Koala, Emu& Co.

Last weekend, the whole family went to Ballarat Wildlife Park for the first time, which offers mainly typical Australian animals. The park is a family-owned business, smaller than a normal zoo, but also much more personal. There are daily free tours and feeding shows for the guests! What is special about this park is that kangaroos and emus roam freely in the park and can be fed and petted by visitors. It was my first time touching and experiencing these two animals up close :) But especially for the kids, it was a great activity and they were both very excited!

Island Kangaroo

This kangaroo species was discovered on the coast of South Australia, weighs 20kg-70kg and can live up to 27 years. They are considered the calmest and most relaxed kangaroo species, as they usually move relatively slowly. However, they become very dangerous in situations of danger and can grow up to 2 meters tall when standing on their hind legs.

Emu

Emus are flightless birds that can grow up to 2 meters tall (the females are slightly larger than the males). They are often solitary and can show a very aggressive behavior when provoked. When they want to be fed, they come to you and you should not approach them. The female can lay up to 20 huge, dark green eggs in a 1.5-meter-wide nest! Here at the Wildlife Park, the animals are used to humans and if you treat them kindly, they will do the same. When we saw emus in the wild on the Great Ocean Road, we preferred to keep our distance ;)

Common Wombat (German: Nacktnasenwombat)

This wombat has a hairless snout and very rough, short fur. By participating in the free tour, we also had the opportunity to see and pet the wombats up close. They live for about 15 years and can weigh up to 40kg! Although these cute animals usually lie very comfortably in their dark burrows, they can cover up to 40km per hour!

Tasmanian Devil (German: Beutelteufel)

The Tasmanian Devil is a marsupial and can only be found in the wild on the island of Tasmania today, it has been extinct in Australia for a long time. It got its name because of its ears, which turn red when excited, its unbearable screeching, and its sharp teeth. It is about the size of a small dog and can weigh up to six kilos. The animals have been threatened by DFTD, a facial cancer disease, which could lead to the extinction of the species in the next 20-30 years.

Koala - My favorite animal in Australia

One of the symbols of Australia is the koala! And at the Wildlife Park, we could even watch baby koalas sleeping :) The tree-dweller sleeps 18-22 hours a day due to its diet consisting exclusively of eucalyptus, which is very low in energy. Koalas spend an average of only four minutes on the ground each day! The animals have a large nose that can smell the leaves of a 30-meter-high tree from the ground. This way, they make sure it's the right tree and they don't waste too much energy ;) During my time in Australia, I really want to hold a koala on my arm, but unfortunately, this is not allowed in the state of Victoria and I have to wait until I travel to the East Coast!

Of course, there were many other animals to see that I can't list them all here. We spent the whole morning at the Wildlife Park in bright sunshine and 30°C!

More information can be found here:

https://wildlifepark.com.au/