Caversham Wildlife Park

Caversham Wildlife Park 

Netta 

Our family couldn't seem to get enough of the diverse population of animals varying between OMG cute & cuddly and the creepy crawlies that make you want to stay indoors. We found the perfect spot to visit in Perth that had it all. I had been fortunate enough to visit Caversham Wildlife Park last year on a quick trip with Mike, and I was excited to share this experience with the rest of the family. 

Similar to the Australia Zoo, Caversham also allows you to meet their animals and talk with the staff in a very casual manner. We were very excited to be introduced to Netta the wombat. I've grown quite fond of wombats in particular. Maybe it's because they are content to be held like a baby and have adorable faces. Realistically though, it probably has something to do with the fact that I miss Maggie like crazy. I wouldn't mind getting all stinky to hold one of these chunky marsupials. They are also very peculiar as they have cube shaped poop and a backwards pouch. The pouch is backwards so they don't kick dirt into it as digging is a favorite pastime. We heard an enchanting story but I have no way to reference if this is true or not. The story goes that during the horrible bush fires last year, a wombat was seen guiding other animals into its underground burrow to save them. After a little research this does indeed sound a little too Disney-like to be actually true. Wombats dig and create a vast network of tunnels so there happens to be a lot of open real estate that other animals can use. Sounds like a perfect spot in an emergency for the cleverest of animals. It's hard to say how many animals used these tunnels as so many animals perished last year but regardless, I'm cheering for the wombats as heroes. 

Koalas

Our next stop was to the koala exhibit. We were lucky enough to be chatting with one of the staff and I remembered her from the year before. She asked if I wanted a picture of this koala and her joey and of course I said yes! She took my phone into the exhibit and that's how I got this amazing close up. Otherwise I'd be applying for a photographer position with Nat Geo.  

We were ridiculously lucky to see multiple koalas during their feeding time. Even though they were wide eyed & lazily munching away on eucalyptus leaves, this activity is considered pretty high energy for them. Eucalyptus leaves do not contain much for nutritional 

value so they need to eat a lot during the day, up to a half kilogram of leaves. To conserve energy, koalas sleep 18-20 hours a day but they are not high off the leaves as people love to believe. The leaves are actually quite poisonous to most other animals. As if we didn't know koalas were special, they really are. They have a specific organ called a caecum that breaks down the toxins in the leaves. Typically if you see a koala, they look like a little fur ball curled up in a tree, sleeping the day away.

At the meet and greet portion of the exhibit we were introduced to AJ the koala. We could gently touch AJ with the back of our hand. Koalas are softer than you can imagine. It brings a smile to anyone's face to be this close to a vulnerable animal. All the rumors that koalas are smelly proved to be wrong, at least on this specific day. Unfortunately, koalas are prone to get chlamydia which can lead to blindness and bladder infections.  Poor, poor little koalas; as if they didn't have enough to worry about with all the bush fires.  

Roos & Roos

  

Nothing makes this boy happier than loads of kangaroos. I don't know what it is, but he just shines. Caversham Park has a large enclosed area where you can go to observe, feed, and just be with the kangaroos. We wandered to one of the back corners and we were all alone with lots of kangaroos.  The closest thing that I can compare this exhibit to is Fawn-Doe-Rosa in St. Croix Falls, WI. Some of the kangaroos were fairly aggressive in how they

would take their paws and bring your hand containing pellets to them. They are definitely used to people and have absolutely no fear. Ethan bonded with a joey and hung out with him for a long time.  

We observed this rather large joey still nursing from his mum. She seemed pretty chill about it considering the joey could barely fit his head in her pouch. I'm pretty sure the joey's name was Robin Arryn. 

Beautiful Birds and Flying Foxes

Kookaburra

This stunning bird is, you got it, a kookaburra. He was quite stoic for us and didn't make a peep even though we watched him for awhile. I am proud to report that while at a future outing at Neil Hawkins Park, we heard many, many kookaburras calling at dusk. Being laughed at by a kookaburra is no laughing matter. We stopped dead in our tracks and I thought we had been transported to Jurassic Park. I'm only kidding, sort of.  

Australian Pelican 

Speaking of Jurassic Park... we turned the corner and saw this massive pelican.  My mouth dropped. The wing span on this guy goes up to 11 feet. He looks like he could do some serious damage in a koi pond. 

 Pink and Grey Cockatoo (Galah)

Everyone has seen a cockatoo, usually in an exotic pet store in the Midwest. I pause to mention this pretty bird because we see them everywhere in Ocean Reef. I am not exaggerating. I go to drop the kids off at school and there may be 30 cockatoos sitting on the verge (curb) extending into the street. I've had to practically stop because I thought I was about to run a flock of them over (the birds could really care less).  Everyone regards them practically as pests. This is just shocking to me. We hear them squawking over our house from 5:00 am onward. Not a bad way to wake up in all honesty.

Flying Foxes (aka what nightmares are made out of)

Okay. Maybe I'm being a little dramatic here... or not. With a wing span of a meter and weighing up to a kg, this isn't the little bats that occasionally would sneak down our chimney growing up. Even the little brown bats will cause a shiver to run down my spine. While I was interning at the Duluth Zoo many moons ago, I did an ethogram study on Fennec foxes. A large bat exhibit just happened to be adjacent to where I set up my observational table. Eventually one of the zoo staff stumbled across the fact that I wasn't a fan. A team of bat keepers assured me that I just needed to conquer my fear and before I knew it, I found myself standing in the middle of the exhibit. This took place during feeding time surrounded by hundreds of bats flying around my head. I can assure you that I did not have an epiphany of sudden love for these furry, flying mammals. I was grateful though, that I didn't end up with a series of rabies shots.

Creepy Crawlies 

Obviously there a lot more reptiles displayed at Caversham, but these two are interesting because both of these have been spotted by us in the wild.  

Northern Blue-Tongue Lizard (Non-Venomous)

We saw this guy one day in the car park going to the beach. It was our first encounter with a creepy crawly not behind glass. People were crowding around it and then here come the Americans. We asked, "What is it?  Is it poisonous?" We get a causal, "No, mate. It's just a bobtailed skink." These are not poisonous and will not chase you. This variety has a blue tongue which will confuse predators (and Americans) that it is venomous. They are viewed here as a great addition to your garden as they love to munch on all kinds of common garden pests. Okay, we are learning. 

Dugite (Venomous)

This type of snake is fairly common in W.A. I was constantly on the lookout for these bad boys when we came here. At this point I have seen two of these snakes at separate times while walking/biking on footpaths by the beach on my own. If you look this up, it is reported as venomous, potentially lethal. But, there is more to the story. As we have lived here we've slowly pieced together some information that makes it not seem quite so bad. First of all, snakes don't just come after you, they tend to avoid large bipeds.  Snakes are pretty darn smart and can control their venom, leaving most bites by mature snakes as a "dry bite" which doesn't release venom. If you do happen to come across a snake where it needs to be removed there is a convenient emergency snake removal service. We also learned some quick first aid tips. If you happen to be bit, wrap the bite with a pressure bandage and keep the person calm, bite area below the heart.  Apparently there have been zero snake bite deaths with proper first aid. You really want to avoid screaming your fool head off and jumping around. Okey dokey! This will spread the venom to your heart and then it could turn lethal. Ahh, thank you kind people of Western Australia. I have purchased these pressure bandages and all anxiety has left the building. 

Llama Llama 

Meet Snowy. I'm taking a minute to reflect on this particular llama because she was a bit of a bad ass and I mean like the Jules Winnfield kind of bad ass. The kids and I entered Molly's Farm as Mike offered to hold our spots in line to meet the wombats. Ali promptly ran off to look at exotic fluffy chickens. Ethan was drawn to this llama like a bee to honey. She was pretty dang tall so I followed him over. Snowy was happy to stick her head over the railing for a photo and then promptly tried to eat Ethan's hat. Ethan was quick as a ninja and avoided contact, thank you Jam Hops. By this point, I've got a pretty good chuckle going on. Ethan thinks Mom should have a turn getting a photo with Snowy. I play along thinking Snowy's behavior was a one off.

Nope!  
Snowy immediately dives in and tries to bite my shirt. I narrowly miss being nipped and Ethan and I have a solid belly laugh. We decide to call it quits on Snowy before she tried to go for a trifecta and spit on us. As we are still chuckling, we turn to leave the barn and Ethan yells, "Mom!  Come look at these llamas!" He has this wild look of half horror and half amusement. He continues by saying, "I'm never going to be able to get that image out of my head!" Poor Ethan, a little unexpected lesson in the birds, bees, and llamas. We all left to find Mike in peels of laughter. Radio isn't censored in Australia and neither are the llamas.  

Fond Farewell

We had a wonderful and extremely educational day at Caversham. I would highly recommend this park for anyone who finds themselves in Perth. It is quieter than the Australia Zoo but much of the same feel on a smaller scale. You probably won't run into any of the Irwin's but a Samuel L. Jackson wannabe encounter is highly likely.  

💗 Until next time: kiss, kiss. 💗