One Week Down

It has been a long and busy week in Sydney, but also hard to believe it has already been that long. Time really does fly when your having fun. We finally got to see a kangaroo today! Even though it was at the Taronga Zoo. People around here say kangaroos are as common as deer back in the States, but I'm still amazed. The Taronga Zoo was our last stop in Sydney before we head out to Brisbane tomorrow. A few of us thought this was the place that Steve Irwin worked, but come to find out his "animal park" is in northern Australia. The zoo was one of the best zoos that I have been too (not very many but still) aesthetically. We were able to see all of the native Australian wildlife as well as some of the exotic animals such as the lions and tigers. It was very interesting to learn the The Taronga Zoo was also a conservationist society, meaning they are allowed to breed their animals. In August, three Sumatran Tigers were born here at the Taronga Zoo under their breeding program. There are no more than 400 of these tigers left in the world so this was a successful step forward for the survival of these tigers. These three cubs alone represent 1% of the Sumatran Tiger population in the world. It puts into perspective how precious life is and how the ever growing human population and spreading of major cities can wipe out animals into extinction. After walking around the zoo for three hours is the blistering sun, we all boarded the ferry and headed back to the university. We have a short meeting coming up at 4:00 p.m. to discuss our travel plans to Brisbane tomorrow then we are allowed a free evening to enjoy our last night here. I believe the plan is to head back to Manly Beach for dinner and a few drinks and enjoy the sunset over the city and harbour as cheesy as that sounds before we return to the dorms and pack up for our 10:30 flight to Brisbane tomorrow. Onto the next city! Cheers!

Self explanatory

Caesar?

Kartika, female Sumatran Tiger cub

Red Panda

Kangaroo!

Koala