Healesville Sanctuary - Day Three

"Give me a home among the gum trees..."

We started off with the unofficial anthem of Australia, and we were off to Healesville Sanctuary. As soon as we arrived at the sanctuary, we walked around for a quick walk to see the emus and koalas. After a quick photo op, we journeyed off to a room where we learned all about the sugar glider. The sugar glider weighs about 80 grams and is a bit smaller than a squirrel glider. Its main predators are snakes and owls. We also learned about snakes, we now know that they get thier energy from outside sources. Also, snakes have a slower metabolism and they are known as cold blooded animals. After we visited those animals, we visited some of the many nocturnal animals in Australia. We even fed some of them; they ate right out of our hands! After, we went to the animal hospital located on the sanctuary. We watched an autoposy of a kangaroo, and I could hardly stand the stench of the rotting kangaroo flesh (I'm sorry if that paints a picture in your head). The bowels were extracted from the body, and we learned that kangaroos have the same number of heart chambers as humans. Next, we rushed to the amazing bird show where we saw a barking owl, black breasted buzzard, and even the huge wedged tail eagle. They flew right over our heads, and a gust of wind brushed our faces. Background noises were filled with little children's shrieks of excitement. After the bird show we went straight to lunch, to the bus, and back to the hotel.