Subtitle:

I spent a good part of the day at the Toronga Zoo in Sydney on the north side of the harbor. They have a variety of local and non-local animals, and there are several talks daily from some of the keepers of the various animals. I went there and attended a few talks, saw a bunch of animals, and took a lot of pictures.

Saturday October 12, 2024.

001-DSC_9027-header: Lights, Camera, Action 001-DSC_9027-headertext:

While walking to Circular Quaya to get a ferry to the zoo, I noticed at the end ofthe block, across the street, there were a bunch of people there. It was clear that something was being filmed. I didn't want to get too close to be a jerk but I took a few pictures. In the first one you can see two guys sitting on on the ground with some white screens in front of them. I assumed it was for lighting, but it might be a blue screen. Also,they're wearing blue which might be part of the costume or maybe it'll involve CGI. On the ground is a lot of (simulated) broken sidewalk, broken street signs, and more.

The second picture is of the back of a truck that has a lot of signs, some pre-broken, for them to use. And the third is of some cars parked around the block from where they were filming (er, recording I imagine). I think the scene must take place in NYC, since there's an NYPD police car (and it has what looks like a legit NYS license plate) and a taxi behind it. I think the Thrifty truck was the ones with the signs. Because of the reflection off the windshield, it's hard to tell, but I think that is a car where the driver sits on the left side, instead of the right is the way with cars in Australia.

I asked a police officer that was keeping an eye on traffic if they were there for a movie and she said no, it was "just a TV show". I guess that's pretty common in Sydney. I didn't ask what show as I wouldn't have heard of it and they might not want to tell people or she might not have known for that same reason. 001-DSC_9027: I think they were still getting ready to shoot the scene. 002-DSC_9028: Extra signs that look like they half sank into the ground. 003-DSC_9029: A NYPD police car and NYC taxi cab in downtown Sydney, waiting. 004-DSC_9031-header: Sydney Harbor Ferry Trip 004-DSC_9031-headertext:

To get to the zoo, I took the harbor ferry from Circular Quay on the south side of the harbor across the harbor and a bit to the east. It took maybe 10 minutes or so. It was an overcast day, which was actually rather merciful, so the sun wasn't as strong. Going in and out of the Circular Quay means passing the Opera House with nice waterside views of it. When I rode on the harbor ferries, regardless of the weather, I always stayed on the outside so I could sightsee. The water was a little bit choppy on this day, but not too bad. There were a lot of small sailboats out too, since the wind was good. 004-DSC_9031: The good ship Fred Hollows approaches. Maybe they wanted to call it the Fredly Hallows, but were afraid of a lawsuit. 005-DSC_9032: There were always big-ass Carnival cruise ships in the harbor. It'd be a different one each day. Note the merely huge ship that's dwarfed by the Carnival Luminosa. Also, there's some weird door that can double as a plank they can have people walk above the ship's name. 006-DSC_9033: The view of the docks as we leave Circular Quay. 007-DSC_9034: A few harbor ferries docked at Circular Quay. 008-DSC_9036: The Sydney Opera House from the Sydney harbor. 009-opera_house_Panorama1: Another view of the Sydney Opera House from the Harbor. 010-opera_house_Panorama2: Looking at the north facing main theater and concert all of the Opera House. 011-DSC_9044: ♪It's the harbour towns//That the grey metal ships call home.♪ Midnight Oil. 012-DSC_9045: One more of the Sydney Opera House. 013-DSC_9046: Fort Denison, now a national park, previously a penal site and defensive facility. 014-zoo_Panorama1: Approaching the dock for the Toronga Zoo. 015-DSC_9053-header: Toronga Zoo (starting with Tasmanian Devils) 015-DSC_9053-headertext:

First up at the zoo was the Tasmanian Devils. There was a talk by the keeper scheduled for shortly after I arrived. It took a little time to figure out how to get to where I wanted to go from where I was, as well as figuring out exactly where I was. Eventually, I decided I wnated to get there and just asked someone that I passed who worked there. I got there a few minutes early and had time to walk around the area a bit first. The keeper talked for 10 minutes or so and had been working with the devils for like 10-15 years. 015-DSC_9053: The south entrance to the Toronga Zoo. 016-DSC_9054: A bush turkey wandering around with a colorful wattle. 018-DSC_9056: Fun facts on Tasmanian Devils. 018a-DSC_9055: A real Tasmanian Devil! Of course everyone comparse it to the cartoon one. 019-DSC_9057: The "Tazie's" keeper talked about the Devils. 020-DSC_9059: A fake dead wallaby in the Tazmanian Devil's pen. 021-DSC_9061: A Devil in the Dark—the black spot resting in the middle next to the tree. 022-DSC_9063-header: Birds! 022-DSC_9063-headertext:

Next up was walking through an area that had lots of birst all around, flying here, there, and everywhere. 022-DSC_9063: BIRDS! At least a list of some of the ones in that area. 023-DSC_9066: Little Lorikeets. 024-DSC_9068: Some kind of duck. 025-DSC_9069: 026-DSC_9070: 027-DSC_9072: 028-DSC_9073: 029-DSC_9075: 031-DSC_9077-header: Assorted Animals 031-DSC_9077-headertext:

I wanted to see a few things, like some of the talks of the various keepers that were in certain places and certain times. And beyond that, I just wanted to see the various animals. So there wasn't an organized order to my exploration and I don't feel like moving all the photos around to group the animals by location or type or alphabetically sort their genus and species. So...a few unsorted animals. The ibus was while I was in line to get lunch. I figured not eating would be stupid and I've made that mistake a few times. 031-DSC_9077: A view of the southern Sydney skyline from the Torongo Zoo. 032-DSC_9078: One giraffe! 033-DSC_9079: Two giraffes!! 034-DSC_9080: Holy shit, THREE GIRAFFES!!! 035-DSC_9082: A freaky, Australian dangling pod plant. 036-DSC_9083: Soon the pods will hatch into koalas. 037-DSC_9084: One elephant. (That's the only elephant picture.) 038-DSC_9085: An ibis (also called a "bin chicken", as they eat from the rubbish bins). 039-DSC_9086: Another bush turkey. (Not wiring a bomb—that's more of a crow thing.) 040-DSC_9087-header: Capybara 040-DSC_9087-headertext:

Capybaras are Rodents of Unusual Size. In fact they are the largest living rodents on earth, originally from South America (and not native to Australia). They eat leaves and branches, especially ones the picky red pandas won't eat. They're generally mellow and pleasant. At one point, while the keeper was talking, one capybara walked up to her and patiently waited and just stared at her as if wanting to make sure she knew that if she had any extra branches and leaves that she needed to get rid of, he was willing and able to help. The more he stared at her, the more she kept looking at him, talking to him, and chuckling.

Also, it case it wasn't clear, the "largest living rodents on earth" are around 3.5-4.5 feet (1-1.3 meters) long and weigh 77-146 lbs (35-66 kg)! These are BIG rats, though pretty mellow and friendly ones. (And yes, they are not rats, just like rabbits aren't either.)

Also, two enclosures over was a cassowary. It was in the far corner behind some trees, and my telephoto lens kept focusing on the trees. I have better photos of them from Featherdale. They are kind of the opposite of the capybaries, where one seems to be a mellow, stable R.O.U.S, while the other is a razor-toed murder-bird that has the 1000-mile stare of a heavily armed space marine with PTSD that just thought he heard a familiar noise from Back Then, Back There. As one might guess, the cassowary is the one native to Australia. 040-DSC_9087: A capybara munching on some leaves (probably rejected by the red pandas). 041-DSC_9090: Some trees with HOLY SHIT A CASSUARY! Back away slowly, maybe he didn't see us. 042-DSC_9088: More capabara leaf eating. 043-DSC_9091: While one drinks from a kiddie pool, another (surprise, surprise) eats leaves. 044-DSC_9092: Wait…eats leaves? There are leaves? To eat? I would like some. 045-DSC_9093: As the keeper is talking, the capybara just walks up and stares at her. 046-DSC_9095: She tries to ignore him, but finds it difficult. 047-DSC_9096: Eventually she provides him with more branches with leaves to eat. 048-DSC_9098-header: Totally Not dogs 048-DSC_9098-headertext:

The jury is still out as to whether dingos are dogs, are a subspecies of dogs, are a subspecies of wolves, or a subspecies of the proto-dogs. All I can say is that the few I've seen at Toronga and Lone Pie generally look and act like dogs.

The pair at Toronga were running around, watching people, and then playing the "I bite you!", "No, I bite you!", "Well, I bite your bite!", "But I bite you biting my bite!" game.

I do kind of wonder if they just had empty space they needed to fill and just put some dogs in because the cats either escaped or just sat in the shade where no one could see and napped (for 4 points). 048-DSC_9098: Did someone want to know who are good boys? Because that would be us. 049-DSC_9099: Ha ha! I bite you for 2 points! 050-DSC_9100: Sucker! I stick my face inside your bite and bite you for 3 points! 051-DSC_9101-header: Enclosed Area With Native Animals 051-DSC_9101-headertext:

A fenced in area (with double doors where only one can be open at a time) contained various native Australian animals, including emus, kangaroos, and wallabies. A keeper was feeding an emu while another one wandered around. The kangaroos were mostly lying around and sleeping, and the wallabies watched, with a concerned look that they were missing out on something real cool going on. 051-DSC_9101: A keeper feeds an emu lettuce. 052-DSC_9103: The wallabies watch to see if they're missing the kangaroos doing anything cool. 053-DSC_9104: Wait, that was an emu. Where are the kangaroos and what're they doing? 054-DSC_9105: More emu feeding. 055-DSC_9106: The emu likes yummy lettuce. 056-DSC_9107: Squaw! Emus, like all birds, are just dinosaurs in disguise. 059a-DSC_9112: There are the kangaroos! LOOK! Oh man! We'd love to do that! 057-DSC_9108: Kangaroos dozing. 058-DSC_9110: A "too cool for the zoo" kangaroo. 060-DSC_9113: An emu wandering around. 061-DSC_9120-header: Indoor animal show, token koala, plus monkeys! 061-DSC_9120-headertext:

There was an indoor animal show that I went to. To be honest, I felt like sitting down for a bit. The show was more oriented for kids, but it was still pretty fun. The keeper showed a few animals and they also had a camera and projected a close-up of the animal on a screen so people could have a better view of it.

They had an echidna and a (sugar) glider. I think there was something else too, but I didn't take any picture of it. On the way there, there was an exhibit with a koala (sponsored by some big company whose name I also forgot). It was mostly sleeping in a tree, though it did move at one point. And before that there was an area with squirrel monkeys. They are both fascinating and a little creepy. You know they're kind of smart and have opposable thumbs, so they can do things, but they have tiny brains and are wild animals, so they can do evil things and probably like to bite and carry diseases that'd do terrible things to humans since we can be kind of smart, have opposable thumbs and our bigger brains aren't that different.

Oh, and I also took a couple pictures of some guineafowl that were walking around one of the paths. 061-DSC_9120: Information on the Bolivian Squirrel Monkey. 062-DSC_9118: A squirrel monkey climbing around. 063-DSC_9119: A squirrel monkey deciding whether to eat or do something evil. 064-DSC_9121: A rare active koala moment (meaning his eyes were open and head wasn't buried). 065-DSC_9123: For question #7 on the test, you can assume it's a perfectly spherical koala. 066-DSC_9125: The screen view of the echidna (better echidna photos in Featherdale). 067-DSC_9126: A sugar glider coming out of its hut. 068-DSC_9127: The keeper holding the glider. 069-DSC_9128: Demonstrating a short glide. 070-DSC_9130: The screen view of the glider and the keeper. 071-DSC_9131: Sugar gliders like drinking sugar (and gliding). 072-DSC_9132: Time for the sugar glider to go back in his home. 073-DSC_9135: Some guineafowl wandering around the paths at the zoo. 074-DSC_9136: More guineafowl. 075-DSC_9137-header: Meerkats 075-DSC_9137-headertext:

Meerkats are cute bandit looking animals. There was one that sat down, yawned and then immediately put his head down and fell asleep and didn't move for the next few minutes. The other ones mostly ignored him. But here's what I imagined the dialog would be. 075-DSC_9137: It's a great day. So many things I want to do! 076-DSC_9138: But first…<YAWN>…maybe a quick… 077-DSC_9139: ZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…… 078-DSC_9140: So I poked my head up and said…
Hey, hold on, I think Jack just died. 079-DSC_9141: Yup. Well, I guess I should dig him a hole.
  Zzzzzz…… 080-DSC_9142: Eh, good enough, he can finish the rest himself.
  Zzzzz…… 081-DSC_9143-header: A few more assorted non-local animals 081-DSC_9143-headertext:

While slowly making my way towards the exit, I saw a few other animals. The sun-bear was mostly just hanging out in the tree. At one point it yawned and stuck out its tongue—like up to 10 inches (25 cm) long! I was a second late in getting a picture when the bear stuck out his freakishly long tongue. I think it took a moment for me to process what I was seeing. There were signs by the tigers saying that the mating season was coming up and not to be concerned about some behaviors they might be exhibiting. There was a (male?) tiger that was separated in a cage that was pacing in tight circles. In context, he probably had one thing on his mind. (Answer the phone! Answer the phone! Answer the phone! Why, why why? Come on! I'll try one more time. Please. Answer the phone... Note: I know that neither tigers nor humans use phones (that way anymore), but it's the best analogy I can come up with.) 081-DSC_9143: A giraffe. It's in an enclosure like 20 feet below me. 082-DSC_9145: A female lion. 083-DSC_9146: A male lion on the far side of the enclosure. 084-DSC_9148: Sun Bear, fun bear, fun facts sigh. 085-DSC_9147: A sun bear (no tongue). Note the white "V" markings on its chest. 086-DSC_9151: A longer shot of the sun bear in the tree. 087-DSC_9152: The very horny tiger that was pacing around waiting for sexytimes. 088-DSC_9154: A (female?) tiger who is not quite in the mood yet (first a nap). 089-DSC_9155-header: Andean Condor (Creepiest Dave) 089-DSC_9155-headertext:

The Andean condor is considered to be the largest bird of prey in the world and can live to over 70 years (on the long side for birds) and is the national symbol of Bolivia, Chile, Columbia, Ecuador, and Peru. The zoo has a female (no caruncle/comb on the top of the head). It was sitting for a while with its wings spread out. It has quite a large wingspan. 089-DSC_9155: Mwaaahaaahaahaahaa! I am so scary, am I not? 090-DSC_9156: He kind of looks like some crazy, mad scientist. I respect that. 091-DSC_9157: Do you smell something rotting? Is it me or my lunch? Let me check quick. 092-DSC_9158: In case you had any doubt that birds are dinosaurs. 093-DSC_9160-header: Almost a Red Panda + Heading Back 093-DSC_9160-headertext:

On the way out, I passed by the red panda exhibit. The red panda was mostly not visible, but htere were a couple times where bits and pieces could be seen or a tail was poking out from the leaves. I took a couple of pictures to suggest that it was there.

Then I took the ferry back. I noticed the flags on top of the Harbour Bridge were flying at half-mast, though I don't know why. I looked but couldn't find any source. 093-DSC_9160: If you look closely, you can see parts of the red panda behind the leaves. 094-DSC_9161: The bottom half of a red panda! 095-DSC_9162: The Harbour Bridge with the flags flying at half mast. I never found out why. 096-DSC_9163: The ferry is coming. It's the ship Friendship. Aw! 097-DSC_9164: Sydney Harbor, departing from the taronga Zoo on the ferry. Bottom: