Journal entry by Al Negstad — 46 minutes ago
Victoria Market, Melbourne, is one of the largest bazaars I've seen. Chatuchak Market in Bangkok is larger but Victoria is huge. It's a 'must see' in Melbourne so we visited it on our return from our road trip today and I did a bit of shopping. In Australia the tax is shown in the price and only broken out on the receipt.
The best adventure of this trip was a night visit to an animal sanctuary. Almost all of Australia's native mammals are nocturnal, marsupials. There 40, species of kangaroos ranging from 6, feet tall to the size of a cat. There were several ranging the grounds and we hand fed them while petting them. When they were eating out of our hands they would put a paw on our hand so it wouldn't move.
The wombat is an interesting critter about the size and shape of a wolverine. It burrows and when threatened by a a predator it goes headfirst into it's burrow. If the predator pursues it into the burrow the wombat uses its rear end, which is mostly cartilage, to crush the pursuers head against the ceiling. A kangaroo's pouch faces up but the wombats faces down because it burrows and that would fill the pouch with dirt.
Koalas come in a variety of species, some of which spend all of their time in trees, and some live on the ground. We saw both varieties including two kinds of tree dwellers. There are 800, varieties of eucalyptus trees and Koalas will only eat the leaves of a few types. They were actively munching on leaves as we looked on.
The Tasmanian Devils are ferocious critters of about 20, pounds. Gliders, similar to a flying squirrel but marsupials, come in a variety of sizes, some of which we fed. Barking owls sound like a dog barking. The possum looks like a cross between a raccoon and an American possum but moves like a coon. The python was asleep.
The sanctuary is dedicated to the welfare of Australian animals. Some endangered species are bred and the offspring are released in the wild. One species of parrot was down to a population of 14, but the sanctuary has had a successful breeding program to increase the population. The introduction of foxes to Australia has been disastrous for much wildlife, which no natural form of protection. A pair of endangered shorebirds have just hatched two chicks which is sign they are not under stress in their pen. Their only escape mechanism when threatened by a predator is to lie down and freeze relying on their camouflage. This makes them easy prey for fox.
Roads are posted with signs bearing a phone number to call if an animal is injured on the road. The responder will rescue any surviving young in the marsupial pouch. Many of the animals at the sanctuary were rescued in this manner.
This sanctuary visit was a highlight of our little road trip. The day was topped off with dinner with two of Amy's friends.
Blessings,
Al
Pictures: Our Air B & B, one aisle of Victoria Market, the smallest kangaroo, and kangaroo roadkill.
The best adventure of this trip was a night visit to an animal sanctuary. Almost all of Australia's native mammals are nocturnal, marsupials. There 40, species of kangaroos ranging from 6, feet tall to the size of a cat. There were several ranging the grounds and we hand fed them while petting them. When they were eating out of our hands they would put a paw on our hand so it wouldn't move.
The wombat is an interesting critter about the size and shape of a wolverine. It burrows and when threatened by a a predator it goes headfirst into it's burrow. If the predator pursues it into the burrow the wombat uses its rear end, which is mostly cartilage, to crush the pursuers head against the ceiling. A kangaroo's pouch faces up but the wombats faces down because it burrows and that would fill the pouch with dirt.
Koalas come in a variety of species, some of which spend all of their time in trees, and some live on the ground. We saw both varieties including two kinds of tree dwellers. There are 800, varieties of eucalyptus trees and Koalas will only eat the leaves of a few types. They were actively munching on leaves as we looked on.
The Tasmanian Devils are ferocious critters of about 20, pounds. Gliders, similar to a flying squirrel but marsupials, come in a variety of sizes, some of which we fed. Barking owls sound like a dog barking. The possum looks like a cross between a raccoon and an American possum but moves like a coon. The python was asleep.
The sanctuary is dedicated to the welfare of Australian animals. Some endangered species are bred and the offspring are released in the wild. One species of parrot was down to a population of 14, but the sanctuary has had a successful breeding program to increase the population. The introduction of foxes to Australia has been disastrous for much wildlife, which no natural form of protection. A pair of endangered shorebirds have just hatched two chicks which is sign they are not under stress in their pen. Their only escape mechanism when threatened by a predator is to lie down and freeze relying on their camouflage. This makes them easy prey for fox.
Roads are posted with signs bearing a phone number to call if an animal is injured on the road. The responder will rescue any surviving young in the marsupial pouch. Many of the animals at the sanctuary were rescued in this manner.
This sanctuary visit was a highlight of our little road trip. The day was topped off with dinner with two of Amy's friends.
Blessings,
Al
Pictures: Our Air B & B, one aisle of Victoria Market, the smallest kangaroo, and kangaroo roadkill.
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