Cute baby Crocodiles

Country: Australia by Lisette

27-11-2004

Believe it or not, but my breakie got stolen!! Now that puts me in a temporary bad mood going hungry to the store to get my cereal, eating as fast as I can and then sprinting to the bus that takes me to Billabong Sanctuary.

The Billabong Sanctuary is a zoo that has animals that are found in the wild in and / or close to billabongs. So what are these billabongs? They are small lakes that are connected to a waterway and only exist during and after the rainy season.

As the true tourist I am holding a male stinky koala, not knowing until much later that this is probably very traumatizing for the poor thing. I am brave enough to pet the tail end of a water python it feels much like a leather bag but with muscles!

The cutest baby croc!

Joyfully I watch my favourite Ozzie animals being fed: the freshwater crocodiles and the saltwater ‘crocs’. Some are huge! I am most happy to take the chance of a lifetime and hold a very cute baby crocodile. Yeah, cute is the word! Of course the staff had already tied up its snout or it could have seriously hurt me. I am asked to hold the baby croc tight, but gentle without moving too much to avoid upsetting it. It feels funny to hold this tiny, yet dangerous squirming animal in my hands. The muscles are tight and strong, there is no doubt about it in my mind!

The last animal I’d like to talk about is the cassowary. The emancipated cassowary is a large bird (think emu and even bigger) with a mohawk on its head. We’re told not to get too close to it because he’ll be happy to scratch you with his toenail. This scratch could rip open your arm easily.

I call this bird emancipated because it is one of the few male birds that is sitting on the lady’s egg and hatching it. Once the baby cassowary is born, he raises it for two to three years. Pretty cool, yeah?

Me holding a male koala.