July 22, 2020

A Day at the Perth Zoo

The zoo opened in 1898 and had not closed for a single day until March 24, 2020 due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Our first stop was to see the black and white ruffed lemurs from eastern Madagascar.

They were so noisy we thought they were having a fight. Apparently that's just how they communicate with each other.

The Southern cassowary is native to the rain forests of northeastern Australia and is listed as Endangered. The Australian population is about 4,000 birds and their numbers are declining. 

In spite of winter weather, there was still some evidence of flowers in the park like these Birds of Paradise.

Tree Kangaroo - Who knew? There are two species (Bennett's Tree Kangaroo and Lumholtz's Tree Kangaroo) found in the far north of Queensland. The other 12 species live in New Guinea.

In the video below you will see Banz, the tree kangaroo joey, with his mama. They are Goodfellow's Tree Kangaroos and they are an endangered species. Banz is the second tree kangaroo to be born at the zoo since 1980.

The African Painted Dog is about the size of a large German Shepherd. They live in packs of 30 or more in the wild and the whole pack takes care of the young. They once were widespread across Africa but now they are an endangered species.

The Hamadryas Baboon is native to the African Savannah. The males develop a shaggy, silvery grey shoulder mane which acts as a protective buffer during physical confrontations. The males have larger canines which they display to make them appear more intimidating.

The baboon enclosure contains an African Sausage Tree (right of the waterfall).

 

Further down from the baboon enclosure, a flock of guinea fowl had taken over an empty pen. They are native to Africa but in Australia the main reason for keeping guinea fowl is pest control. They have a voracious appetite for bugs and are used in vineyards, orchards and gardens. They are surface feeders who do not usually scratch or uproot established plants.

The Southern White Rhinoceros is native to the African Savannah. It has a conservation status of 'Near Threatened". Humans are the main predators of rhinoceros who are hunted for their horns. Rhinoceros can run up to speeds of 40 km/hour which is surprising given their size. They have poor eyesight but they have a good sense of smell.

The African Lion has a conservation status of 'vulnerable' and is native to the African Savannah. They live in groups called 'prides' containing 4 to 6 adults and cubs. The male lion has a mane which makes him look bigger than he actually is and protects his throat from claws and teeth of other animals. The male protects the pride while the lionesses hunt.

The shadows from the palm trees above the lionesses turned the one on the right into a tiger, lol.

The slender-tailed meerkat is fairly common in the African Savannah. They live in large social groups of up to 30 members. While most of the group are foraging for food "sentries" are posted as look-outs for predators. Sentries stand on their hind legs and let out an alarm when a threat is sighted. 

The giraffe is the tallest land animal on earth with a long neck that contains only seven vertebrae (like humans). A series of valves in their necks stops blood from rushing to their heads when they bend down to drink. They are native to the African savannah and have a conservation status of 'vulnerable'.

The Asian elephant is an endangered species. The males (bulls) are larger than the females. The males have tusks. The females lack tusks, or if present, they are short stubby growths known as 'tushes' and are generally only visible when their mouth is open. Elephants are well known to doodle in the dirt with sticks and painting is part of the elephants' enrichment program at the zoo. The elephants use non-toxic vegetable based paints to create their masterpieces. Reference: https:/www.perthzoo.wa.gov.au (Wild Art)

The critically endangered Sumatran orangutans are native to the Asian rainforests. They have their own sky high city within the zoo.  

Several orangutans were carrying tarps or blankets. They climb to the top of their towers and then cover themselves up!

Tasmanian Devils are Australia's largest carnivorous marsupial. They are about the size of a domestic cat and are listed as endangered. They are nocturnal and spend the daytime sleeping in dens made in hollow logs, caves or old wombat burrows.

Koalas are found in the eucalypt forests and woodlands of Eastern Australian. They are mostly active at night and spend most of the day sleeping or resting. We were very fortunate to spot a momma koala with her joey enjoying the beautiful winter afternoon.

The Red Kangaroo is the largest living marsupial and are distinguished from Grey Kangaroos by the black and white markings on their muzzles and white-tipped tails. Western Grey Kangaroos have a finely haired muzzle and have light to dark brown fur. Their paws, feet and tail tips vary in colour from brown to black. We were surprised to see a couple of Albino Kangaroos resting with the other kangaroos. 

Dingos are a dog-like wolf. They cannot bark and they lack the distinctive smell of domestic dogs. They breed once a year. Their conservation status is 'vulnerable' and they are under threat from interbreeding with domestic dogs. There are very few pure bred dingos left in Australia.

It was a beautiful day and the zoo was very busy. There were lots of young families, toddlers, babies and grandparents.

Despite numerous signs posted throughout the zoo, very few visitors practiced social distancing. Surprisingly, Dave and I were the only visitors who wore masks.

Zoo references: www.perthzoo.wa.gov.au

Guinea fowl references: www.compspoultry.com.au and www.somerzby.com.au



June 16, 2020

Rottnest Island - QUOKKAS

Rottnest Island was connected to the mainland of Western Australia as far back as 50,000 years ago. About 7,000 years ago a rise in sea levels separated the island from the mainland. Aboriginal people on the mainland were not able to cross to the island without boats and the island became uninhabited for several thousands of years. Rottnest Island is Wadjemup in Noongar Aboriginal mythology, meaning "place across the water where the spirits are".

The island was named "t Eylandt 't Rottenest (Rats Nest Island)" by Dutch captain Willem de Vlamingh in 1696. He spent six days exploring the island and mistook the quokkas for giant rats.

Rottnest Island is still known as Wadjemup to the local Noongar people, and colloquially as Rotto. The island is an A-class reserve - the highest level of protection afforded to public land. (Reference: wikipedia.org and sealinkrottnest.com.au)

Rottnest Express Ferry Terminal

(Northport, Rous Head Harbour, North Fremantle)

Rottnest Express Ferry. We thought we would be boarding this ferry but the company had us board another one that arrived shortly before our departure time.

The ferry trip is about 25 minutes from Fremantle to Rottnest Island. Fremantle is the shipping port for Perth. There are a significant number of ships anchored around Fremantle harbour.

We arrived at Rottnest Island late in the morning.

A couple were fishing at the end of one of the piers. To their side, a pelican waited patiently for them to throw him a tasty snack.

On the way to the main bus stop, we saw instructions on 'quokka selfies'. There are about 12,000 quokkas on the island and they are listed as a vulnerable species. There is a $150 fine for touching and/or feeding quokkas (or any of the wildlife) on the island. Quokkas are very accommodating when it comes to picture taking. All you have to do is sit down quietly. If there are any quokkas in the area, they come to you!

We decided to take a bus around the island. The tour took about an hour. The bus service provided the option to 'hop on, hop off' at any of the 19 bus stops.

The island is 11 kilometers long and 4.5 kilometers wide. Rottnest Island has 20 bays and 63 secluded beaches. The reefs surrounding the island are popular for snorkelling. Rottnest Island also has some of the best surfing conditions and most consistent breaks in Western Australia.
 

We 'hopped off' at bus stop number 7 - Salmon Bay.



It was a beautiful winter day. The pied cormorants were sunbathing on an outcrop of rocks in the reef.

A snorkeler interrupted them...

...and then there was one. 

Meanwhile at the edge of the reef, other cormorants didn't seem to mind the spray off the breaking surf.

Silver gulls were perched on the stairway to the beach. (Lots of others were hanging around trying to stay out of the stiff breeze.)

The lighthouse is situated to the southwest of Salmon Bay.

On the other side of the bay, a cotillion of lesser crested terns were bathing and playing around at the edge of the water. 

While Dave was taking pictures at the beach I was sitting at a picnic table, under a shaded area, close to the top of the stairs. I saw, in my peripheral vision, something scaly heading my way. Of course, first thing I thought of was "dugite snake!!" ...it wasn't lol. When I moved to get a better angle for the video, he spotted me. Poor thing was pretty scared and he moved so quickly I lost sight of him while I was filming him. He is a beautiful example of a King's Skink.

QUOKKAS

Our first quokka sighting was at the main bus stop in the settlement. 

One little guy took his time checking out Dave...

...big feet...

...really tall...

...smells funny...

...Whoa! You mean that's a picture of me??? Boy am I ever cute!!

When we wandered around the settlement area it was getting close to feeding time for the quokkas. We found a few sharing an evening meal with some ducks and doves.

While walking around, we came across the cutest baby quokka eating and hanging with an older quokka.