Featherdale Wildlife Park-a wildlife experience like no other!
AGM comes down private with Featherdale Wildlife Park's education program coordinator,Tahnee Barnes.
AG:How long have you been operating Featherdale Wildlife Park for?
Ans. Featherdale Wildlife Park has been in operation for 40 years this year.
AG:What is the animals population in the wildlife park?
Ans. 2,200 animals from more than 300 Australian species.
AG:Which type of animal is the hardest to maintain? Why?
Ans. Each animal has its own specific requirements. For example, Koala food takes 6 hours to collect each day, and must collected every day of the year; during breeding seasons certain animals require dramatic increases in food and browse; our crocodile enclosure contains water pools that must be heated.
AG:In the event any animals in your wildlife park require any emergency medical attention, how do you deal with such situations?
Ans.We have qualified keepers who are able to provide first aid, and an off-site veterinarian is available for all emergencies.
AG:Does your wildlife park have any operation theatre/facilities to deal with such emergencies?
Ans. We have a quarantine holding area and vet block facility to care for injured animals. Medication is also administered here.
AG: Why not tell us about famous animals( animals that have names and are famous) at your wildlife park!Especially your koalas;)!! Do tell us their name,birth dates & story etc!
Ans. “Fatso” the wombat featured on a long running television series “A Country Practice”; “Rex” the Echidna featured on underwear commercials known as ‘sick ‘em rex’
AG:Where did you get those amazing animals from?
Ans. All Featherdale Wildlife Park’s animals are obtained through our many successful breeding programs, as well as through trading with other zoos and wildlife parks.
AG:How many wildlife specialists and staff do you have?
Ans. We have over 30 qualified keepers at Featherdale Wildlife Park. In total we have 90 staff employed at Featherdale Wildlife Park + 10 volunteers.
AG:What is the rate of casualties of your marine life annually?
Ans. Our collection consists of primarily land-based animals. Most animals in captivity will live longer than they would in the wild where predation by other species and disease cannot be controlled. Our animals are very well cared for at Featherdale Wildlife Park and generally live to a good age.
AG:Do you have any rescue program for any injured or trapped animals in the wild?
Ans. We receive many native animal donations from the public each year. Where animals cannot be released back into the wild, we try to find another home for them.
AG:So tell us more about the enclosures and animals there.
Ans. All Featherdale Wildlife Park enclosures are specifically designed and built according the species that is to be housed. We follow strict guidelines from the Exhibited Animal Protection Act (EAPA), and ensure the highest quality and safety for each and every enclosure and animal. We do our best to recreate each animal’s natural environment, as well as their diet. Where possible we have housed 2 or more species together that are naturally found in the same habitat, but are able to live harmoniously.
AG:Do the animals seem to like their enclosures?
Ans. Our enclosures are maintained to very high standards. Enrichment is provided to animals on a regular basis in order to keep them happy and healthy.
AG:Are there any young animals in the zoo? If yes, please tell us their names, birth dates etc!
Ans. We breed many animals at Featherdale Wildlife Park each year. Some species include Koalas, Wallabies, Penguins, White-browed Wood Swallows and Black-headed Pythons.
AG:How do you get your animal food? (The food that your kangaroos eat, etc)
Ans. We source all food from local suppliers so that the food is always of the highest quality when it reaches our animals.
AG:Which animal is most productive in your wildlife park?
Ans. Adeline, could you please define what you mean by productive? E.g. best breeders? Most popular with visitors? Etc...
AG:How many times do you feed the animals a day? And normally at what times?
Ans. At least 1-2 times a day, depending on the individual dietary requirements of each animal, and/or if it is being hand-raised or is in breeding season.
AG:Do you give animals the same food every day? If yes, won't they get sick of it?
Ans. No, but there is a staple part to every diet for consistency in fats, minerals, calcium, vitamins etc...
AG:If we found an injured animal, what should we do?
Ans. The first aid actions for animals are quite similar to that of treating a human. First ensure you and the animal are safe from any surrounding danger, then try to assess what condition the animal is in e.g. is it unconscious, bleeding, broken bones etc... Use personal protective equipment such as rubber gloves, towels and carry packs to put the animal in a secure and safe hold, and then take the animal to the nearest veterinarian or wildlife park.
AG:Does Featherdale Wildlife Park receives any subsidy from the government?(If not, who pays for the vet bills?)
Ans. We receive minimal funding from the government and rely instead on visitors to the park.
AG:Do you have any advice for AG readers looking to get into a career similar to your own?
Ans. You need to find a start- e.g. volunteering, studying; and then let your passion and enthusiasm expand your career from there.
AG: Which animal is most productive in your wildlife park?
Ans. We have very successful breeding programs for Koalas, as well as our Wallabies, Kangaroos and Quolls.
AG:How does a penguin breed? (Or how do you breed baby penguins?)
Ans. A Penguin is a bird species, and therefore lays eggs. The incubation period is 35 days, and the parents take turns incubating the eggs. At Featherdale our chicks are raised by their parents for the first 3 weeks, and then hand-raised by keepers. Keepers hand-raise the chicks so they are used to being around people and can be hand-fed fish at our daily talks.
AG:How did the name "Featherdale" come about?
Ans. Featherdale was originally a Chicken farm, hence the name “Feather”. We now house many different species of birds, so the name remained.
AG:Which type of animal is popular with your visitors? And why?
Ans. Most international visitors to Featherdale enjoy meeting our Koalas, Emus, Wombats, Kangaroos, Penguins and Dingoes; however with over 300 different animal species at Featherdale, there is something for everyone to enjoy.
AG:Does your wildlife park has any plans for extension/upgrading works in the immediate future?
Ans. Featherdale is always renovating and updating to improve the quality of our animal’s lives and the pleasure of our visitors’ experiences. We are currently upgrading our Kiosk, and recently our staff completed building brand new Quoll enclosures.
AG:Do you have a lab to conduct research an experiments on animals? Any special programs to increase the population of endangered species?
Ans. No we do not have a lab for experiments. We do DNA testing on our animals for our breeding programs to ensure genetic diversity. We have many breeding programs at Featherdale, for endangered species including Woma Pythons, Koalas, Dingos, Cassowaries and many more.
AG:What animal do you think is the hardest to breed among all the other animals on your wildlife park?
Ans. Echidnas and Wombats would have to be 2 of the most difficult to breed, due to their mating rituals, which are difficult to accommodate for.
AG:Do baby koalas eat eucalyptus leaves when they are small too? Or they feed on milk? Give us more information about what baby koalas feed on. And if they drink milk,How many litres do they drink a day?
Ans. When Koala joeys are born they latch onto their mother’s teat inside her pouch, and they drink milk. The amount of milk increases as they grow bigger, until they wean off their mother’s milk completely. At approximately 9 months of age, they leave the pouch and ride on their mother’s back. Here they eat their mother’s poo, which is called Pap. They eat Pap because Eucalyptus leaves are toxic and their stomachs are not strong enough to digest the leaves safely. Pap contains microscopic things called “Gut Flora”, which protect the Joey’s stomach when digesting. Once their stomachs are strong enough, they can then feed on Eucalyptus leaves.
Animal Girl Magazine (AGM) 2012
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