MONKEYING AROUND AT MOGO

Ooh, It's A Tad Chilly

Hmm, Tastes Good Too

Hi there, just couldn’t resist sharing this one with everyone, particularly the youngies!!  We are still dithering around on the south coast of NSW and I will get around to doing a proper blog at some stage, but..............yesterday we stumbled across a real little gem in the MOGO ZOO.  This is a privately owned zoo heavily involved in several breeding programs.  One of the breeding programs involves my all time favourite creatures, the tigers.  The decision to go and have a squizz was a no-brainer for me.

For What I Am About To Receive.......

Please, Do You Mind, I'm Bathing!

There is always a degree of trepidation when you go to these places, never being quite sure what you will find by way of conditions and care.  There were certainly no problems of that type here.  I don’t believe I have ever seen a bunch of happier, healthier animals all in one place ever before.

It wasn’t just that the animals all seemed incredibly healthy – I mean they were all very well conditioned, their coats were all amazing and even the lions looked like they were groomed regularly.  The interaction between the animals and the keepers was extraordinary too – it was apparent that these people had a labour of love and then some. 

While we were there we heard talks on the silver gibbons, the tigers, the otters, the white lions and the gorillas – all the talks were professional, light, informative and all involved interaction with the animals.  Brilliant!  How, you might ask do you interact with a lion or tiger?  You hand feed them big chunks of meat – no I’m not kidding!  As these big cats were not behind glass is so often the case these days, the keepers were able to stand right up against the heavy mesh of the enclosures and pass pieces of meat thru’ to the animals.  They (the lions and tigers) were incredibly well behaved and displayed amazing ‘table manners’.  The keeper did explain that between he and the large lady tiger he was feeding, there was a ‘no return policy’ on fingers.  He went on to explain that we would most likely get the finger back in a couple of day’s time but most likely wouldn’t be too keen to take repossession by then.

Who Groomed This Beautiful Boy?

Serval - Oh So Elegant

As I mentioned his method of feeding the 18 year old female tiger was to push largish pieces of meat thru’ the mesh – her method of receiving same was to place one dinner plate sized paw against the mesh and to very gently take the meat from his fingers.  As I was no more than 3 feet away from the tiger I had amazing views of the whole procedure.  DD did mention to me later that I was a little inconsiderate to the small children who were also trying to see the beautiful tiger eat – my reaction to that?  Those small children (who could see quite well anyway) have a whole lifetime ahead of them to see tigers eating. Me? Who knows how many years I have left for seeing God’s wonders?  Nup!  No remorse here!  The very good table manners finished once the chunks of meat were all consumed.  The keeper showed her the empty container and she, on cue of course, snarled and growled very prodigiously for the benefit of all there – just to prove that she was not just a great big ‘pussy cat’ after-all.

Silver Gibbon - With Salad?

We both took our trusty cameras with us and oh glory, DD worked out how to ‘shoot thru’ the wire of the enclosures and after a couple of dodgy shots, pretty much perfected his technique to a degree where we appeared to be even more up close and personal with the animals.  I’m sure you will agree that the shots of the tiger in the water are amazing.  He is just such a clever boy – probably didn't deserve the naughty photo I took of him!

No Caption Required

The tiger incidentally having both consumed the water and then bathed in the water proceeded to piddle copiously in that same water.  There was a collective gasp of horror around the group of people who had been watching the beauty of the great beast frolicking and lolling in the water.  Oh well, I know plenty of humans who display very similar behavior.

And Then She Said..............

My Precious!

The tigers were the highlight for me, but we did see a very similar procedure with the feeding of the white lions – huge majestic beasts, very serene in their huge enclosure.  They have actually managed to create a ‘pride’ of these lions, although they are no longer all white as some new blood has been introduced into the pride and now we see delightful pale honey coloured creatures amongst the white.

Things Just Get A Little Boring Around Here

Looking Out

The cheetah had an enormous enclosure with enough room to run, the unfortunate Fallow Deer herd was next door to the cheetah and across the way from the lion pride – they seemed oblivious to the risks involved in living in such close proximity however.  The zoo sells small bags of deer food and the whole herd tries to break thru’ the fence as children approach, as almost every child visitor clutches a brown paper bag of deer tucker.  A clever idea this deer/roo food these places sell – it obviously is a win-win for the parks as the mark up on the food would be enormous and the same food is then fed back to their own animals – ingenious!!

Bette Davis Eyes

Tapir-ing Off

The zoo sported a small herd of giraffe and zebra who shared another huge paddock.  The gorilla exhibit looked to be quite new and was well done with water features and plenty of greenery and climbing gear for these huge apes.  The black gibbons, the lemurs and the spider monkeys all had tropical style islands for their homes and they were the most active and playful of these animals I have ever seen – monkeying around and seemingly thoroughly enjoying life.

Mother And Child

Lurking

The zoo boasts the largest collection of primates of any private zoo in Australia and is most certainly a must see for the animal lover.  I have no idea how the zoo survives financially – the entry fee was around $29 for adults (less with a senior’s discount) and they do push a number of  one on one ‘experiences’ and encourage the fostering of animals etc, but the overall cost of running the place must be considerable – and they obviously don’t stint on anything.  They claim to get no government funding and are completely privately owned.  I would say they are doing a wonderful job and certainly encourage anyone visiting the area to include the zoo in your itinerary. 

Well until next time when I will tell you all about my latest clutz-scapade – take care and treat each other well.  Stephanie

Now Where Was That Fish?

Hiding!

The Most Dangerous Animal To Visit The Zoo