Today Krystal and I decided to spend our Saturday at one of Australia great wildlife parks!
Nestled just off the highway a little over an hour north of Sydney this zoo is not only a great tourist attraction but also works toward the conservation of Australia's native wildlife.
Even though it's titled as a 'Reptile Park' so many subspecies of animal are kept there, both native and foreign to Australia. From spiders to snakes and frogs to finches there is so much to see and learn about.
We followed the map and looked at all the enclosures taking photos and learning as we went. We stopped to chat with some of the zoo keepers as well, learning more about the running of the zoo and how they came to work there. Many were volunteers originally before being offered a permanent position, so it's clear that they loved what they do before they were ever payed for it.
One of the things I loved most about this zoo was that they had keepers walking around with particular species of reptile teaching people directly about not only the animal but the importance of conserving them in their natural habitats.
They were even walking around this large tortoise, hosing it down and feeding it kale!
The Australian Reptile Park has another important function other than conservation, entertainment and rehabilitation. It is also one of Australia's longest running antivenom produces!
Antivenom is used to treat someone who has suffered a fatal bite from a venomous species of spider or snake. This antivenom is made by delivering non lethal doses of specific venom to a large horse over a prolonged period of time so that the horse beings to produce more and more antibodies to break down the venom. After months of this process the horses blood samples are taken and the antibodies in the blood can be injected into people to break down the venom just as it would in the horse!
To get enough venom to deliver daily doses to a horse, snakes and spiders must be 'milked' of their deadly venom, normally one animal is milked no more that once a fortnight to keep the animal unharmed as well as ensuring that a decent dose is milked every time. A live demonstration was shown by a very brave keeper who made it out to be just another day on the job!
Here are a few of my favourite photos from the day!
We both had a really great day and would recommend The Australian Reptile Park to anyone who wants to have a close encounter with some of the amazing creatures that inhabit our world!
If you have visited the park before or have any questions about the animals shown throughout the post don't hesitate to comment below.
