Wildlife

Those who know us well will no doubt assume from the title that in this post I will be regaling you with tales of parties and other debauchery during our wild nights on the clubbing circuit around Australia.  Unfortunately, you may be disappointed that I'm actually describing animal life in Australia.  (Since this is less than halfway through our trip, I'll update this blog as new photos are taken.)
First off, there are a number of animals that I have little interest in encountering, at least in the wild.  Australia does have an impressive array of venomous and otherwise dangerous fauna.  Just from headlines since we've been here, there have been alarming stories of sharks, spiders, dingos and crocodiles.  Additionally, there was the trail sign we saw warning of the "Common Death Adder" and, in a very controlled encounter, we did see a cassowary (a large, flightless, emu-like bird) in captivity, which has sharp feet and is known to be capable of killing a human.
We have also seen a number animals, which for one reason or another, we were unable to photograph.  For example, it was too dark (and also forbidden) to photograph the penguins on Phillip Island, we've fleetingly seen several animals which disappear in the bush too fast to photograph (e.g., goanna/monitor, wallabies...) and birds (e.g., kookaburra, lorikeet...), of course, are often hard to photograph without very long lenses and a lot of patience (unless they are already acclimated to humans).  What I'll post here are the photos of the animals that we were able to capture on our SD cards with a bit of description in the captions.  (Some are repeats from elsewhere in this blog.)

Kangaroo watching ultimate frisbee on a cricket pitch at Halls Gap.  The players don't even seem to notice

Mob of kangaroos grazing outside our lodging in Halls Gap.

A pademelon (small, kangaroo-like marsupial about .5 m tall) outside the house at Springbrook National Park.

Cockatoo on the porch railing at Halls Gap.

A Crimson Rosella at the fudge shop at Springbrook National Park.  This bird was obviously used to being around people and probably receiving treats from people.

Emu at the Healesville Sanctuary.  It stands about 2 m tall if fully stretched out. 

An echidna, another iconic Australian animal, which we have not seen in the wild, but saw this one in Healesville.

An Ibis hoping for scraps near out picnic table.

A Tasmanian Devil at the sanctuary in Healesville.  Having not been on Tasmania, we have had no opportunity to see one in the wild--however that possibility is remote at best if on Tasmania.

A semi-wild koala on Philip Island.  The koalas are living in a natural setting, but their ability to range freely is limited.  We've also seen/photographed wild koalas, but they were too far away to see much.

A slug that Kathy refers to as a "Bird Poo Slug."  The name seems quite fitting.  This was spotted on a trail at Springbrook National Park.

Lizard of some sort (possibly a lace monitor)  in a tree at the botanical garden in Goondiwindi.

A major skink along the trail at Springbrook National Park.

A land mullet (nother variety of skink) at Springbrook National Park.

A rain forest dragon (type of lizard) also along the track in Springbrook National Park.

A gecko on the ceiling in Darra (Brisbane).  This is reminiscent of our trip to Merida, Christmas 2007.

Bush turkeys in a park in the middle of Brisbane.

A moor hen on the UQ campus in Brisbane.

It may  not be easy to see, but in the middle-top of the photo, there is leach like those we struggled with in Lamington.  This one happens to be one that Wesley spotted on a tree, so we could avoid contact with it.

Bush turkey and crimson rosellas at O'Reilly's in Lamington Park.

A pair of red-browed firetails at O'Reilly's in Lamington Park.

A rhinocerous beetle that had the misfortune of flying onto the veranda just after dinner one night and flew into the ceiling fan.  It was stunned, but ultimately unharmed.  The 50¢ coin is about 31 mm (1.25 in) in diamater--this is a good-sized bug! 

Pinned dung beetle specimens from Kathy's research work. We did see live ones at Springbrook but I didn't get a photo.