Remember I said my zookeeper friends came over for a conference? Yeah..it was a good experience! I miss them so badly!
I followed them on their first day here to the Melbourne Zoo. We had some of the local keepers bring us around, a real eye opener in comparison to back stage at Night Safari! I guess thats where the huge difference between Asian zoos and Western zoos come into play. We focus more on experience first, then knowledge of the animal. While western zoos, tend to not want "functional keepers", they want keepers with tons of knowledge on the animal, then experience can be build upon.
Also, conservation is a HUGE part of the zoos in western countries. They've got so much support from the government and the society, as I guess westerners tend to be more aware of environmental issues, and the need for conserving the environment and everything that lives in it from the insects to the animals to us.
Thus, due to the huge funding the zoos have here. Their facilities are way cool, and they take utmost pride in upkeeping back stage scenes. Whereas in night safari, ours really look like kampong. Its a whole new scene when you step from the city, right to the sections in Night Safari. I tell you, cycling from one section to another feels like Chinese New Year in the early 1990s in the villages in Malaysia.
Mr Wombat..He's so cute and HUGE!
Listening to Mr John tell us about one of their conservation projects with the Fiji government regarding that Fiji lizard he's holding. Totally forgot the name. I held it and it scratched me!! Now its about a month from then, and the scar is still on my thumb. Ow.
Mul is holding the Thorny Devil. The cutest lizard ever!!! If only you could see that fella's face, its got that "I'm so cute, please don't hurt me!!" face. Heehee, stupidly cute. I wanted to steal one to bring back home!
Oh. It changes colour if its frightened. Gorgeous.
The Philippine fin-tailed dragon. Another amazing and really tough lizard. Endangered.
The Rhode Island Stick Insect. Can you believe it!! Its actually a stick insect!! Very very endangered with only 25 left in the wild. Its noctournal, and when young, looks like a normal stick insect. Only reaches this beautiful armour of black when it passes sexual maturity.
You can hardly see this. So, we're considered lucky to have seen and touch this insect. Not that you guys would catch on. But its an honour man!
Orangutan 20 million facility. I think that zookeeper is so hot! She looks like Evangeline Lily!
Group picture!
And my senior from Night safari. It was good catching up with him! I took him exploring in the city. Brought him to all the dark alleys where its graffiti and cool pubs galore!
The Croft Institute reminds me of The Clinic at The Cannery. It reminds you of an old science lab.
The toilet even has a hospital bed.
And Greco was our last stop!! Haha, we had banana cake and vanilla chocolate chip...yumyum!!
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