Last week our Animal Studies students had an excursion to Australia Zoo. Year 11 student, Emma Geddes, shares what happened on the day…

On arrival we headed straight to the Africa section of Australia Zoo, where we saw giraffes, rhinos, zebras and meerkats. After that, we walked to the wetlands section of the zoo where we met the zookeepers who talked to us about how they make the zoo a natural setting for the animals  living there so they show their natural behaviours. They explained to us the difference between natural and innate behaviours, such as the kangaroos having a specific resting area in their environment where they know people will leave them alone. We also witnessed a group of zookeepers training a young parrot to fly on command to take part in the Crocoseum shows in the future. When we watched the Crocoseum show, they started off presenting all of their trained parrots. Some were trained to fly in circles and others were trained to fly person to person. After, we watched the zookeepers feed some crocs while telling us the importance of croc conservation and what to do if you come in contact with them.

Mr Gynther’s Animal Studies team also got to showcase their department in Secondary Assembly this week with visits from a variety of furry, shelled and scaly friends. ‘Theodore’, the German Shepherd puppy, enjoyed the spotlight and strutted the stage while Mrs Calderon spoke about canine nutrition. Some Animal Studies students helped show the best way to pick up and handle a turtle and blue-tongued lizard, and ‘Fluffy’ the snake got up close and personal with Mr Valese.