Saturday 16 July 2011

native wildlife and dogs in Lorne

When I was in Lorne recently, I went for a walk along the street that parallels the main beach street, and I was concerned to see an off-lead dog wandering across the road in front of me. In a strange town you're never sure whether to try to catch a loose dog, because it might be the local custom to let dogs roam more freely than they do in the big cities. However, I bent down to see if it had a collar, and did a double take...

Frantically I tried to unzip the pocket of my raincoat - yes, it was raining - to reach for my camera. And this is what I managed to get, as the 'dog' scurried away from me:



Overseas readers might think it's an everyday occurrence to see a koala in Australia, but let me assure you, it is not! Not for city dwellers like me, anyway. And most of us live in cities. Here's a quote from Encyclopedia of the Nations:
Australia's population is mostly urbanized, with about 88 percent of its people living in an urban area. Sydney alone has over 20 percent of the country's people.
Once the koala was in the tree it relaxed and I had all the time in the world to photograph it.



It eventually got a bit tired of me staring and staring at it, and turned its head away.



I wonder how well dogs and koalas co-exist in Lorne? I did notice the house beside the tree had a notice saying 'beware of the dog'. I suppose it might be like our own garden, where Penny goes out each evening to see if she can find any ring-tailed possums on the ground. They're always high in the tree, to her great frustration and my great relief.



8 comments:

Slavenka said...

Now I'm a little bit disappointed because I was wrong about where you can meet koalas, but pics are nice.

Lassiter Chase and Benjamin said...

O my goodness. Those Possums look so scarry. They look like squirrels but they don't have the fuzzy tails. You are so brave to go out looking for them in the trees. That picture of the koala bear looks neat -- thanks for sharing about your adventures.

Finn said...

Wow - you got to see a koala! That is pretty amazing!

parlance said...

Lassiter Chase, you would enjoy possums if you had them there, because they are sweet and tiny. Perhaps my photo makes this one look scary, but they are not. They are very vulnerable to predators, and that's why I'm glad Penny has never found one on the ground.

parlance said...

Slavenka, I guess I was very lucky to see such a tame one.

parlance said...

Finn, I was thrilled!

Arran, Arthur and Mum said...

How cool!
It always seems so exciting and exotic seeing wildlife actually in the wild like this.

parlance said...

Ludo, I agree! It's great to see animals in reserves and, at worst, zoos, but it's just fabulous to see one going about its own life without human interference.