NATUREWORLD!

here are some photos from our trip to natureworld! i am not sure if the wonder of the place comes through in the images, but it was a magical place! i mean, just look at the sign. luke and i are torn as to what the two tasmanian devils are doing in the middle there. i think it's a baby on it's momma's back, luke thinks it's something else not so sweet. you be the judge... the ducks and birds were mostly left in the open. this goose has a call very similar to a grunting pig. a little unsettling when the thing comes up behind you.

the famous kookaburra. and a pretty duck.

emus are big, tottering birds with goofy faces. they can run really fast, and like an ostrich, can do quite a bit of damage if threatened. so we got a little nervous when the thing came right toward us.

koalas don't do much except sleep and eat. we caught them sleeping.

wallabies are timid creatures, but we stayed in their area of the park for a while so they got a bit used to us and came quite close. there were some mommas with joeys in their pouches. so cute!

kangaroos, unlike wallabies, are very bold and will come right up to you. all the males (this one was the largest) were lazing in the sun and couldn't care less about us, but the females (with their joeys en-pouch) were very friendly.

as you can see from the next two pictures, the joeys are all twisted around in their pouches. various body parts stick out at any one time. but they seem to like it.

the coolest thing about natureworld is the tasmanian devil project there. devils are quite endangered because there is a disease that is killing them in large numbers: tasmanian devil facial tumor disease. public opinion has changed about these interesting little creatures, so people aren't killing them anymore, but unfortunately this disease is. natureworld has a growing population of devils in a disease-free area. the ones inside the park will never be released into the wild, but they also have a large area outside the park, called devil island, where they have devils that are wild. when a cure is found for this disease, these devils will be released.

tasmanian devils are marsupials, like kangaroos and wallabies. but unlike their cousins, they are carnivorous and eat mostly things that are already dead, though they are opportunistic hunters. they are squat little things that run really fast, and their jaws are powerful enough to bite right through bones of animals much bigger than they are (you can hear the bone-crunching action in the video below). they are pretty solitary creatures, though many will live in the same area. they are called devils because of the savage sounding noises they make when they feed--screeches, growls, and snarls--and the way they bite and claw each other when they are fighting over food. because of this, people used to think they were dangerous, but really they are timid and don't want anything to do with humans (though they will make off with a chicken from time to time).

and besides, how could you be scared of these two little babies?

all in all, we spent over four hours in natureworld (and almost two outside enjoying the surrounds and having a picnic). that's about three hours longer than they suggest it takes to walk through the park. we loved it. the animals seem really happy and well cared for, they are doing lots of good for the tasmanian devil, and the gift shop rocked!

if you are interested in more information about the tasmanian devil, what is happening to them, and what is being done to help them, check out the devil island project website: http://www.devilislandproject.com/