Our “Small Wonders from Down Under” education program features these animals, but many also participate in our “Walk on the Wild Side” program. We offer a special “Meet and Feed a Bearcat” Animal Experience in which you will interact with and feed one of these unique and special animals.
Note that our bearcats are available for our education programs for an additional fee.
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- Ever hear of a Binturong (Arctictis binturong)? These interesting animals are also known as bearcats and are found in the forests of South-East Asia. While known as bearcats they are neither a part of the bear or cat family, instead are more closely related to mongooses or genets. Binturongs are hardly seen in the wild and are considered vulnerable from extinction; get up close with these rare and fascinating animals at a tour or show.
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- The Bennetts Wallaby (Macropus rufogriseus) like their cousins the Kangaroos are marsupials that can be found in Tasmania and in Australia. As marsupials the mothers have pouches which a baby wallaby will remain in from birth until it is fully developed, and then for several months will use the pouch as a safety and sleeping area. It is not too long though until the baby grows up, at around nine months wallabies are considered to be independent and no longer use their mother’s pouch.
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- The cane toad is a large, terrestrial true toad which is native to Central and South America. A prolific breeder, females lay single-clump spawns with thousands of eggs, its reproductive success is partly because of opportunistic feeding. It has a diet, unusual among frogs, of both dead and living matter.
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- Sugar gliders ( Petuurus breviceps) are native to Australia, New Guinea and nearby islands. A member of the marsupial family, the females have pouches where babies (known as joeys) will stay in for 70 days. The Sugar Glider is in fact able to glide from tree to tree doing so to find sweet fruit and sap to eat.
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- Kookaburras ( Dacelo novaeguneae) are known for their laugh, a wild call they perform out in the wild at dusk and in the morning. The Kookaburra is found in Australia and is a valued part of the local wildlife for their call and skill at catching snakes and lizards.
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- As the largest member of the skink family, the Blue Tongue Skink (family Scincidea) has a large head and body with little legs. They are found primarily in Australia and spend most of their day searching for food or basking in the sun. The skink is also a fantastic digger, using its broad head as a shovel to help find tasty worms.
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- Burmese Pythons (Python molurus bivttatus) are one of the largest snakes in the world, often growing more than 15ft. Burmese Pythons live in parts of China, Indochina, Thailand, and Burma. While snakes usually have one lung the Burmese python has two but one is noticeably smaller than the other.