vango

Our first stop was the Bonorang Wildlife Preserve. This, too, is a private facility that receives and nurses injured animals back to health. They also conduct a breading program for some of the more endangered Tasmanian Wildlife. It is a family owned business. It sits on the top of a hill with quite a number of different species available for viewing and its own mob of Kangaroos.


Our first animal of the day was a baby wombat. The woman showing it kept in a sort of bag the simulated to mother's pouch. He was not happy when he was out of that pouch and got very edgy until placed back. A few feet away was an guy holding an older wombat who had graduated from pouch living but was happy to stay in the crook of the man's arm.


The next enclosure was for the Tasmanian Devil. These are small possum like animals. They eat road kill having powerful jaws that can actually crush the bones for consumption. There are several reasons that they were called devils. They have no hair on their ears so when they are back lit the blood vessels make the ears look like horns. But it became apparent that what really gave them the name was there terrible screams as they fight over food. They are small and hard to see hiding in bushes. The fight in the bushes where they are not readily seen and let out and incredible moaning scream. If you couldn't really see them you imagination would make you think of devils in the bushes. There were pink and Grey Galahs, Sulfur Crested Cockatoos and a peacock.



Next we visited a Koala. The park ranger snatched it from hiding in an enclosure and popped it into a fake eucalyptus tree. The branches seem like they were high up and the Koala felt safe high in his tree but he was actually at eye level for us. We each got a chance to touch him and have our picture taken.



There was an extensive track around the property that passed other enclosures. Some things were being rebuilt or repurposed. I would have liked to have seen an echidna but he had yet to move into his new home. An Echidna is a kind of spiny anteater that looks a lot like a hedgehog. They are a monotreme meaning that they are one of only a few egg laying mammals.

One of the fun things at the park was actually the toilet facilities. Instead of a door they had a chain curtain with lifesize male and female symbols printed on the chain.