VISITING THE PERTH ZOO (13 February 2011)

13th February (Sunday)

Sunny Sunday and we (James and I) decided to go to the Perth Zoo

The Swan Bell Tower

We took a high-speed ferry to the Perth Zoo

With James inside the ship

The city's skyline viewed from the boat

Posing with the commemorative sculpture "May Gibbs" in Windsor Park, South Perth

Arrival at the zoo. As of January 2011, it's home to 1258 animals of 164 species and includes an extensive botanical collection

I visited Perth Zoo and I was so impressed by the grounds and animal enclosures. When you think about a zoo, you often think of concrete cages where the animals are deprived of their natural habitat but Perth Zoo is nothing like that. On the contrary. Their enclosures are lush and spacious and the animals are encouraged to act as they would in the wild whether it's foraging for food, or creating nests for their young with natural materials.

Zoo entrance

Nice pictures of some of the zoo animals

Smoke-free environment! Smoking is strictly prohibited in the complete zoo

Entrance to the Perth Zoo

Perth Zoo map

African Painted Dog (Lycaon Pictus)

It faces various threats to its survival: lions, disease, and human activity all harm the species. Numerous conservation organisations are working to ensure the survival of this iconic species

Lycaon pictus is a highly successful hunter, with the majority of its chases ending in kills. It preys mainly on medium-sized ungulates, though it will take other prey such as ostriches. The African wild dog is found in various open habitats across sub-Saharan Africa, though its range has been greatly reduced. It requires large territories for its survival, a factor which creates challenges for its conservation

The Pollinator, black-and-white lemur

The zoo recreates the natural atmosphere

I think these black-and-white animals are the Pollinators

Storks

Javan Gibbon female

There is a wide variety of monkeys at The Perth Zoo

This is a Bolivian Squirrel Monkey in South America primates area

The Black-capped Capuchin

Sleepy!

Is he reading?

Looking at me!

It's time to play!

The Pygmy Marmoset

I don't know what animal it is xD

Sumatran Orangutans at Perth Zoo

Asian Elephants

Sweet seal

Giraffes

Zebras

Radiated Tortoise are definitely one of the world's most beautiful tortoise

Radiated Tortoises are the largest of the ‘star’ tortoises, so called because of the star pattern on their back. The shell, or ‘carapace’, is black with yellow or orange stars. Males have longer tails than females. This tortoise has yellow legs, feet and head except for a black patch on top of its head

I've never seen before such huge turtle

The Dibbler is a small marsupial with coarse brownish grey fur, speckled with white. It has distinctive white eye-rings and a tapering hairy tail. They are very agile animals and, despite spending much of their time on the ground, often climb bushes to lick the nectar from flowers

Tigers, lioms... felines are amazing

A beautiful female lion sleeping

The lion king!

Really beautiful!

Southern White Rhinoceros

The white rhinoceros is the largest of the five rhinoceros species and one of the world’s biggest land animals, second only to the African and Asian elephant in size

The cheetah is a large feline inhabiting most of Africa and parts of Iran. The cheetah can run faster than any other land animal— as fast as 112 to 120 km/h in short bursts covering distances up to 500 m (1,600 ft), and has the ability to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in three seconds

A cheetah sleeping. I couldn't see it better!

Sun Bears! So cute!!!

Sun Bears have very short, smooth fur that varies from black to grey. They get the name ‘Sun Bear’ from the yellow rising-sun-shaped patch on their chest. Sun Bears have very long, curved claws which are helpful in tree climbing and extracting food from logs

Perth Zoo’s Project Sun Bear campaign raised over $330,000 to help build a new home at Perth Zoo for two rescued Sun Bears from Cambodia. They can be seen in the Asian Rainforest (where I took these pics)

Sweetieee!!!!!

The two rescued bears are now happy

Different beautiful birds :-)

There are 81 species of birds at the zoo (also water birds)

Southern Cassowary

Cassowaries are large, stocky birds with a tough projection on the top of their heads called a ‘casque’. This protects the bird from low branches and vines when moving through the forest. The bird’s plumage is black and coarse. There are vivid reds and blues on the Cassowary’s head

At Perth Zoo: Cassowaries can be seen in a rainforest-styled exhibit next to our main lake

Wonderful!

Some other nice birds

I think this is a Baudin’s Cockatoo

Tree kangaroos

This tree kangaroo species has soft reddish-brown fur with golden fur on its limbs, face, underbelly and two stripes that run from its tail up its back. Each individual has a unique pattern of brown and gold stripes on its tail. Tree kangaroos are adapted for climbing trees. Their long tail helps them balance and their strong limbs with rubbery soles help them grip branches. They can also move their hind feet separately, unlike ground-dwelling kangaroos

At Perth Zoo: Perth Zoo’s female Goodfellow’s Tree Kangaroos are on display opposite the cassowary exhibit. Perth Zoo supports the conservation of tree kangaroos in the wild through its fundraising program Wildlife Conservation Action

Tree Kangaroo Behavioural Enrichment at Perth Zoo

Very tall tree

Koalaaaasssss

They spend most of the day sleeping or resting

Awakening

So cute!!!

There was a nice ampitheature with some aboriginal art

I like the aboriginal art :)

Tammar Wallaby. Tammar Wallabies have a mixed colouring of brown, white, black and grey. They have an off-white belly and white cheek stripes. They also have strong hind feet and large ears. Their tail is 33–45 cm long

Kangaroos

Little Digger

Australian Wetlands area

The Australian Wetlands and Crocodile Exhibit

Crocodile

This snake is fake but looks so real! It's part of the crocodile exhibit!!!!

Crocodiles at Perth Zoo

I believe they're Brolgas, but I'm not sure

James, my particular photographer

Ducks

Black-winged Stilt has a mostly white body with areas of black on the wings and the back of the head. They have very long and skinny reddish-pink legs and a long, but thin black bill

At the Penguin Plunge exhibit, you can see Australia’s only penguin species, the Little Penguin. The penguin exhibit has a 50.000 litre water pool, with beach, reef and rookery. Visitors can view the penguins above water and underwater. The exhibit is landscaped with natural coastal plants to create a more natural appearance :-)

Penguins are so adorable. One of my favourite animals

Lovely!

Reptile Encounter

There is a small collection of exotic reptiles including the Reticulated Python and the Fijian Crested Iguana that changes colour from green to black. Australian reptiles on display include Black-headed Python, Chameleon Dragon, Diamond Python, Dugite, Frilled Dragon, Mertens Water Monitor, Oblong Turtle, Olive Python, Perentie, Pilbara Death Adder, Pink-eared Turtle, Pygmy Mulga Monitor, Pygmy Python, South-west Carpet Python, Tiger Snake, Western Blue-tongue Skink, Woma. There are daily reptile keeper presentations

The Reptile Encounter features more than 20 reptile species in 17 purpose-built reptile exhibits with landscaping to match each animal’s natural habitat

The Reptile Encounter invites visitors into the fascinating world of snakes, lizards and tortoises. It is fully air conditioned and displays some of Western Australia’s unique reptile fauna as well as some of the world’s more interesting snakes and lizards

Chameleon Dragon

Fijian Crested Iguana... So beautiful!

Skins Galore

Olive Python

Reticulated Python

South-West Carpet Python

Pink-Eared Turtles

Australian tarantulas are often known as whistling or barking spiders because of the sounds most species can produce

Frogs

The small Perth zoo may not have as many animals as other zoos. However they have given their animals copious amounts of space and they have invested time and energy into creating natural beautiful homes for them. I would highly recommend visiting Perth Zoo. It’s a delight!