More Aussie Critters

. . .from Featherdale Wildlife Park.

We were able to stroke an echidna -- very prickly, but not sharp. A wildlife worker showed us its soft underbelly. When a dingo or other predator comes after them, echnidas will curve up, dig their claws into the dirt (so that they cannot be easily lifted), and the dingo will get a mouthful of spikes. Echnidnas' hind feet look like they are on backwards -- that helps them to maintain a firm grip on the ground when they need to.

Don't you love that rolling side-to-side walk?

And guess who this sweet-looking creature is:

Yep, a dingo. Dingos are wild dogs that have been in Australia for more than 4000 years.

Because Featherdale Park is partly a sanctuary, it houses many animals that would not have survived in the wild. . .

like albino peacocks and wombats. Albinos are easy targets for predators because they do not blend in with their surroundings. If a predator doesn't get them, they often die of skin cancer.

And in comparison, here's a "regular" wombat:

Doesn't he blend into his background nicely? 

Wombats eat grass and are powerful burrowers (as anyone who has read the amusing picture book, 

Diary of a Wombat by Jackie French and Bruce Whatley, knows). 

Here's another camouflage expert: a saltwater crocodile. Although, actually, saltwater crocodiles are found in fresh and saltwater rivers, swamps, and estuaries. Sometimes they have even been found in the ocean. They live in northern Australia
(not near us, thank goodness!).

How's that for an evil-looking smile? 

Don't worry, the lizard survived -- although he definitely got the crocodile's attention. 

The crocodile is fed daily and wasn't interested in a snack.

This Southern Cassowary obviously does not blend in with its surroundings. Cassowaries are fruit-eaters who live in the rainforest in Northern Australia and are shy of people. If they feel threatened, they can run 31 mph, jump about 5 feet, and swim. They also have sharp claws on their three toes, one of which is long like a dagger, and can use their head to protect themselves. They have a reputation here for being very dangerous.

Now, here are some feet that are distinctly different from the cassowary's:

Pelican feet! 

The park worker made a passionate plea for people to not litter and to pick up any plastic bags or string found at the beach. All their pelicans had been rescued because they had been caught and wounded in man-made materials and could no longer fly or survive in the wild.