Australia zoo

We spent the day yesterday at the Australia Zoo. If you've ever heard of the Crocodile Hunter, Steve Irwin, this was his baby. The zoo was founded be his parents, but everywhere, there are reminders of Steve. All the explan'ations in the various exhibits have 'Crikey' in them somewhere. We hd an opportunity to feed the elephants, pet the koalas, pet the kangaroos, and observe from a very safe distance the crocodiles and alligators. The best part for me, though, was that the zoo had red pandas - I know - they're not native to Australia, but are they ever beautiful.

The zoo started out being mainly about crocodiles (no surprise, after all Steve Irwin was the Crocodile Hunter), and then expanded to include other species native to Australia. The zoo has examples of the most poisonous snakes in Oz, but I studiously avoided that exhibit!! The latest expansion includes animals from Asia and Africa. Right now there is a Madagascar Island being built which will have a cheetah run when finished.

It was a great day. I've posted a few pics. Cameron the crocodile is a great photo op, and Walter, Jon and Lex took advantage of it. Cameron is obviously a replica, and is an example of what an adult male salt water crocodile would be under ideal conditions. We would be just a snach for him. The crocodile in the other photo, though, is real.