Animals Animals Everywhere!

Sorry for the lack of updates. I promise I'm going to be updating at least every other day for the rest of my trip, so please keep checking!

Australia is famous for its animals. The kangaroo, the koala (not a bear), the emu, the dingo. I have now seen all of the above, most of them in the wild.

In March, I was lucky enough to get to go to the Caversham Wild Animal park. I was unsure at the time if I would be able to see any kangaroos in person, and they assured me that here I would be able to pet them and feed them.I never imagined that kangaroos would be so soft! They literally felt like cotton. It was incredible. I always thought that they would feel something like a Black Lab, instead of like a Bichon. While it was called a wild animal park, these kangaroos were anything but wild. The second we walk through the gate, they came running up to us, expecting to be fed.

The animal park also had dingoes. A dingo is a type of wild dog that seems to be like a coyote.


Dingoes were the subject of a court case in the eighties, where a woman was arrested and accused of murdering her six week old daughter on a camping trip in the Australian Outback. However, she claimed that she was innocent, and that dingoes actually ate her baby. For those of you who are Buffy fans, this is why Oz's band is called "Dingoes Ate My Baby". The woman was convicted of murder, but several months later, some clothing that matched what the mother had said the baby was wearing showed up in a cave that was known to be a common place for dingoes to gather. All of the charges were dropped and the woman was released from prison. However, among the general public, people seem to think that the woman was indeed guilty, and it has become a running joke, especially when someone is trying to make you believe something that is unbelievable.

This is what a dingo looks like in the wild. This one was in Karijini National Park. It came right up to a group of people, grabbed a hat that was next to them and then ran in the other direction. They had an infant with them, but I assure you, it left it alone. They actually are fairly skittish around humans, even though they are indeed carnivores.

My favorite part of the animal park was being able to pet a Koala.


It did not feel at all like I expected it to. It was very spongy and coarse. I had expected them to feel more like my old dog Finley did, instead of like a hair brush. But hey, I guess you learn something new every day. Also, please note that they are NOT bears! They are actually marsupials, just like kangaroos!

One Christmas, my mother decided to ask my brother what he wanted as a gift. He was only interested in being a smart ass teenager at the time, so he cheekily responded that he wanted a wombat. He maintained that that was all he wanted for Christmas for over a month. I don't remember all of what he got that year, but one thing was for sure. He definitely got a wombat stuffed animal.
Well I got to see one in person, and I had no idea they were that big! They are all muscle, too, even though they look fairly fat. They can run over 40 km per hour, despite their stubby legs. It was incredibly interesting, and I am now able to say that I have seen Mike's favorite animal in person!


This is a Tasmanian Devil. They are only located on the island state of Tasmania, and unfortunately, a lot of them are dying off. There is a terrible cancer that is spread through bites that causes tumors to grow on their faces and it is quickly killing them off. There are only about two populations of them that are completely unaffected. They are located on islands off the coast of Tasmania. Scientists are working on a cure and hope to stop the disease before causes them to go extinct.

When we went to Monkey Mia, we saw a lot of wild life. I had never seen a pelican this large before. Its eyes literally looked like they were painted. It came really close to us, so we were able to observe it for quite some time.

We also saw dolphins! Three times a morning, the park rangers would pick people to participate in feeding them, even though they were technically wild as well. There were about four dolphins that came every single day, and others would sometimes join them. There were about seven or eight on the day we were there. It was really exciting!
I never thought I would see an emu in person. I had seen one in the animal park, but these guys decided to visit our campsite. They were welcome visitors, since I hadn't seen them before!


And now we come to my favorite animal of Australia. I'm incredibly lucky that I am in Western Australia, because this is the only place where these little guys can now be found. They don't have very many defenses, so they are ideal prey for larger animals. Therefore, they are now only found on small islands without any predators. They are called Quokkas. They are a member of the marsupial family, and look like little mini Kangaroos. They have almost rat like tails and are about the size of your average house cat.
And now, I would like to introduce you to Q.


Q moved into our cabin that we were staying in on Rottnest Island. He was cute and adorable and soft. We weren't supposed to pet him, we couldn't help but see what he felt like! He walked around our cabin for a bit and then decided to take a shower. We literally could not get him out of the bathroom! We finally had to take a plate of water and lure him out because it seemed that he was thirsty. We fell in love and contemplated putting him in our backpack and taking him home. If these little guys were available as pets, I would most definitely have one.

So there you go. A little summary of the wild life here in Australia. Tune in tomorrow (or possibly the next day) for an exciting adventure tale of the first day of my mid semester break!