What a beautiful pest
Common Myna, Taronga Zoo, Sydney
I took this photograph of a Common Myna last year on a visit to one of my favourite zoos, Taronga Zoo in Sydney. We had a short break at one of the food outlets in the zoo. As we were sitting there a Common Myna sat on one of the umbrellas covering patrons having a meal. The red top of the umbrella is shown reflected on the breast feathers of the bird, creating an interesting effect. Look rather beautiful, actually.
Sadly, this introduced species has grown to pest proportions in Sydney, Melbourne and many other towns and cities. It is a pest species because it competes with native bird species for food and nesting spots and is steadily displacing native species in some areas.
Common Myna, Sydney
Sun Bear, Taronga Zoo, Sydney
Malayan Sun Bear, Taronga Zoo, Sydney
The Malayan Sun Bear is one of the animal species on display at Taronga Zoo in Sydney. Sun Bears are the smallest members of the bear family. They naturally occur in SE Asia but numbers are decreasing due to hunting, mainly for their fur or for their bile which is used in traditional Chinese medicine. Others are killed when they interfere with crops.
They eat a wide range of foods, including small mammals, birds, reptiles, fruit, eggs and a range of plants.
Malayan Sun Bear, Taronga Zoo, Sydney
Please don’t wake the tiger
Tiger, Taronga Zoo, Sydney
During our visit to Taronga Zoo in Sydney last year we had good views of the tiger shown in the photo above. I was carrying my 19 month old grandson at the time and he delighted in growling like a tiger while pointing at the animal – much to the amusement of the many people nearby. I was amazed at how low his growl was, considering his age. We had a good laugh about it. Fortunately the tiger slept on.
On my trip to Nepal in 2006 I went on an elephant safari ride through the jungle in Chitwan National Park in the south of the country. Although there are tigers in this area, sightings are quite rare. By way of compensation for not seeing one, we had excellent views of several rhinos, as well as many other animals and birds.
Further reading:
- Travels in Nepal – an archive of articles about my time in Nepal
- Tigers in Nepal
Himalayan Tahr, Taronga Zoo, Sydney
Himalayan Tahr, Taronga Zoo, Sydney
One of the animals featured on exhibit at Taronga Zoo in Sydney is the Himalayan Tahr, a close relative of the wild goat. I like seeing these animals for they remind me of the wonderful experiences I had when I trekked in Nepal a few years ago. I was fortunate to be able to see this animal in its wild state in the mountains there.
Further reading:
Himalayan Tahr, Taronga Zoo, Sydney
Polly wants a penny – or a dollar
Sulphur Crested Cockatoo, Free Flight Bird Show, Taronga Zoo, Sydney
The Free Flight Bird Show at Taronga Zoo in Sydney has been my topic here for quite a few days now. Whenever we visit the zoo we make sure we schedule one of the shows into our schedule. It is also a great opportunity to get some good photos of the birds.
At the end of each show the keepers invite audience members to come forward and give some of the parrots a donation of a coin. The birds accept the coin in their beak and immediately drop it into the donation box. In this way over $75,000 has been raised for bird conservation in recent years. Today’s photo features one of those birds, a Sulphur-crested Cockatoo which is a common bird in the Sydney region. It is also common in other parts of Australia too.