Me and the “Roos”…..
Kangaroos……that is…..
Yesterday I found myself in the middle of a “mob” of kangaroos.
They formed a bit of a crowd around me, licking my hands and generally having a good old time.
They loved me!
It helped that I had a bag of kangaroo food in my hand that I was willing to share with any “Roo” that would give me some attention. As it turns out, with food in hand, just about anyone can get some attention from the “Roos”. They are not a particularly selective crowd. They like just about anyone who has food. As long as you have food in a flat, open hand positioned close to the ground you can count on making one…or several….new friends. And, if you don’t get the hand position just right, they will do you the courtesy of helping you by taking your wrist in their paws and moving it to the right position. They have to be able to reach it after all.
How’s that for efficiency in making friends?
Despite the fact that I was not the only object of the affections of the “Roos” yesterday, my afternoon at the Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary in Hobart, Tasmania….
….was undeniably one of the most enjoyable days I have had so far on my trip “down under”. The tickling of the kanagroo tongues and the occasional grazing of their teeth on my hand and my intermittent scratching on their chests…
….was a unique and special way to get up close and personal with these animals.
This was where we started our tour.
I just couldn’t get enough!
Bonorong is an animal sanctuary located outside Hobart. It’s not a zoo. I’m not a big fan of zoos. But, it is instead a rehab center where they take in animals that are hurt or sick and rehab them so that they can be placed back in the wild. It’s an admirable cause, and their success rate is pretty high at getting these animals back to their normal habitat. Several years ago, I visited a similar center in Costa Rica and was touched and moved by the work they were doing with monkeys there. This was similar, but with a different set of animals. They are doing good work at Bonorong, and I was highly impressed by the compassion and love that the staff showed for their charges.
The animals were clearly attached to the staff and the staff to the animals, as was the case with this baby wombat. As soon as the attendant entered the enclosure and sat down on a rock to talk to us, the baby jumped up in her lap and fell asleep. The staff person stood up, turned and held it like she was burping a baby so that we could see its cute face. As it woke up, it nestled against her ear and began to make sucking noises.
It was a touching scene. A tribute to the loving care these animals are getting.
At Bonorong, we also got a good education on the Tasmanian Devil, an animal that is heading towards extinction.
I had seen an exhibit at the museum in town earlier in the day about this animal. It seems that the “Devils” are becoming afflicted with cancerous tumors of the face, which is killing inordinate numbers of them. There is a group of people that is doing a lot of research to try to figure out why this is happening and how to prevent it from spreading. There are several different strains of the cancer that proliferate through the bites of other affected “Devils”, making it quite difficult to contain. It’s becoming a real issue.
The Tasmanian Devil is a very misunderstood animal. They are thought to be vicious carnivores that will eat anything living or dead. It’s not so. They are carnivores, but they are really quite meek. They feed on the carcasses of animals that are already dead. The attendant did a feeding while we were there, giving the “Devil” a hank of a wallaby. The “Devil” chewed on the meat for awhile and then took it to his den to finish his meal.
He would eat everything…..bones and all. The mouths of the “Devil” are quite strong….much stronger than that of humans. So, they can bite through almost anything. That, in addition to the “devilish” sounds they make, their shiny eyes and transparent ears that look red when the light goes through them have given these animals the reputation of being ferocious. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to touch one, and I certainly don’t want to meet one in a dark alley. But, they are not as fierce as they are made out to be……and…..I thought they were cute!
The other highlight for me was the Koala Bear. Everyone has a love affair with the Koala.
They are so cute and cuddly looking. Up close, they look like the stuffed bears that we have seen all over Australia in tourist shops. But, in reality, they are not that cuddly…or friendly for that matter. And, they were not too excited to have us traipse through their living quarters. But, we did it anyway with the approval of the tour attendant.
I got to touch the Koala.
I wanted to hold the Koala. Sadly, this is not allowed, as it creates stress for them. So, we all just touched them on the back and went on. It was still thrilling for me!
Bonorong has 3 Koalas. They are not indigenous to Tasmania. They inherited one from South Africa that impregnated one that they already had there. We met the “stud”….
…..and his children. These will be the last of the Koalas for Bonorong. But, they will have these for some years to come. The children are pretty young.
We also saw lots of pretty birds…..
……and some echnidas…….
…..which were round and prickly looking. Still cute, though!
After we toured, we went back for one more visit with the “Roos”. One of the members of our tour group pointed out that one of the kangaroos had a “joey” in the pouch. We looked at its little ears popping up.
Melt my heart……
Me and the “Roos” and a “joey” too……
Perfect!
Travel With Betsy 
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