Rating:
Variety of animals: 8
Quality of exhibits: 9
Getting around: 8
Pet-factor: 6
Overall: 8
What to see: The bird show (the end gives me chills every time), golden orb weaver spiders overhead in the summer
What to miss: The kid's area is not absolutely necessary if you're short on time (though, they do have a large display of phasmids)
* * *
As alluded to in the title of today's post, it was high time I made a visit to the Taronga Zoo. I walked down to Circular Quay and found the appropriate ferry. It's an incredibly convenient system they have set up: less than 15 minutes from the Quay to the front gates of the zoo on the other side of the harbor.
I arrived to find that the gondola leading up to the zoo was closed for maintenance, so I took a bus to the front gates. And thus began my adventure.
I will say this: the Taronga Zoo is probably one of the greatest - if not the greatest - zoo in the world. They not only have animals specific to Australia - you could fill several zoos with those - but they also have other fascinating critters from all over the world. And going on a weekday was fantastic. Much like the Opera house, there were so many occasions where I was all by myself...which allowed me to sneak over the fence to touch the kangaroos (shh...). Join me on this wonderful journey, won't you?
The koala - nature's total slacker. Eucalyptus leaves
have very little energy, and as such, these furry little
guys sleep upwards of 20 hours a day.
The komodo dragon - largest living lizard.
The item on the right is a frog. For comparison
purposes, the object on the left is my thumb.
This is a very tiny frog.
A familiar face, the green iguana. Notice the 'I would
really like to eat you' look in his eye.
Chimpanzees. The three on the bottom were having some
sort of meeting. The one on the right came in, made the drop,
collected the cash, and fled the scene. The one on the
top was actually a narc and the two remaining chimps
were taken away in a police car.
This is the inland taipan, also known as the fierce snake.
It is the most poisonous snake in the world. I took the
opportunity of it being behind glass to mock it mercilessly.
A pygmy hippo - like a regular hippo, but...pygmy-er...
One of several lions that they had there. These ones
were actually up and about, unlike the ones at the SF zoo,
which are usually sleeping behind a rock or something.
A spider - and not one that was in a glass case. It was a good 4
inches from top to bottom. This picture was taken shortly before
it jumped on me, wrapped me in webbing, and dragged
me off to eat later. I escaped.
Australia gets all of the cool birds.
This was new since the last time I was there. They had a
seal show - it was quite fantastic, really. The seal was
very well-trained. It made me forgive the comment of "It's his
American accent" after the California Sea Lion made a
barking / burping / growling noise. Ha.
I was leaning on the fence and this guy tried to eat my arm.
No joke. I could have met my grisly fate at the hands (beak)
of a pelican. There are worse ways to go, I suppose.
Gorgeous view of the city and harbor from the zoo.
I think this was the first time I had seen a leopard seal
in person. Don't let the friendly smile fool you - a few seconds later
it leaped into the penguin exhibit and cleaned house.
A saltwater crocodile. There was an informational sign next to
the pond that said 'Why are we so afraid of crocs?' There were a
lot of words on this sign - I didn't bother reading it, but I assumed
a good reason would be BECAUSE THEY CAN EAT YOU.
Me with a 'roo, shortly before I hopped the "fence" (a stick
laying on the ground) to introduce myself to the native species.
This big guy, an emu, was not in a cage - but was just kinda
wandering around. When you're that big I suppose you
can do what you want.
Much like the SF Zoo, there are peacocks just
kinda wandering around. I stuffed one under my coat
and ran.
This prickly little fella is an echidna, one of two known
monotremes (the other is the platypus). Monotreme means
'one hole,' as a result of the cloaca that these critters have. The
cloaca is used not only to do their business, but also to do their business.
Yeah - gross. At any rate, I couldn't get a good shot of the platypus,
but it really is one of the most fascinating animals. It's furry, aquatic,
has a duck bill, lays eggs, and is venomous. It's like nature took all
the little leftover bits and threw them together.
This was a wallaby that I lured out of the confines
of his paddock with tasty grass. He tentatively came and
ate it out of my hand and even let me get a few pets
in before hopping off. They are incredibly soft.
This fluffy little pup is a dingo. I watched him for 4 1/2 hours
and he didn't eat a single baby. I want my money back.
Leaving Circular Quay on the way to the Taronga Zoo.
I arrived to find that the gondola leading up to the zoo was closed for maintenance, so I took a bus to the front gates. And thus began my adventure.
I will say this: the Taronga Zoo is probably one of the greatest - if not the greatest - zoo in the world. They not only have animals specific to Australia - you could fill several zoos with those - but they also have other fascinating critters from all over the world. And going on a weekday was fantastic. Much like the Opera house, there were so many occasions where I was all by myself...which allowed me to sneak over the fence to touch the kangaroos (shh...). Join me on this wonderful journey, won't you?
The koala - nature's total slacker. Eucalyptus leaves
have very little energy, and as such, these furry little
guys sleep upwards of 20 hours a day.
The komodo dragon - largest living lizard.
The item on the right is a frog. For comparisonpurposes, the object on the left is my thumb.
This is a very tiny frog.
A familiar face, the green iguana. Notice the 'I wouldreally like to eat you' look in his eye.
Chimpanzees. The three on the bottom were having somesort of meeting. The one on the right came in, made the drop,
collected the cash, and fled the scene. The one on the
top was actually a narc and the two remaining chimps
were taken away in a police car.
This is the inland taipan, also known as the fierce snake.It is the most poisonous snake in the world. I took the
opportunity of it being behind glass to mock it mercilessly.
A pygmy hippo - like a regular hippo, but...pygmy-er...
One of several lions that they had there. These oneswere actually up and about, unlike the ones at the SF zoo,
which are usually sleeping behind a rock or something.
A spider - and not one that was in a glass case. It was a good 4inches from top to bottom. This picture was taken shortly before
it jumped on me, wrapped me in webbing, and dragged
me off to eat later. I escaped.
Australia gets all of the cool birds.
This was new since the last time I was there. They had a
seal show - it was quite fantastic, really. The seal was
very well-trained. It made me forgive the comment of "It's his
American accent" after the California Sea Lion made a
barking / burping / growling noise. Ha.
I was leaning on the fence and this guy tried to eat my arm.No joke. I could have met my grisly fate at the hands (beak)
of a pelican. There are worse ways to go, I suppose.
Gorgeous view of the city and harbor from the zoo.
I think this was the first time I had seen a leopard sealin person. Don't let the friendly smile fool you - a few seconds later
it leaped into the penguin exhibit and cleaned house.
A saltwater crocodile. There was an informational sign next tothe pond that said 'Why are we so afraid of crocs?' There were a
lot of words on this sign - I didn't bother reading it, but I assumed
a good reason would be BECAUSE THEY CAN EAT YOU.
Me with a 'roo, shortly before I hopped the "fence" (a sticklaying on the ground) to introduce myself to the native species.
This big guy, an emu, was not in a cage - but was just kindawandering around. When you're that big I suppose you
can do what you want.
Much like the SF Zoo, there are peacocks justkinda wandering around. I stuffed one under my coat
and ran.
This prickly little fella is an echidna, one of two knownmonotremes (the other is the platypus). Monotreme means
'one hole,' as a result of the cloaca that these critters have. The
cloaca is used not only to do their business, but also to do their business.
Yeah - gross. At any rate, I couldn't get a good shot of the platypus,
but it really is one of the most fascinating animals. It's furry, aquatic,
has a duck bill, lays eggs, and is venomous. It's like nature took all
the little leftover bits and threw them together.
This was a wallaby that I lured out of the confinesof his paddock with tasty grass. He tentatively came and
ate it out of my hand and even let me get a few pets
in before hopping off. They are incredibly soft.
This fluffy little pup is a dingo. I watched him for 4 1/2 hoursand he didn't eat a single baby. I want my money back.
That was it for my zoo trip. I walked back to my hotel to pick up a couple of things. Sidenote: the weather for the day had been fantastic. The sun was shining, the air was crisp and cold - it was a beautiful day. As I was walking back to my hotel, it began to get a bit overcast. I was upstairs for all of 5 minutes. When I came back down, I couldn't believe it. Pouring rain. Wind. Thunder. Lightning. This city boggles the mind.
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