16) Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary

Visiting the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary yesterday, we were among the first to arrive and the last to leave, packing as much wildlife learning as we could in a day. We needed to arrive early enough to feed the wild rainbow lorikeets, as they swirled through the Sanctuary looking for their "power boost" before they head out for their normal day of fun and frolic. Anybody who's as colorful and happy-looking as a lorikeet is sure to bring a smile to your face! Even though the numbers were not as high as they are at times, the flock was impressive to us. Dirk also recorded the sound of lorikeets settling in for the night in some local trees. It's fun to be amidst so many birds--just watch out, that's not rain plopping on the sidewalk right next to you!

There was a fantastic "Free Flight Bird Show" that was so good we watched it twice. Trained eagles, falcons and owls swooped low and fast over our heads--close enough that Dirk's head was brushed by the Wedge-tailed Eagle's wing feathers! The regal (in stature more than name) Black-breasted Buzzard demoed his ability to use a rock to crack open a fake Emu egg (because the Emus would "chuck a wobbly" (that's "throw a tantrum," to you Yanks) if real emu eggs were used). All the birds freely flew in and out of the stage area on cue, we were impressed by the bird's intelligence as well as by the training by the bird handlers.

Recognized as the iconic symbol of Australia, the koalas were pretty content to stay curled up in a ball, parked up in trees in various parts of the Sanctuary, because it was a cool sort of a day. It was possible to pay for a photo of one of us cuddling with a koala, the proceeds going toward supporting the wildlife.

Instead, we opted for contributing more money to attend a "behind the scenes tour" where we learned about how they train the birds, how the wildlife food is prepared, how they care for sick and injured animals, and how they manage the captive breeding program, in particular at this time, turtles and echidnas. We had the opportunity to witness a little echidna being anesthetized and splayed out in a most undignified manner on his back, exposing his soft furry underbelly while being ultrasounded. And Nancy played falconer and fed the Brahminy Kite a decapitated mouse. And Dirk had the python trying to hide in his warm pockets. We also got the spiel about the Sanctuary mission to help the public appreciate the wildlife so we will protect it. We can hope awareness will help change the direction for all these endangered animals...

Dirk was keen on partaking of the "Adventure Parc" where we could "imitate the actions of some of our favorite animals." Described as "featuring a series of tree-top climbing challenges and a 20-metre high flying fox which takes riders directly over the Sanctuary’s crocodile enclosures" how could we resist? Dirk impressed the young ladies assisting us "adventurers" by expertly donning a climbing harness. With a harness, two locking biners, a pulley without a safety, and leather gloves, we were ready to go! The zip line was definitely the highlight, prompting a terrified "SLOW DOWN!" by the staff as Dirk came winging toward the unprotected "Flying Fox" landing zone. But no harm was done, and we survived unscathed. (see video below)

Since we stayed late enough and were pushing dusk, we were lucky enough to see the more nocturnal animals being a little more active. A lone wombat emerged from his burrow and snuffled about, but turned his backside to us as we approached his pen, no doubt trying to avoid our prying eyes. We understand their "intelligence is not generally appreciated," and that they are really very playful and quick to learn. They look similar to a guinea pig about the size of a large corgi, and we learned that a backward pouch keeps dirt away from the Joey when the mother is burrowing. News from a few days ago is that Australia's treasury secretary is taking 5 weeks off to look after endangered northern hairy-nose wombats. Only about 100 of these little guys exist in Epping Forest National Park in central Queensland. Guess it's for a better cause than Prez Bush taking as long to go to Crawford and muck around the Ranch.

The Tasmanian Devil was cute as a button, we saw no trace of the wickedness of the Disney Taz Devil character. Apparently, though, it has a blood-curdling scream (which we did not hear), a cranky temperment, and "will hold a kangaroo leg in its paws and chomp away as if eating a carrot" (neither of which we saw). All we saw was the little guy yawning and roaming around his pen, climbing up and down the rock piles and looking for something to eat. Devils in the wild are now being decimated due in large part to an outbreak of "Facial tumour disease" (a third of the population since 1995), and captive breeding programs are underway to maintain genetically diverse populations.

The rest of our day consisted of feeding the kangaroos and wallabies (Nancy thinks the difference between them is that the Wallabies are cuter), witnessing the Eels and Pelicans (at the same time and place) being fed male baby chicks and fish, respectively, spying the tree kangaroos high above our heads, watching the crocs (both fresh-water and "salties") *not* getting fed (for the winter--6 months) because it's too cold for them to digest anything, trying (still) to figure out more of the bird species, finding out that dingos are descended from the Indian wolf and look nothing like our Kiley, imprinting the three words to deal with snakes (LEAVE IT ALONE) since 96% of the people in Oz injured or killed by snakes were trying to catch or kill a snake, and more. Riding the little train while viewing the habitat and eating an ice cream cone rounded out the fun day of learning more about the Australian wildlife.

PS. Dirk was pleased to find that the Hume's Problem of Induction, Popper's falsification and modus tollens have some basis - there are indeed black swans in Oz!




Oh my - you all must see this. The AU gov has a website that will help you find..well go and look at this yourself!



Hey Nancy its easy! Just LET GO!