illegal in that state. I think when I land in Cairns, I will have to head straight to the zoo to hold one! My roommate Clair who is Australian also told me before going that Australians hate when people call them koala bears, instead of koalas, because supposedly they are not bears. All my life I thought they were actually bears! Here are some cute pictures of them and me next to them:
Of course, the next stop was the kangaroos! This was my favorite part of the zoo by far! Immediately when I walked up to them, I fell in love. Unfortunately, there were no female kangaroos in the zoo because if females are mixed with males, the males tend to get more aggressive. Because the strongest male gets to mate with the females, the zoo is afraid that the kangaroos may get out of control. Also, the female kangaroos can have up to 3 joeys (baby kangaroos), so the zoo does not want the enclosure to get too crowded. Of course, I went to the talk about the kangaroos, where I learned so much about them. When the female kangaroos are out in the wild and get pregnant but realize that there is not enough food or water around at the moment, the females can actually hold off on having the fetus develop. Once the kangaroos reach a place where there is an abundant amount of food and water that can not only support the mom, but the baby as well, she will kick start her pregnancy again. I also learned that it only takes 33 days from when the female gets pregnant to when the joey is born. When the joeys are born, they will stay with the mom for a year, and then go off by themselves into the wild. Since it only takes a female 33 days to have a baby, the mom can have one joey who is 2 months old on one nipple in her pouch, another joey who is 4 months old on another nipple in her pouch, and a 6 month old joey by her feet. The joey is usually not allowed to be in the pouch anymore after about 5 months, because it gets too big.
The best part of the seeing the kangaroos was that I got to pet one and actually touch it! If I had to leave Australia at that second, I would be somewhat okay with it because I got to touch a kangaroo which was on my bucket list! The fur was actually a lot softer than what I thought. Here are a few pictures of me falling in love:
After we finished with the Wildlife World, we went to the aquarium, which was right next door. The aquarium was definitely cool seeing, but I liked Wildlife World a lot better. There were a lot of different fish and different things in the aquarium that are only found in Australia. One of the things that is found at the Great Barrier Reef is glowing coral!:
The aquarium is known for having a huge shark exhibit, where about 4-5 sharks were displayed in a huge tank. The largest shark ever caught was about 7.2 meters, and the teeth were displayed in that aquarium!
We finished off our day going to Paddy's Market, which is a huge market where you can buy fresh fruit and vegetables at a cheap price.
The day was absolutely amazing, especially because I got to see koalas and pet a kangaroo. Do not be surprised if I try to come back with a baby joey in my suitcase! Look out for another blog post this weekend!
Heaps of Love,
Heidi
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