Animal Adventures in WA

The weather here in Perth is not co-operating – torrential rains interspersed with 60 km/hr gusts of wind and brilliant sun and rainbows. Today promised to be only overcast so we ventured out to the Peel Zoo, a hands-on native animal experience a short drive from where we’re staying in Mandurah.The zoo is on a piece of land about the same size as the Beacon Hill Petting zoo but with a labyrinthine path connecting over 90 enclosures, half of which have electric fences.

And that, my friends, should have been the tip off, right there.

At the door, after we parted with an exorbitant amount of cash for two bags of animal feed and the entrance fee, we were given a numbered list documenting which Australian creature were could expect to see in each cage. Five of the cages were labeled “Feed and Pet Animals here”. We were eased into the experience by several enclosures housing familiar creatures such as rabbits, ferrets, and guinea pigs. FYI – guinea pig cages smell just as bad in Australia as they do in Canada.

Next came the parrots. As soon as we rounded the corner, the first inmate rushed up to the wire mesh inches from our faces and maniacally screamed “Hello?! Hello?!” at us. Rob endeavored to strike up a conversation: “Hello – how are you? Are you having a good day?” but the Golden Shouldered Parrot only seemed capable of hysterical “Hello’s” and an earsplitting shriek. This routine was repeated in the next four cages with only minor variations in the pronunciation of “hello” and pitch of shriek.

I fail to see why people would want to keep these birds as pets.

We came upon our first interactive feeding area (thankfully, without electric wiring) which was populated with a mob of ten Western Grey Kangaroos and several extravagantly plumed chickens, or chooks as they call them here. After seeing the size of the roo’s claws and incisors, the girls decided to feed them, not by offering feed in their outstretched palms but by proffering the seeds in the bag while keeping their fingers tucked safely underneath.

Selfie with a kangaroo

It took a few minutes to get over the shock of coming in such close contact with an animal that is so completely foreign to anything we know but once we were more comfortable, we pet them and scratched their backs. They are as soft and fuzzy as you would expect.

Hanging out with his new mates

Our next opportunity to feed animals was a cage with several red deer and sheep. The girls and I all went in but when a sheep with cute little ram’s horns rounded the corner and trotted over towards us, the girls dashed quickly to the gate. I, entranced by its big brown eyes, waiting for it to approach and was surprised when, three feet away from me, it lowered its head and charged. Bam! Right in the thigh.

I thought this was supposed to be an experience suitable for children?! 

Rob, fearing for the integrity of my kneecaps, yelled at me to run for the gate while he tried to get the cranky beast’s attention: “Over here big guy! Bad ram! Behave yourself!” The sheep managed to get in a few more hits before I slammed the gate behind me.

This is a good juncture to point out that we were the only people in the entire zoo – I hadn’t even seen any caretakers since we had arrived.

When we came to the Bird Aviary interaction zone, Rob was the only one brave enough to go in. Some of you may remember hearing about our visit to the Coombs Parrot Sanctuary a few years back? We still bear the physical and emotional scars from that experience and the girls and I wouldn’t take a chance on Australian birds. Rob blithely walked past the “Enter at own risk” signs on the door, grabbed a few handfuls of fruit from the feeding bucket and stood in the middle of the aviary with arms outstretched. It didn’t take long for him to be completely engulfed by birds, one of which mistook his lips for juicy apple pieces. I’m sure it was only the need to set a good example for his children that prevented him from running screaming from the cage.

They went for the ears too.  Notice I'm photographing from behind the nice, thick fencing.

As we approached the next enclosure, a huge red kangaroo came rushing up to the fence, stood on its hind legs and flexed his pecs for all they were worth. It was at this point that I surmised that the bright colours Sophie and I were wearing might be sending unwanted mating messages to the animals in the zoo. Let’s just say that Big Red’s attentions were obviously *ahem* aroused. He continued to follow us all around the enclosure using every opportunity to pose and show us his wares.

We did several laps of the zoo so that we could see everything there was to see – I can now say that I have viewed every conceivable Australian land animal and furry woodland creature.

Sophie and the emu - fingers safely out of reach. After I took this picture, it grabbed the paper bag and ragdolled it.

We chatted with the attendant before we left and told her about our interesting visit. Turns out that not only were we wearing bright and extremely seductive colours but there had been very few visitors in the last several weeks. The animals were both starved for attention and hungrier than usual because they were only getting their everyday gruel and none of the extra seed bags that visitors typically provided.

Tomorrow is another fun filled animal day – we’re headed to the Perth Zoo. I will leave my bright red jacket in the car and stick to my usual dirt coloured clothes.