June 20: Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary

Today I spent the whole day at Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. This is the world's first and largest koala sanctuary! This Sanctuary hosts over 130 Koala Bears and they are continuously trying to bring the populations up. Not only do they have koala bears, but they have other different native Australian species. I saw kangaroos, platypus, Tasmanian devils, dingoes, guinea pigs, and more. Here, I spent my time with one of the zookeepers. 

Unfortunately, the current conditions in the wild are not ideal enough to release any of them back. The sanctuary works to increase the numbers and donate money to Chlamydia research for the koalas. The koala bear contracts the disease when they are born and the University Queensland of Technology researchers are forming a vaccine for this disease. Besides cars and humans, Chlamydia is the most threatening thing to the koala species.

            Since this sanctuary is in Queensland, I was able to hold one of the Koala Bears! In New South Wales they not have laws against holding the Koala Bears since this could possibly stress the animal out. At the Lone Pine Sanctuary though, they do it in a certain way to make it comfortable for the animal.

At this sanctuary, I was also able to pet and feed kangaroos! Kangaroos are a huge part of Australia’s biodiversity.

 

Once I was done at the sanctuary, I traveled to a new hotel for the night to be closer to the airport since I had an early flight the next day.